SHEER KHURMA

 It’s almost Eid and I couldn’t do without sharing this classic Eid dessert on the blog this week. Sheer Khurma is a rich vermicelli pudding made with milk, lots of nuts, dates and sugar...! Here I have added milk powder to make it more creamy and rich. Dates and ghee are two main ingredients and must-add in sheer khurma. You can also add mawa and condensed milk to this recipe. In that case, you have to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. But I do not recommend adding condensed milk, as it alters the taste of traditional sheer khurma. Chironji is not available easily sometimes, and it also goes bad soon. So if you wish, you can skip adding it.

The dish literally means milk with dates. Its often made during Eid in the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan and also parts of central Asia. Eid festivities are kind of incomplete until and unless you have Sheer Khurma ! Each house has its way of making this dessert, and in this post, I am sharing the recipe I have learned from my childhood Muslim friend's mom. I am so glad I learned the recipe from her and can now share it with you..... because sharing is caring 🙂🙂This dessert, just like kheer, is effortless to make if you follow the measurements correctly. If not, it may either turn too thick or too thin. The recipe can be easily halved, doubled, or tripled per your requirement. There is little difference between sevaiya kheer and sheer khurma. Kheer is thick in consistency while sheer khurma is thinner and almost have a drinkable consistency.

This popular dessert is made for eid festivities. It is served hot after eid prayer to the family and visiting guests. I have fond memories of relishing this delicious dessert at my father's Muslim friend’s house on eid morning, along with biryani and kormas. You can also make sheer korma on regular days for dessert, as it is very easy to make and comes together in no time using a few simple ingredients.

So gather the ingredients and make this fabulous dessert. And you don’t have to wait until Eid; it can be made anytime and enjoyed.

📌📌 Watch the video recipe here 👇👇

https://youtube.com/shorts/28yXn4ehFe8?feature=share

INGREDIENTS :

1 litre Milk

1/2 Cup Sugar, granulated 

1/2-3/4 Cup Vermicelli / Sevaiya / नायलॉन सेवई 

10-15 Cashew Nuts / काजु 

10-15 Almonds / बदाम 

10-15 Pistachios / पिस्ता 

2 tablespoon Raisins / खिशमीश 

2 tablespoon Chironji/ चारोळी

8-10 Deseeded Dates/ खजुर

1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds / खसखस

2 tablespoon Dessicated Coconut/ खोबरा खीस

10-15 Saffron Strands / केसर

100 ml Condensed Milk /  मिल्कमेड ( optional )

1/4 teaspoon Cardamom Powder/ विलायची पावडर 

3-4 tablespoon Desi Ghee

2-3 drops Kewara Essence ( optional )

METHOD : 

STEP 1 - Soak almonds,  cashew nuts and pistachio in hot water for 3-4 hours. ( see notes )

STEP 2 - Peel them and chop roughly.

STEP 3 - Heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a pan, add chopped nuts and let them roast until fragrant. 

STEP 4 - Transfer into a bowl and keep aside.

STEP 5 - In the same pan, add some more ghee and add vermicelli. 

STEP 6 - Roast on low flame for 3 -4 minutes and then add dessicated coconut and poppy seeds and roast them for another 1-2 minutes. ( see notes )

STEP 7 - Keep this aside.

STEP 8 - In one bowl, add saffron strands with 2 tablespoon lukewarm milk  and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

STEP 9 -  In the other bowl, add milk powder and 2 tablespoon milk and give it a nice mix to form a nice and lump free paste. Keep aside.

STEP 10 - In a heavy bottom saucepan, add 1 litre whole milk and heat it.

STEP 11 - Let it come to rolling boil.

STEP 12 - Add chopped seedless dates to the same pan and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.( see notes )

STEP 13 - Add sugar and let it dissolve completely. Keep stirring continuously.

STEP 14  - Add saffron milk and mix well.

STEP  15 - Add roasted vermicelli to the pan and cook for another 10-12 minutes until vermicelli is softened and khurma is slightly thickened. Stir frequently while cooking to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pan.

STEP 16 - Add milk powder paste and give it a nice mix. Otherwise milk powder will stick to the bottom.

STEP 17 - Add roasted nuts and mix well.

STEP 18 - Finally, add cardamom powder and kewra essence and mix it properly.

STEP 19 - Cook for a minute or two and switch off the flame. Sheer khurma is ready to serve. 

Garnish with some fried mix nuts. Serve it hot or chilled in refrigerator.

The rich dessert is generally served warm, but I like to eat chilled and there is no rule to enjoying this dish.

NOTES : * You will need fine vermicelli (seviyan) to make authentic sheer khurma. Please do not use regular vermicelli to make this dessert.

* You can either soak nuts overnight in room temperature water but if in  hurry then soak for atleast 4-5 hours in hot water.

* Nuts and dried fruits give a lovely crunch to this dessert. I have added almonds, cashew nuts, raisins, pistachios, raisins and chironji seeds (charoli seeds). You can increase or decrease the amount of nuts.

* Chironji is not available easily sometimes, and it also goes bad soon. So if you wish, you can skip adding it.

* Always use full fat milk for making sheer khurma and not toned milk.

* Some people like their sheer khurma thin, and some like it thick. You can adjust the consistency by adding less or more milk.

* Ghee makes this dessert rich and luscious. Do not reduce its quantity if you want a perfect sheer khurma.

* Dates will help to give the nice colour to your dessert.

* Use white granulated sugar. This dessert will not taste good with jaggery or any other sweetener.

* You can reduce the quantity of sugar and add condensed milk as a sweetner. But I do not recommend adding condensed milk, as it alters the taste of traditional sheer kurma.

* You can add khoya to make the sheer kurma thicker and creamier.

* We don't want to change the colour of coconut, instead we just want to make it crunchy.

* Traditionally, use of kewra essence/ rose water is not mandatory but I added to enhance the flavour of the dessert.

* You can add some dried rose petals to make it extra royal.

* This can be frozen in a freezer-safe box for about 2 months. When ready to eat, thaw it on the counter for 2-3 hours and then micro it until it is warm.