Sheer Khurma, Vermicelli Pudding
Sheer Khurma is a rich and creamy vermicelli and dates pudding, a traditional breakfast and dessert dish for Eid ul Fitr.
Ingredients
- 1.5 litre full fat milk
- 1/2 packet/75g fine vermicelli
- 8 firm or dried dates
- 1/4 cup pistachios slivered
- 1/4 cup almonds slivered
- 1/4 cup dried coconut flesh/khopra finely chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)
- 2-3 strands saffron (optional) soaked in 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the dates, raisins and dried coconut in warm water for an hour, then chop the dates and coconut into fine thin pieces. Leave the raisins soaked till you need them next in the recipe. Similarly chop almonds and pistachios. It becomes very easy to prepare sheer khurma if the nuts and dried fruits are prepped a day ahead.
- Bring milk to a boil in a deep pan. Add cardamom and sugar, reduce heat and let it simmer.
- Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons ghee/oil in a large frying pan. Break vermicelli into 3-4 inch lengths. Fry vermicelli till they are 3 shades darker than what they were originall, 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Keep moving them around to avoid burning in one place.
- Remove vermicelli from the pan and set aside. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee/oil to the same frying pan. Stir fry all the chopped nuts, dried fruits and soaked raisins till everything is golden, fragrant and the raisins plumped up.
- Remove the milk from heat, add vermicelli, fried nuts and dried fruits and stir (save some nuts and dried fruits for garnish).
- Stir in saffron milk. (optional)
- Stir in rose water. (optional)
- Cover the pan with a lid for 5 minutes, it helps thicken the sheer khurma. Serve warm.
Notes
- If you can't find very thin vermicelli, any other would do. Wheat or semolina would work best instead of rice noodles.
- You can add condensed milk to the dessert. In that case skip sugar from the ingredients.
- Choose firm or dried dates because they keep their shape and texture even after getting cooked and don't go mushy like softer varieties of dates.
- Always remove hot milk pan from heat before adding vermicelli to it, otherwise it will boil over.
- Vermicelli soak up milk fast. So either keep extra milk to add to sheer khurma before serving or combine milk and other ingredients right before serving.