Sheer Khurma

Eid Mubarak to all my followers and readers. I was away from blogging since past few days for no reason. But I have decided to revive my passion and start blogging. I am not sure whether I will be able to blog frequently as in the past, but will be there for sure. So to start with - on the eve of Ramadan / Ramazan ID, I am posting sweet delicacy - Sheer Khurma. 

Sheer Khurma literally  means 'milk with dates' in Urdu from Persian cognate word sheer and Sanskrit cognate word ksheer meaning 'milk'. It is a festival vermicelli pudding prepared by Muslims on Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and parts of Central Asia. As per the history since Saudi Arabia is abound in the harvest of dates, people would break their fast with dates, and cook a milk and date dessert.  During those days the dish was sweetened with dates and not sugar was used. Currently, this dish is made from Dates, Vermicelli and Milk.

This dish is very simple and versatile as it can be served hot or cold. It is nutritious and a complete meal.

In my opinion, the method given here could be the popular method of making Sheer Khurma. However, I have seen few recipes where tapioca and coconut milk are also added.

Approx. Time: 30 minutes (excluding pre-preparation)

Yield: 3-4 people

Ingredients:

1 litre Full Cream Milk
1 cup fine Vermicelli 
2 tbsns Sugar
1/2 cup Milk Powder

2 tspns Ghee
12-15 Almonds
12-15 Cashew Nuts
12-15 Pistachios
20-25 Raisins (Sultanas)
1 tbspn Chironji
A pinch of Saffron 
1/4 cup Milk (to soak Saffron)
12-15 Dates 
 1/4 tspn Cardamom Powder

For Garnishing:

Saffron strands
Chopped Almonds / Cashews / Pistachios

Method:

Pre-Preparation:
Soak Almonds, Cashew Nuts, Pistachios  and Chironji in hot water. Rest it for 10-15 minutes. Remove peel of Almonds and roughly chop all the nuts except Chironji.  Also chop the Dates and keep it aside. 

Take a teaspoon of Ghee in a non stick pan. Heat it on medium flame and add the chopped nuts. Stir fry it for a 2-3 minutes. Remove it from pan and saute chopped dates in the same pan for 2-3 minutes. Remove it from pan and keep it aside. 

Method

Take a teaspoon of Ghee in a non stick pan. Head it on medium flame and saute Vermicelli for 3-4 minutes or till it starts changing colour. It should become Pink. 

Take full fat Milk and transfer it to a thick bottomed pan. Bring it to boil and reduce it to some extent.  Add the fried Vermicelli and stir. Simmer it for 4-5 minutes in the boiling milk. Then add the Milk Powder, Dates, dry fruits and Sugar. Simmer it for 2 minutes. Turn off the flame. Finish it with Saffron soaked in Milk, Raisins and . Cardamom Powder. 

Serve hot or chilled. Garnish it with Almond flakes, Cashews, Pistachios and Saffron strands. 

Notes:

1. The dates can be substituted by dried dates. 

2. The dates / dried dates may be soaked in rose water. However, in that avoid Cardamom powder to avoid clash of flavours.  
3. You may also add dried rose petals. 
4. The milk powder and Sugar may be substituted with Condensed Milk. 
5. Dry fruits gives a very nice crunch to Sheer Khurma. You may avoid blanching as given in the method above. 
6. To enhance its flavour, you may temper it with Ghee and cloves once the Sheer Khurma is ready. Heat a 1 tbspn ghee in a pan. Add a 3-4 cloves and allow them to crackle for a minute. Pour this tempering on Sheer Khurma. 
7. Ensure that the Vermicelli used is of fine quality (Nylon Vermicelli) only. 

Stepwise Pictures: