Sheer khurma is one of those delightful paradoxes as a dessert. It is simple, yet complex in taste and rich in ingredients. This creamy sweet dates and milk pudding is garnished with the finest dried fruits like golden raisins, pistachios, and chopped almonds. In the Persian language, ‘sheer’ stands for milk and ‘khurma’ means dates. The dates help the pudding thicken to a delicious consistency and just give the right amount of natural sweetness, which makes it sublime.
Sheer khurma is a rich traditional Mughlai dessert made with milk, dates, sugar, and broken vermicelli during the festive occasion of Eid ul-Fitr. This religious holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark and celebrate the end of the month-long fasting period of Ramadan. The origin of the dish is said to be in Afghanistan but it is also made in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Central Asia. This special dish is served as part of the breakfast on Eid and is usually offered to visiting family and friends.
Ingredients6 cups milk full fat
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1.5 cup broken vermicelli
16-20 dates seedless, chopped
16-20 cashew nuts chopped
16-20 pistachios unsalted, chopped
16-20 almonds chopped
2 tbsp chironji or charoli
2 tbsp golden raisins
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp rosewater optional
Method* You can begin with roasting the vermicelli in ghee till it is golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
* Add all the dried fruits in the same ghee and roast for 3-4 minutes. You can keep these aside too.
* To make the sheer khurma, heat the milk in a heavy saucepan till it comes to a boil.
* Then, turn the heat down to a simmer for 8-10 minutes till the milk thickens.
* Now add the roasted vermicelli, chopped dates, sugar, and mix well.
* Let the vermicelli and dates cook and soften in the milk. This should take another 8-10 minutes.
* You will notice that it will become a thick mixture. Add the cardamom powder and dried fruits and mix well. You can keep a few dried fruits aside for garnishing.
* Turn off the heat and check for sweetness. You can add more sugar If you feel necessary.