Celebrate Eid- ul- Fitr with these sweet traditional delights

Eid- ul- Fitr is the event of sweetness, joys and happiness. The festive season is approaching as Eid ul Fitr moon is about to sight. The shopping and preparations are at peak. The most happening thing about this Eid is food. The festival is incomplete without sweet, yummy and traditional food prepared and served to the guests. Families prepare Eid recipes for dinners and dawats.

Eid-ul-Fitr is also known as Meethi Eid which is all about Sweet Dishes. Here are some of the traditional sweet dishes along with few new recipes which you would love to try this Eid.

Sheer Khurma

Eid ul Fitr is incomplete without this important dish Sheer Khurma. Sheer Khurma, which is also spelt as Sheer korma is a rich Mughlai dessert of vermicelli. It is mainly made during festive occasion of Eid . The sweet pudding is made with milk, vermicelli, dried dates and sugar. ‘Sheer‘ stands for milk and ‘khurma‘ stands for dates in Farsi from where the dish originated.

Ingredients

• 5 cups full cream milk
• 50 gm roasted vermicelli-broken into small pieces
• 50 gm dried coconut-grated
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 Tbsp chopped dates
• 10-12 raisins
• 1/4 cup almonds-blanched and cut into pieces
• 1/2 tsp khus (vetiver)
• 2-3 vark leaves (silver foil commonly found on barfis)

Method:

In a wide pan simmer the milk till it thickens to the consistency of cream. Add the vermicelli, coconut, sugar, cardamom, dates and half of the raisins and almonds. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the vetiver. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the silver leaves and the rest of the almonds and raisins. Serve hot or cold.

Meethi Seviyan

One of the most popular desserts for Eid, the Meethi Sewai is basically, Vermicelli cooked in milk with dry fruits such as almonds and pistachios.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pistas
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1 packet vermicelli
• Desi ghee to cook vermicelli
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar syrup
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• A pinch of saffron
• A handful of khoya

Method:

Blanch the almonds and pistas in water. Boil them for not more than 30 to 45 seconds. Blanching not only makes them soft but also makes it easy to peel off their skins. While the pistas are blanching, peel the almonds. Once the skin of the dry fruits starts wrinkling that when you take them out, now slices them. Once this is done cook the vermicelli in desi ghee. Once it gets a lovely brownish hue, take it out.

Badaam Kheer

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds-blanched
• 5 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2-3 green cardamoms-crushed
• 1 tsp saffron

Method:

Shred 1/4 of the almonds into thin strips and grind the rest to a paste, with help of some of the milk. Cook the rest of the milk, till 2/3 remains. Add the almond paste, sugar, cardamoms and saffron. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Transfer on to a serving dish, chill and serve.

Ras Malai

Ras Malai is a sweet dessert originating in Pakistan and is popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. Homemade Ras Malai is usually made up of powdered milk, all-purpose flour, baking powder and oil; needed to form dough, molded into balls and dropped into simmering milk with cream. Here is a recipe to make delicious and easy Ras Malai.

Ingredients for dough

• Milk powder – 1 cup
• Baking powder – 1 tsp
• Flour – 3 tbsp
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Egg – 1 ½

1. Make soft dough with milk powder, oil, baking powder, flour and lightly beaten egg. Make small balls and flatten them.

Ingredients for Milk

• Sugar – 1 cup
• Milk – 1 litre
• Khoya or mava – 125gm
• Green cardamom – 2
• Pistachio, almond – as required

Method:

1. In a pan, boil milk with sugar and green cardamom.
2. When sugar dissolves, add khoya, mix well.
3. Then dry milk balls and cook on low heat until size doubles.
4. When done, let it cool.
5. Garnish with chopped pistachio and almond.
6. Serve this yummy and easy Ras Malai on Eid Day.

Fruit Custard

Ingredients

• Milk: 750 liters
• Vanilla Custard Powder: 3 - 4 tea spoons (or flavor of your choice)
• Sugar: 4 - 5 table spoons (or to your taste)
• Strawberry - 5 or 6 pieces, chopped
• Pulp of 1.5 or 2 oranges
• Half a pomogranate
• 1 chopped apple
• 1 chopped banana

Method:

1. Take a vessel with a heavy base, preferably non-stick, so that the cream doesn't stick.
2. Take some cold milk in a vessel and mix the custard powder in it, to a smooth solution.
3. Bring the milk to boil, then add the custard powder dissolved milk to it. add some spoons of cold mil intermittently for better results Make sure there are no custard powder bubbles in it. Put the flame low. Add sugar.
4. When the preparation thickens, after 5 to 10 minutes, remove the vessel from the burner, and let it cool. Cool the preparation then put it into the freezer to freeze it.
5. Before serving, put all cut fruits into a vessel, and pour the cold preparation on the fruits. You can also add condensed milk if you want for enhanced taste. Your preparation is ready to serve!

Firni

Firni is usually prepared at Eid ul Fitr, family parties and different festive occasions. It doubles the joys of merriment, success and happiness. Firni is a luscious pick from Punjabi sweet recipes. It is a very famous pudding of Pakistan and India. This rice dessert renders a lovable taste; more recipes like this firni dessert are badam kheer and rice kheer.

Ingredients

• ¾ cups flaked almonds, (bareek katay huay badam)
• 10-12 green cardamoms (choti/hari ellaichi)
• 3-4 table spoons newly harvested cheapest long grain rice,(sastay walay, naye chawal)
• ¾ or 1 cup sugar
• 1 kg full cream milk
• 1 and ¼ cup or 250- 300 ml thickened/fresh/whipping/double cream
• ½ - 1 tea spoon rose water (optional)

Method:

1. Soak rice for 3-4 hours in water.
2. In a small blender/grinder blend together, the seeds of green cardamom, rice with the water in which they are soaked and the almonds;keep some almonds for garnishing.
3. Blend these into a paste.
4. Put milk and the rice-almond paste in a pot and cook on low-medium flame, don't move away from the pot, stay near and keep stirring because it might burn.
5. It will get thick like kheer so keep stirring. Sugar will melt and firni will get thinner; then cook for sometime so that it becomes thick again.
6. When its boiling again and the bubbles are moving slowly then add thickened cream and rose water.
7. Let it come to boil again so that cream is also cooked in firni.
8. Dish out and garnish with flaked almonds.
9. Remove at the right consistency; it will get thicker when cooled down in fridge.