Sunday, November 16, 2008

Semiya ka Meetha

Oh Hello there!

Semiya or vermicelli is famous mostly for "Sheer Kurma", the creamy sweet dish we have every Eid. Here's something I discovered as a child in Oman in one of my aunt's place and boy, was it refreshing to have this sweet dish instead of the regular Sheer kurma. Crunchy, chewy and juicy.....sounds delicious right?

Here's what you need:

  • 500gms vermicelli - get wire-thin and pre-toasted vermicelli if you can.
  • 400gms condensed milk - sweetened (I used good 'ol milkmaid with that pretty lady on top of the tin)
  • 150 gms melted butter - you can use ghee (clarified butter) as well, that's what I did.
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi)

What? No sugar? Nope. Seriously. Trust me.

The sweetened condensed milk will suffice.
Put the vermicelli in a plastic bag and tie a knot. Get your husband/father/son (or whoever is watching TV) to break it all up into little pieces.


Right, get your saucepan out then. Heat the butter and add the vermicelli. Now, on high heat, keep stirring and swishing about the vermicelli in all that lovely butter. Be careful not to leave it alone while frying the vermicelli no matter what. It'll burn pretty quickly if you start daydreaming in the middle. (NO! I DID NOT BURN MINE!!! It's just a warning)



You'll need to continue stirring for at least 10 min until it turns reddish brown in color. Do keep your nostrils alert. We don't want extra toasty (read burnt) vermicelli in this recipe.






Add the cardamom powder to the toasted vermicelli. Carry on stirring. Reduce the heat.



You will notice the butter droplets like this at the bottom of the pan.

Keep the condensed milk ready to pour. Now this is the tricky part. The moment you start pouring the condensed milk into the pan, it's going to get all sticky and gooey. You need to ensure you got your spatula ready with you to give a good stir to the whole mixture when you pour it in.


Go ahead. Pour in the condensed milk and start stirring it immedietly.


Dump the contents on the tray you kept aside a few min ago? What? You dint? DID I NOT TELL YOU TO KEEP IT READY!!! *mumble*mumble*


Flatten it out with a broad spatula and allow to cool for a little while.





Cut into cubes with a large knife. You can cut it into diamonds as well....not a hard based rule, u know. I made laddus out of them too once.


Garnish with nuts - Almonds,pistachios, walnuts, etc (if you have them in stock that is). I personally like them without nuts, but that's just me. Everyone else I know absolutely relishes them with nuts.


Once it's cool, use the spatula to scoop 'em out and serve.
So want to eat Sheer Kurma instead of drinking it? :)
Bon Apetit!

1 comment:

Zaman said...

Nice one and spread around many a home with good results. Pics are action-packed.