Eid marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, the 30-day period that requires Muslims to fast from dawn to dusk. On this festive day (to be observed on July 7 this year in India), most Muslims wake up to the smells of delicious savoury and sweet dishes that waft from the kitchen. In many ways, Eid al-Fitr is rightly known as the 'Feast of Fast.'
While biryani is a popular dish that's often made on Eid, the day's celebrations call for desserts that are rich, dense and oozing with flavours. For any skilled home cook, Eid presents an opportunity to sweeten the occasion with dishes such as Meethi Seviyan, Sheer Khurma, Phirni and the like. These traditional sweets are often prepared in most households on the day of Eid.
However, if you've never tried your hand at these dishes before, then check out some easy dessert recipes for Eid below:
Badam Phirni
This delicious pudding, made with milk, dry fruits, rice, and vanilla essence or kewra, comes to life after it has been slow cooked for hours. This is one of the easiest albeit a time-consuming dessert that takes form when soaked rice and cardamom seeds are added to milk. Add ground almonds when the rice and the milk mixture becomes thick.
Watch the recipe here:
Sheer Khurma
Sheer Khurma is admittedly a favourite on Eid. This Parsi dish, which translates as milk with dates, is dense with flavour. In order to create this dessert, you will have to simmer pistachios, cashews and chironji seeds. Be sure to peel the skin off the pistachios and toss them into a pan with ghee. The dish gains texture as vermicelli and dates are added to a saucepan containing simmering milk.
Watch the full recipe here:
Meethi Seviyan
The name of this dessert tempts one to think of it as the traditional Indian dessert, kheer. However, it is different in that meethi seviyan is served dry, although it is made with milk.
This Eid dessert is slightly lighter in taste compared to the other two recipes posted above. If you'd like to serve a sweet dish that doesn't make one's clothes burst at the seams, then try this recipe. Click here to find out.
Sooji and Dates Halwa
This special dates halwa gets an added ingredient, sooji or rava, more popularly known as semolina. This relatively easy recipe melts in your mouth after the semolina is dry roasted in ghee and later simmered in water. The dates add a certain depth to this special dessert.
Watch the recipe here:
Baklava
Although this dessert isn't as commonly served in India, Baklava does find its place in Turkish homes that celebrate Eid. This rich pastry, made from phyllo dough, walnuts, ground cardamoms, pistachios and almonds is fused with another important component: honey. This results in a dessert that is in equal parts heavenly and satisfying.
You can find Jamie Oliver's recipe of Baklava here.
