Sheer khurma is a luscious, rich and creamy dessert made with vermicelli cooked with milk, dried dates, and adorned with nuts and rose petals. It is a must-have dessert for the festival of Eid. Try this easy recipe for delicious Sheer Khurma!
You are going to love this easy, authentic recipe for Sheer Khurma, which was shared by my Pakistani friend's mom.
My mom used to make seviyan kheer with thin vermicelli, but this is next level with the addition of dates, sautéed nuts, and rose petals. So rich and luscious.
So give this easy recipe a try during Eid-ul-fitr along with my chicken karahi and keema recipe. It takes less than 30 minutes of active cooking time. You will not be able to stop at one bowl!
What is Sheer Khurma?
In Farsi (Persian), ‘sheer‘ means milk, and ‘khurma‘ means dates. So it literally means milk with dates.
It is a vermicelli pudding made with dried dates, nuts, and sugar, made during Eid in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Even though the literal meaning of Sheer Khurma says that it must be made with dates, many families make this dessert without dates. Every family has their own favorite recipe for this dish.
I wanted to share the authentic recipe which I got from my Pakistani friend's mom, who generously shared her recipe with me. You will find that this recipe is similar to the Hyderabadi sheer khurma.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It is rich and creamy.
- It can be made in under 30 minutes.
- It can be served warm or cold.
- So good that you can't stop eating!
Sheer Khurma vs Seviyan Kheer
The main difference is that sheer khurma uses luxuries like dates and nuts, while seviyan kheer is simpler to make and uses fewer ingredients. That said, the interpretation of these dishes varies from household to household.
Sheer Khurma uses dates and is usually made with thin vermicelli, whereas seviyan kheer is made with thick vermicelli.
They both use nuts and raisins, but they are much more in quantity in the richer sheer khurma.
During celebrations in India, rice or vermicelli are used to make a lot of kheer or milk puddings. Here are some popular recipes:
Ingredients
Vermicelli: I prefer to use thin toasted vermicelli, also called nylon vermicelli, for sheer khurma. However, the same method will work with thick vermicelli too. It would need 5-7 minutes more cooking time to make them soft.
Whole Milk: I highly recommend using whole milk to get a rich creamy consistency.
I have not added any cream or condensed milk to this recipe, but you can add these if you want to make the sheer khurma quicker or prefer a thicker consistency.
Ghee: I use ghee to toast the dates, nuts, raisins, and vermicelli. You can use butter or oil too. Ghee does show up in the final dish, so if you don't like that, you can use butter for toasting.
Dates: I used dried dates (called chuare in Hindi) in this recipe, which need overnight soaking or a quick boil to make them softer before toasting.
If you are in a hurry, then you can use fresh Medjool dates too. I have tried with that, and it works perfectly.
Nuts & Raisins: Add lots of nuts and raisins to this recipe. I have used almonds and pistachios here. I have blanched the almonds before using them. You can also use store-bought blanched slivered almonds.
Cardamom powder: Enhances the flavor of the final dish. You can also add rose water if you like.
Sugar: As we are adding dates, less sugar is needed in this recipe. If you plan to skip the dates, then add some more sugar.
How to make Sheer Khurma?
Prepare Ingredients
- Dates: Start with soaking the dried dates overnight. Then drain in the morning and remove the seed and chop them.
- Almonds: Soak the almonds for 30 minutes. Then remove the skin, and cut them into thin slivers.
- Pistachios: Remove the pistachios from the shell and sliver them.
Roast Nuts & Vermicelli
- Add ghee to a frying pan and allow it to melt. Add dry dates to it and mix well.
- Add almonds, pistachios, and raisins. Stir it and fry for a couple of minutes. Take out and reserve for later.
- In the same frying pan, add ghee & let it melt.
- Add vermicelli and fry for 2 minutes until it is golden. Take out and set aside.
Note: I highly recommend to toast the vermicelli in ghee even if you bought toasted vermicelli.
