As Ramadan comes to an end, Muslims worldwide eagerly anticipate celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr. The full and new phases of Ramadan are traditionally indicated by the sighting of the moon. Meethi Eid, or Eid al-Fitr, is observed on the first day of the 10th Shawwal in the Islamic calendar. The festivities for this year are scheduled for April 11, 2024.
Families look forward to this culinary spectacle every year, which is the centerpiece of the Eid celebrations. The following five classic recipes are carefully chosen to entice your taste buds and explain why these foods are so highly valued in Muslim culture.
1. Sheer Kurma
(Recipe Credit: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)
Ingredients used:
- 50 grams roasted vermicelli
- 5-6 cups milk
- 2 tbsps ghee
- 10-12 cashew nuts, vertically halved
- 8-10 almonds, vertically halved
- 1½ tbsps chironji
- ¼ cup condensed milk
- 12-15 pistachios, blanched, peeled and slivered
- ½ tsp green cardamom powder
- A pinch of nutmeg powder
Procedure:
1. In a large, nonstick pan, heat the ghee. Add the chironji, cashew nuts, and almonds and sauté till golden brown. Transfer to a platter and drain out the ghee.
2. Warm up the leftover ghee in the pan and add the roasted vermicelli and sauté for a minute. Set it aside, once sauteed well.
3. In the same pan, stir in condensed milk well. Bring the mixture to a boil while cooking.
4. Add the fried vermicelli and fried nuts and stir. Pistachios should be added and well mixed. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix thoroughly after adding the nutmeg and green cardamom powders.
5. Turn off the heat and pour into separate serving dishes.
2. Nihari Gosht
(Recipe Credit: Chef Kunal Kapur)
Ingredients used:
Spice Mix for Masala Bag:
- 2 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- ¼ Nutmeg
Marination (Mutton):
- 1 kg Mutton (nalli, noti, chop)
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder
Oil:
- ½ cup Mustard oil
- ½ cup Water
- 1 Lemon
- ½ tsp Salt
Frying:
- 2 cups Sliced onions
- ¾ cup Onion paste
- 3-4 Cloves
- 4-5 Cardamom
- 2 Cinnamon sticks (1 inch)
- Water as required
For Curry:
- ½ cup Curd
- 3 tbsp Poppy seeds
- ¼ cup Dry Grated Coconut
- 1½ tbsp Coriander powder
For Potli Masala:
- 75 gm Whole coriander
- 80 gm Green cardamom
- 10 gm Cloves
- 10 gm Black peppercorn
- 8 gm Mace
- 2 Bay leaves
- ½ Nutmeg
- 30 gm Black cardamom
- 20 gm Fennel seeds
- 40 gm Cinnamon sticks
- 50 gm Shahi jeera
- 8 gm Dry Rose Petals
- 10 gm Cubeb pepper
- 20 gm Pan ki Jad
- 10 gm Long pepper
- 10 gm Stone flower
- 15 gm Indian cassia buds
- 20 gm Vetiver roots
- 25 gm Sandalwood powder
Finishing:
- 3 tbsp Roasted gram flour
- 3 tbsp Cashew paste
- 2 tsp Potli masala
- Pinch of Mace Powder
- Pinch of Cardamom Powder
- ½ tsp Black Pepper powder
- 2 tsp Screw Pine water
- 1 drop Sweet Perfume
- 2 Green chillies, slit
- Handful of chopped Coriander
Garnish:
- Handful of Fried onions
- Few Lemon wedges
Procedure:
1. First, we make and store a potli with whole coriander, methi dana, and nutmeg. In essence, a potli is a spice bundle. To make it, you can use muslin material.
2. Marinate the meat with ginger garlic paste, turmeric, chili powder, and salt; set aside.
3. Add a little salt and a few lemon drops to ½ cup water. Once the mustard oil is heated, add the salt and lemon water to taste.
4. After the water has completely evaporated, place the spice bag in the pan and brown the onions that have been sliced.
5. After they turn brown, take them out and cut them while draining the oil. Set them aside.
6. Transfer the strained oil and spice bag to the same pan. Add the onion paste to the heated oil. Further add the cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom.
7. Add the marinated meat and the fried, chopped onion. After roasting the meat for ten to fifteen minutes while stirring it constantly, add water or stock, cover, and simmer the meat until it is halfway done.
8. Preheat a small pan and add the desiccated coconut and khus khus. Give it time to cool. Add curd and thoroughly grind it.
9. Add the coconut paste, curd, khus, and coriander powder once the moisture has evaporated and the oil surfaces have become smooth. Roast the masala till the oil comes to the surface, then skim and discard the oil, setting it aside for garnish.
10. To make potli masala, roast whole coriander, peppercorn, black peppercorn, mace, bay leaves, nutmeg, black cardamom, saunf, cinnamon, dry rose petals, patthar ke phool, balchar, khas ki jad, pan ki jad, pipli, and kabab chini. Once it has cooled down, grind it into a fine powder and blend thoroughly with the chandan powder.
11. Cook the meat until it is almost done by adding extra water or stock. Finally, blend bhuna besan and raw cashew paste with a little water, then stir into the boiling nihari.
12. Add pepper powder, javitri elaichi powder, potli masala, kewra water, and ittar to nihari to finish. Remove the spice pouch.
13. Add some chopped coriander and fried onions as garnish.
3. Shahi Tukda
(Recipe Credit: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)
Ingredients used:
- 4-8 white bread slices
- 4 cups milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
- ¼ cup blanched and sliced pistachios + for garnishing
- Ghee for shallow-frying
- Sugar syrup for drizzling
- Silver varq for coating
Procedure:
1. Heat the milk in a nonstick pan and bring it to a boil in order to produce rabdi. Stir from time to time until thickened.
2. Stir in sugar thoroughly. Add in the cardamom powder and simmer for one minute, then add the pistachios as well. Take off the heat and chill in the refrigerator.
3. In another non-stick pan, heat some ghee.
4. Divide the bread slices into four equal pieces.
5. Lightly cook the portions in heated ghee till they get golden brown on both sides. Soak the excess oil in paper.
6. Place the pieces of fried bread on a plate. After adding sugar syrup, sprinkle rabdi on top. Dust with silver varq and add pistachios.
