Eid special: Sweets you can easily prepare at home

Kesar Badam Phirni

Kesar Badam Phirni

Ingredients
>> Rice 60 gm
>> Milk 1 ltr
>> Sugar 200 gm
>> Cardamoms 6 to 8
>> Saffron few strands
>> Almonds for garnish

Method
>> Rinse the rice a couple of times in water, drain and let it dry on its own or wipe the grains dry with a kitchen towel.
>> Take the rice grains in a dry grinder or coffee grinder and grind the rice till the consistency resembles sooji or rava or fine semolina.
>> Heat milk in a thick-bottomed pan or sauce pan or kadai, when the milk becomes warm, take 1 tbsp from it in a bowl and stir the saffron strands in this warm milk and keep aside.
>> Let the milk reach to a boil and then lower the flame and add the ground rice.
>> Stir and add sugar on a low to medium flame and cook the ground rice in the milk.
>> Do not cover the pan and keep on stirring at intervals so that the lumps are not formed.
>> Powder the cardamoms in a mortar-pestle.
>> When the rice is almost cooked, add the cardamom powder and saffron dissolved milk.
>> Stir and cook for a further 5-6 minutes or more or till the phirni thickens.
>> Pour the phirni in serving bowls (preferably earthen bowls) and chill in the refrigerator.
>> Garnish with dry fruits and saffron strands and serve chilled.

Information courtesy: Executive Chef Girish Kumar, Courtyard by Marriott Chakan

Sheer Khurma

Ingredients
>> Vermicelli (sewaiyan) 200 gm
>> Ghee 50 gm
>> Milk 1.5 ltr
>> Condensed milk 50 ml
>> Sugar 100 gm
>> Green cardamoms 5-6
>> Ghee 50 gm
>> Saffron 1 gm
>> Dates (soaked and chopped) 50 gm
>> Pistachios 30 gm
>> Sunflower seeds 30 gm
>> Cashewnuts 30 gm

Method
>> Heat ghee in a large non-stick kadhai/sauce pan. Add crushed vermicelli and saute for few minutes till it becomes golden brown. Keep aside.
>> Heat milk in another pan, add cardamom pods, saffron and reduce to three-fourth of its volume.
>> Add sugar, vermicelli and condensed milk. Add chopped dates and Nuts. Cook on a low flame for 15 minutes and
serve hot.

Information courtesy: Executive Sous Chef Deepak Barua, Hyatt Pune