Make Sheer Khurma
- In a wok (or same large pan), add milk and bring it to boil. Then lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until milk thickens. Keep stirring at regular intervals. You can use a non-stick pan to avoid the milk from sticking to the pan.
- Add reserved toasted dates, nuts, sugar, cardamom powder, mix well and cook on medium flame for 4-5 minutes, while stirring at regular intervals. You can also add rose water if using at this time.
- Add toasted vermicelli, mix well and cook for 6-8 minutes until desired consistency. Turn off the flame just before you see the perfect consistency, as sheer khurma thickens as it cools.
- Turn off the flame just before you see the perfect consistency, as sheer khurma thickens as it cools.
- Garnish with roasted nuts, dried rose petals & serve!
Tips to make perfect Sheer Kurma
- I highly recommend using whole milk to get the thick consistency.
- Don't shy about the amount of nuts to add, which makes this dessert so rich and delicious. And don't skip roasting the nuts. It helps to release their flavor.
- This sheer khurma thickens quickly once it cools down. So add more milk and adjust consistency as needed.
- Authentically it is made with thin vermicelli noodles. Some people make them with thick vermicelli, but I prefer the thin ones for sheer khurma and thick ones for seviyan kheer.
- Use dates if you have them. It makes the sheer khurma richer and so delicious.
Variations
Here are some of the add ons you can add to this recipe:
Condensed Milk/ Milkmaid or Khoya: You can add grated khoya (mawa) to milk to give it a richer flavor and taste. Or you can add sweetened condensed milk. If using this, remember to skip adding sugar.
Heavy Cream / Evaporated Milk: Some people like to make the pudding creamier by adding heavy cream or evaporated milk.
Saffron: Add 10-15 strands of saffron along with cardamom.
Coconut flakes: You can add 1-2 tablespoon coconut flakes or desiccated coconut to this recipe.
Chironji/Charoli (melon seeds): You can also add choronji to this sheer khurma. Toast it along with the nuts, and then use.
How to Store?
Store leftover sheer khurma in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can serve it cold or warm as desired. Adjust consistency by adding more milk as needed.
Frequently asked questions
Sheer khurma stays good for up to 4 days in the fridge. It's a delicate milk dessert, so don't leave it outside for more than 8 hours.
Replace ghee with coconut oil, and use coconut milk or almond milk.
More Dessert Recipes
📖 Recipe
Sheer Khurma
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or unsalted butter, divided
- 8-10 Dry dates soaked overnight, deseeded and sliced*
- 2 tablespoon Almonds blanched and slivered
- 2 tablespoon Pistachios thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon Raisins washed
- 40 grams Vermicelli crushed
- 1 litre Full Fat Milk
- ½ cup Sugar adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder (Elaichi)
Optional
- 1 teaspoon Rose water
- 1 pinch Saffron strands can add a few whole making with cardamom powder and some for garnishes
Instructions
- Soak dried dates overnight. Then drain in the morning and remove the seed and chop them.
- Add 1 tablespoon ghee to a frying pan and allow it to melt. Add dry dates and saute for a minute.
- Add almonds, pistachios and raisins. Give it a stir and fry for couple of minutes. Take out and reserve for later.
- In the same frying pan, add the remaining ghee & let it melt.
- Add vermicelli and fry for 2 minutes. Take out and set aside.
- In a wok (or same large pan), add milk and bring it to boil. Then lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until milk thickens. Keep stirring at regular intervals. You can use a non-stick pan to avoid the milk from sticking to the pan.
- Add reserved toasted dates (save some for garnish), nuts, sugar, cardamom powder, mix well and cook on medium flame for 4-5 minutes, while stirring at regular intervals.
- Add toasted vermicelli, mix well and cook for 6-8 minutes until desired consistency. However turn off the flame just before you see the perfect consistency, as sheer khurma thickens as it cools.
- Garnish with roasted nuts, dried rose petals & serve!
Video
Notes
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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