It’s that time of the year again! Eid al Fitr Mubarak to everyone! Feeling stuffed with sheer khurma ? Anyone who has anything to do with a muslim household in the subcontinent must be familiar with this eid special seviyan (vermicilli dessert) or sheer khurma which is the vermicilli and dates cooked in milk.
Although a relatively simple dessert, it has a special festive touch and somehow you don’t get tired sipping bowlfuls of it with your guests and also on the numerous eid visits to family and friends. The authentic recipe is very simple but takes a little while to prepare especially if you are soaking and cutting the dry fruits the traditional way and boiling down the milk to thicken it, but it’s worth it in the end and it’s one of the highlights of chaand raat (the night before eid when the crescent moon is sighted). When pressed for time, I have my trusty shortcut products for both these steps (see notes below)
This time, I was looking for a way to make it a little different and interesting so I came up with this idea of making it more like a kheer or pudding with a soft set texture and when I achieved that, it was time for another twist, why not torch it to get a beautiful caramel topping! Instant hit!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Passive Time | 45 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 1 liter Full fat milk
- 2 cloves
- 100 grams Nuts assorted (almonds, cashews, pistachios, charoli seeds)
- 5 Tbsp Ghee
- 100 grams Shredded phyllo dough (knafeh dough)
- 10 chopped Fresh tunisinian dates (or any other fresh dates that are not syrupy and have a dry texture)
- 1/2 can Sweetened condensed milk
- 1 Pod Green Cardamom (Crushed)
- 1 Pinch Saffron threads (Lightly toast and grind)
- Few Tbsp sugar (for the caramel topping)
Ingredients
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- Soak the nuts in water for a few hours, remove the peels and slice thinly
- Boil the milk and keep it for simmering on a slow flame for about 45 minutes.
- Fry the chopped nuts in about a tablespoon of ghee and set aside.
- Heat the rest of the ghee and fry the phyllo dough and the dates together for about 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to burn.
- Add all the fried ingredients into the boiled down milk. Add the condensed milk (adjust to your liking), saffron and cardamom powders and cook for another 15 minutes until thickened.
- Chill completely in the refrigerator.
- 7) Pour the pudding into small ramekins. Smooth out and sprinkle evenly about 1 - 2 teaspoons of sugar on top. Caramelize using a kitchen torck or in a broiler and serve immediately. Using the torch keeps the pudding below cold which is the traditional creme brulee preference and broiling makes it hot which is how traditional sheer khurma is served. The choice is yours.. either way enjoy with friends and family!
- For the traditional recipe, replace the phyllo dough with about 30 grams of regular good quality vermicilli, broken into small pieces and follow the same till step 5. This will not thicken too much when cooked and the finished dessert has a liquid consistency. Serve hot.
- For saving time, use reconstituted long life milk available in tetra packs which is quite thick. Just boil and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Buy sliced almonds and pistachios which can be directly fried in ghee and require no soaking and peeling.
Looks so yummmy
A brilliant idea to take it up a notch