Sheer Khurma - Indian vermicelli Sweet Dish
Sheer Khurma is a rich and creamy vermicelli pudding made with milk, sugar, lots of nuts, raisins and dates. 'Sheer' is Persian for milk and 'Khurma' is another word for dates. This elegant dessert is often prepared in many Indian sub-continents by Muslims on Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha and there are many variations of this dish. It can be served warm or cold.
Equipment
- Heavy based saucepan
- Silicon spoon (Heat resistance)
- Flat Head Wooden spoon
Ingredients
Main Essentials
- 1/2 pack Vermicelli (roasted is better)
- 2 Litre Milk (full fat)
- 284 ml Double cream or any thick cooking cream (approx.)
- 1+1/2 cups Sugar
- 1/2 cup Ghee (clarified butter)
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
Nuts and Raisins ( you can add / remove the nuts according to your preference)
- 25 grams Pistachio's (finely sliced or slithered)
- 25 grams Almonds - skinned (finely sliced or slithered)
- 25 grams Charoli / Charongi (Calumpang nuts)
- 25 grams Golden raisins
- 4-5 Strands Saffron strands (optional)
Other option to add are : Coconut slices, Cashes halved, Dates (soaked overnight in water)
Instructions
Dry Roasting
- Take a deep heavy saucepan and crush the vermicelli into small pieces - approx. 2-3cm long
- Dry roast the vermicelli on medium heat until it turns medium brown (see before & after pictures). Once brown, transfer vermicelli into a container or tray.
- Now add ghee to the same pan and gently roast the nuts for approx. 2mins.
- Heat the nuts for a small period of time to get rid of the rawness smell from the nut's. This will preserve your dish for longer.
- Leave the ghee in the pot and transfer only the nuts from the pot. You should have 2 bowls like this.
- Add milk to the pot with ghee, stir well and bring to boil (keep an eye so it doesnt spill over). Once boiled, reduce the heat to low.
- Add the roasted vermicelli and boil milk until vermicelli are cooked.
- Now add the cardamom powder and sugar. Mix well
- Add the full fat cream
- Cook the mixture on low heat, stirring frequently ensuring the milk does not burn from the bottom.
- Add the nuts and raisins too (optional: you can add saffron strands at this stage if you want to)
- The mixture will have started to thicken. Keep stirring frequently
- Check the taste and adjust accordingly.
- The milk will have reduced down quite a bit, check to see if the vermicelli has mixed in properly. It should be floating in the milk (see before & after picture and also for my tip to check).
- Reduce the mixture further until you can see the ghee skimming on the top surface.
- Check the consistency of the mixture, bare in mind when this cools down it will thicken. If you like the consistency to be a bit thinner, Add milk to your desired consistency.
- Cover with a mesh guard and let it cool down
- Garnish with more nuts. Serve either hot or cold
Notes
- Sheer Khurma is best made with full fat milk, which gives it the rich and creamy taste. If you prefer to use fat-free you can do but the result won't be the same.
- Use a thick cooking cream, I've used @Elmlea as that's what I've always seen my mum use for this but feel free to use any brand that's available to use (you can substitute it with condensed milk or tip-top).
- You can add any choice of dry fruits, like cashews, pistachios, almonds, raisins, coconut and dates.
- You can flavor it with either cardamom powder or rose water
- Adjust the sweetness of this dish according to taste. Bear in mind that if you are using dates and raisins, they will have their own sweetness. Start off with less and check towards the end. You can always add more sugar if required.
- Once this is made, cover with a mesh and allow to cool in a dry cool place. Do keep in mind the temperature outside and do not to leave the Sheer Khurma out for too long as it could ferment and spoil your dish completely (trust me I've been there ?)
- This can be served warm or cold. I personally like it warm, when its cold I find it diffuses the sweetness. As this cools down, it also thickens so if you prefer the consistency thinner, feel free to add more milk before serving and mix well.