This is the classic, creamy, and rich sheer khurma recipe for the festival of Eid ul-Fitr. Ghee-roasted nuts, dates, and thin vermicelli are simmered into thick, sweetened milk and flavored with saffron and cardamom.
Soak & Prep Nuts: Take almonds, cashews, and pistachios in one bowl and add enough water (½ inch above nuts) to soak them overnight. Similarly, soak chironji and dried dates in separate bowls. Keep them covered and soak them overnight.
Next day, peel the skin of the almonds and pistachios and discard. Thinly slice almonds, pistachios, and cashews. Keep it aside.
Also, remove the skin of chironji seeds. Rub the chironji seeds between your thumb and finger and the peel comes out easily. It is a little tedious task but worth it.
For dried dates, open them using a sharp knife and discard the seed. Slice them thinly.
To Make Sheer Khurma, Add milk to a heavy bottom pan and turn the heat on medium. Bring the milk to a boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Do stir every 2-3 minutes, scrape the sides and bottom of the pan and make sure that it is not sticking or burning.
Take saffron strands in a small bowl and add around 2 tablespoons of hot milk to it and let the saffron soak, so it brings out its flavor and color.
While milk is simmering, on another stove, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a wide pan on medium heat. Once hot add sliced nuts and chironji. Roast them with stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes or until they get a slight color change and become crispy. No need to brown them.
Add raisins and sliced dates. Roast them for a minute or two or until raisins get plumped up and dates become aromatic.
Add these roasted nuts, and dates mixture to simmering milk and mix.
In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee, once hot add vermicelli (break/crush them into small 1-2 inches long pieces). Keep stirring and roasting until they get golden brown color. Be careful here, as thin vermicelli gets burned faster, if needed lower the heat to low-medium.
Add this roasted vermicelli along with all the ghee to the simmering milk. Let the mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes and the vermicelli will soften quickly.
Add condensed milk, cardamom powder, and saffron-milk. Mix everything well.
Bring this mixture to a gentle simmer and let it simmer until it thickens (around 10 minutes). Notice that earlier ghee is floating on the top, as it simmers, everything gets mixed up and results in a thick, creamy mixture.
Keep in mind that it will thicken as it cools down.
Notes
Forgot to soak nuts the night before? If so soak the nuts and dried dates in boiling hot water for 30 minutes only. But it is highly recommended that you soak overnight to reduce its warming effect (‘garam taseer’).
Don’t want to buy dried dates just for this recipe? Use fresh Medjool dates. If so no need to soak them, just slice and use them. But keep in mind that dried dates give a good texture in sheer khurma.
Sheer khurma thickens as it cools down and after storing it in the refrigerator. So keep it a little on the thinner side if planning to serve chilled. If planning to serve warm then simmer a little more until you get desired consistency.