SHEER KHURMA WITHOUT REFINED SUGAR
Sheer Khurma is a thick, rich, creamy, flavourful vermicelli dessert that is prepared during Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. This recipe is without any refined sugar. Muslims in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia prepare Sheer Khurma during the Islamic festivals. Generally enjoyed as breakfast or as a dessert on these auspicious days, it can be served warm or cold.
Ingredients
- 1 cup broken vermicelli
- 4 cups full fat milk
- 2 tbsps ghee
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts whole
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts chopped
- 8 large dates
- 2-3 tbsp almond chopped
- 2 tbsp pistachios sliced or chopped
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 1 tbsp charoli
- ¼ tsp saffron
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 2-3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
SOAK THE DATES, CASHEW NUTS AND SAFFRON IN HOT MILK
- Heat the milk in a pan till it becomes hot.
- Transfer about 1 cup hot milk to a bowl.
- Add the pitted dates and whole cashew nuts to it.
- Allow the dates and cashew nuts to soak for 20-30 minutes.
- Take about 1 tbsp of hot milk from the pan and add to a small bowl.
- Add the saffron strands and allow them to soak till required.
SIMMER THE MILK
- Heat the remaining milk and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir frequently so that the milk does not burn at the bottom.
- Lower the heat and keep the milk hot.
ROAST THE NUTS AND VERMICELLI
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a wide pan over low heat.
- Add cashew nut and almond pieces.
- Roast them for 2 minutes. Stir constantly.
- Add the raisins. As soon as they plump up add the pistachio and charoli.
- Stir fry for 1 minute.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the nuts and raisins from the pan. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee.
- When it becomes a bit hot, add the broken vermicelli.
- Roast it in the ghee over low heat till it becomes golden brown in colour. Do not burn it.
PREPARE SHEER KHURMA
- Add the roasted vermicelli to the hot milk. Let it simmer over low to medium heat.
- Stir the mixture frequently so that it does not stick to the bottom.
- In the meantime, puree the soaked dates and cashew nuts in a blender.
- Add the paste to the simmering vermicelli milk mixture.
- Simmer the sheer khurma till it becomes thick.
- Add the saffron milk mixture, cardamom, nutmeg and rose water.
- Add salt and honey or maple syrup. Mix well. Add the sweetener after tasting the sheer khurma.
- Add the roasted nuts and raisins. Leave some for garnishing.
- Serve it either warm or chilled. Add the remaining nuts and raisin mixture on top as garnish.
Notes
- Some recipes use condensed milk, but I personally do not like the taste. About a cup of condensed milk is added to the milk and boiled. Reduce the amount of sugar if using condensed milk. Also since this is a refined sugar free recipe, I haven't added condensed milk.
- Choice of nuts that can be used are walnuts, cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios..
- Use unsalted butter instead of ghee.
- Roast the vermicelli properly so it doesn't taste raw and mushy.
- Can replace the honey or maple syrup with regular white sugar.
- Add chopped dried apricot and figs if you want to.