Hearts fill with longing as the scintillating scents of sweetened milk and ghee roasted
nuts waft through a happy home.
This is the magic of Sheer Khurma.
Prep starts with the soaking of all the nuts the night before.
A handful of crunchy almonds soaked until soft.
Pistachios, a favourite of Royals with their opulent colours of purple and green.
And some chironji or charoli, a tiny nut positively brimming with robust flavour.
The sevaiyan or vermicelli used must be pre-fried.
The experts allege that this is essential for the right flavour.
If those cannot be found, roast your sevaiyan in ghee properly before adding it in.
Skinning the almonds should be fairly easy because of their size and willingness to part
from their covers.
Pistachios pose no challenge in this department either.
If you don’t get time to soak overnight, then add them to boiling water for 60 seconds
Peeling the charoli, however, is a different matter.
Peeling these pesky nuts requires patience and fortitude.
Rub them between your palms and then pick out the remaining covers with your fingers.
Now cut your almonds and pistachios into long slivers.
We do this so the milky flavours of the sheer penetrate through the nuts.
Take two cardamom pods and split them to remove the black seeds.
Crush these to get a fresh, fragrant powder.
Though seemingly unusual, we roast the saffron for this recipe.
This helps intensify the flavour as well as makes the saffron brittle so it can be crumbled
into small bits.
You then place your milk to heat up while we prepare to roast the nuts.
Heat up some ghee.
A couple of cloves to boost the flavour.
And then add in prepared nuts.
These will need to roasted for about 5 to 6 minutes on a medium flame.
A light colour and some firmness is all we’re looking for.
Then add in your sevaiyan.
Give this a quick minute just to coat with a layer of ghee and you’re done.
Now back to the milk
Skim the cream off the top and sides and add it back to the milk.
This will make the sheer even thicker.
Now add the roasted nuts and sevaiyan.
Then in goes your freshly crushed cardamom and the fragrant roasted saffron.
A few tbsps of condensed milk, will give the dish body and sweetness.
You’ll then add half your sugar.
Remember that you can always add more sugar but can’t take any out.
So be conscious of the amount and taste frequently.
Stir and marvel at the gorgeous fragrance.
A good cheat for a hint of colour is caramel.
You can start caramelising the rest of your sugar.
A dry pan on low heat and patience is all that’s needed.
When it’s a glistening golden bronze, it’s good to go.
Now, this mixture needs to simmer for about 30 minutes to thicken.
Serve up your delicious Sheer Khurma, hot from the Glamrs kitchen with a side of warm
smiles and hearty conversation as you celebrate the wonderful occasion of eid.
Thank you for watching!