Ingredients

• 2 liters whole milk, (the milk should not be skimmed but the cream retained)
• 1/2 kg - sugar
• 50 gms - vermicelli, roasted and broken into tiny pieces
• 200 gms - kharak or dried dates sliced with the help of a nutcracker and soaked in water to soften
• 50 gms - almonds, blanched and slivered fine
• 50 gms - pistachios, shelled and slivered
• 50 gms - charoli nuts, blanched
• 100 gms - raisins, preferably sweet, not sour, soaked in water, with stems removed
• seeds of a few elaichi or cardamoms, ground
• a dash of ground jawantri
• a dash of ground jaiphal or nutmeg
• a few threads of kesar or saffron threads soaked in a spoonful of warm water (optional)

How to Make Sheer Kurma

• Bring the milk to a boil, keep stirring so cream does not form.
• While the milk is boiling, roast vermicelli to a light golden brown, break into small pieces, and keep aside.
• Add the sugar to the milk and keep it boiling on a low flame, stirring from time to time, till the milk thickens to almost half of the original quantity.
• Add the vermicelli gently so that it does not form lumps.
• Keep stirring till the vermicelli is cooked.
• Add the ground spices and kesar, stirring all the time. Take off the stove.
• To Serve:
• Fill small individual bowls with the sheer khorma.
• Sprinkle chopped dried fruit and serve hot.