Sheer Khurma

As the Crescent moon of ramzan shines, I wish everyone a super Eid!! If you have never been to Hyderabad you HAVE to visit the city during holy month of ramzan. The city is so beautifully decked up with lights, colours, and make it a point to take a trip to charminar bazaar for some shopping….the glitters of bangles, the smell of Haleem, the flavor of Irani chai, the sheen of new clothes, aah such a surreal experience it is.

This post is extremely special to me as I am sharing a recipe from my best friends kitchen. Sheeza is one of my favorite people in the world and is very very VERY dear to me. She is married to a wonderful man (whom I fondly call anna :p) and is a mother of 2 beautiful daughters. She has been in my life to make me laugh louder, smile brighter and live better and I always enjoy her company!! Like me she is also a big time foodie and makes heavenly fried chicken. When I told her I want to share something special for Ramzan she immediately said, it has to be sheer khurma.

Everyone has a different way of making this traditional recipe, here’s hyderabadi version.This special dish is served on the morning of Eid day in the family after the prayer as breakfast, and throughout the day to all the visiting guests. Sheer is Persian for milk and khurma is Persian for dates so it literally means milk in dates. The more you have the more you want it. 🙂

You can prepare it with special Ramzan vermicelli available in stores during the festive month or even ready made Bambino vermicelli.But I personally feel the special seviyaan tastes much better and rich.

Ingredients-

Vermicelli/Seviyan-3/4 cup
Ghee/Oil-3 Tsp
Almonds-1 tbsp, de-skined and thinly sliced
Cashew-1 tbsp and thinly sliced
Pistachio-1 tbsp, halved
Chironji nuts-1 tbsp (Soaked in water for 15-30 minutes and skinned)
Dates-5 dates, halved and stoned
Raisins/Kishmish-1 tbsp
Milk-2 Litres
Cardamom/Elaichi powder-1/4 tsp
Sugar-1/2 cup

Method:-

Take 2 litres of milk and boil on high heat with sugar and green cardamom powder and reduce the quantity to get a thick consistency. In a non stick pan take 2tbsp ghee and fry the seviyyan until golden brown and keep them aside.

In the same pan add some more ghee and stir-fry the cashew,raisins, almonds, chironji, pistachio and separately for just a few seconds until golden on medium flame.

Add seviyaa, dry fruits and dates together in the reduced milk and serve hot/cold.