Sheer Khurma Recipe

Sheer Khurma Recipe

Ramadan is around the corner and I am here with the most famous dish of the season and that is Sheer Khurma. This is the signature dish of Ramzan. This is a rich, creamy and yummy dish that is prepared on the day of Ramzan. People end their fast
with Sheer Khurma which tastes its best on that particular day of Id-UL-Fitr.

The actual term of this dish is Sheer Surma. Surma meaning dates in Farsi. The meaning of this dish is milk with dates. The combination of dates with milk and other dry fruits along with ghee yields a lovely dessert called sheer khurma ( korma ).

Me and my family are not fans of sweets and desserts. We are more on the hotty side of dishes as we like more spice in our dishes. But there are some desserts that we love. Some of them being Rasgulla, Sweet kova, Kalakand, etc,. Of late, Sheer Khurma has also been included in this list. My co-sis generally prepares a not-so-rich version of the Sheer Khurma, which is very yummy too.

There are many versions of Sheer Korma. You can twist and tweak the ingredients and the measurements according to your liking and enjoy it. Some add a little of spice ( masala ) to enhance the flavor. Some prepare it with scratch without the usage of condensed milk. Today, I have prepared the dessert with condensed milk. Using condensed milk actually quickens the cooking process of Sheer Khurma.

Sheer Korma is prepared with a fine variety of vermicelli which is available in the market. You can also use the normal variety of vermicelli, but the actual flavor comes out when prepared with the fine variety.

You can also view my other sweet recipes which are very easy to prepare.

Spongy Rasgullas

Sweet Kova

Paneer Kheer

Preparation

Measure all the required dry fruits and keep aside.

Soak the badam ( almonds ) in warm water for 15-20 minutes to remove the skin.

In the meantime, break the fine vermicelli to small pieces and keep aside.

Remove the skin and chop or slice them the almonds. Heat a pan and put ghee into it.

Fry peeled pistachios in the ghee for 2-3 minutes. Remove and transfer to another plate.

In the same pan, fry chopped cashews until a golden brown colour. Transfer to the plate.

Add the chopped or sliced almonds in the same pan and fry for 2 minutes.

After transferring to the plate, add the chironji seeds and fry for 2- 3 minutes. I have not peeled the skin, but if you wish you can remove the skin by putting them in warm water. Remove the fried chironji seeds to the plate and keep aside.

Now fry kismiss ( dry grapes ) until they puff up. Remove them to the plate.

Finally, fry the chopped dates in ghee for 2-3 minutes and move to the plate.

In the same pan, add remaining ghee and add the broken fine vermicelli and stir continuously so that it doesn't  get burnt.

Add milk in another vessel and put it on low flame.

Once the milk is hot add the condensed milk into it and stir well. Make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom.

Keep stirring the vermicelli until it changes its colour to golden.

Now add little water to stop the cooking process and mix gently.

Add sugar and mix slowly. Do not stir too much.

When sugar is dissolved, add the milk mixture and mix gently.

Throw in all the dry fruits in the pan and mix well ( very gently ).

You can keep some dry fruits aside for garnish. Allow it to come to a boil. Add cardamom powder and mix well.

Switch off the flame.

Garnish with saffron and serve it hot, warm or chilled. The Sheer Khurma tends to thicken on cooling. Add some hot milk just before serving to bring it desired consistency. Else, you can also add more milk during the preparation and switch off the flame when it is still milky.

Ingredients

Almonds a little less than 1/4 cup OR 25 g
Pistachios a little less than 1/4 cup OR 25 g
Dates 1/3 cup OR 50 g
Cashews 1/4 cup OR 25 g
Ghee 3 tbsp
Chironji seeds 1 1/2 tbsp
Kissmiss 25 g
Fine vermicelli 100 g
Milk 2 1/2 cups
Condensed Milk 1 cup
Water 1/4 cup
Sugar 1/4 cup
Cardamom 6 ( powdered after peeling the skin ) OR 1/2 tsp
Saffron to garnish

Method 

1. Soak the almonds in warm water for 15-20 minutes and remove the skin. Peel the skin of pistachios and chironji seeds and keep them aside. 
2. Chop the dates and other dry fruits into small pieces and get them ready.
3. Heat ghee in a pan  and fry all the dry fruits one after another and keep them aside. 
4. Add the remaining ghee in the same pan and fry the broken fine vermicelli until it changes its color to golden. 
5. Keep stirring continuously so that the vermicelli does not get burnt. 
6. Heat milk in another vessel on a low flame. When it becomes hot, add condensed milk and stir. 
7. Add little water and sugar to the fried vermicelli. Mix gently. When the sugar is dissolved, add the milk mixture to the pan and mix slowly. 
8. Add all the fried dry fruits as well and bring it to a boil.
9. Add cardamom powder and switch off the flame. 
10. Garnish with saffron and serve hot, warm or cold. 

Notes

1. There are no hard and fast rules regarding the measurements. You can always increase or decrease the quantity of dry fruits as per your liking.
2. The consistency of sheer khurma can be adjusted as per your desired choice. You can add more milk if you want the dessert to be more runny and not creamy. 
3. You can skip the condensed milk if you do not want the sheer khurma to be rich. But, do check the taste and add more sugar if necessary. 

This recipe has been submitted to the Livogen Iron Chef Contest ..  http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef