Eid Milad-un-Nabi will be celebrated in India on Friday in memory of the Prophet Muhammad. The Holy Prophet was born on the twelfth day of Rabbi-ul-Awwal in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca in 571 AD. Rabbi-ul-Awwal is the third month of the Islamic year. Eid-e-Milad is both a time of rejoicing and a time of mourning since the Prophet passed away on the same day in 632 AD.
The custom of celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet on an enormous scale began in Egypt with the descendants of the Prophet, through his daughter Fatima. It was especially celebrated by theologians and religious institutions. They gathered to hear sermons, distributing sweets, gifts and honey in particular, the Prophet’s favourite.
Lavish feast is an important part of the celebrations. On the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi, here is a list of 5 lip-smacking recipes:
1. Sheer Khurma: In Persian, ‘Sheer’ means Milk and ‘Khurma’ means dates, which means ‘milk cooked with dates’ in English. The savoury dish is made by cooking fine vermicelli, milk, dates, and other dry fruits until they all come together to make a delicious delight. The traditional recipe that is known as Sheer Khurma or Sheer Korma, is a must-make.
Heat ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped nuts – pistachio, cashew, raisins and dates to the pan. Cook for one to two minutes until the nuts are fragrant and turn golden brown. As the raisins plump up, remove the nuts from the pan and set them aside. And to the same pan, add the vermicelli and mix well. Mix the vermicelli and roast it for around two to three minutes, until it turns light golden brown in colour. Pour milk to the pan and stir.
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Keep the heat on medium-high and make the milk come to a boil. To make sure that the vermicelli doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, stir it often in between. Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium and let is boil for another eight minutes. Post the time, milk will reduce and thicken slightly, at this point add in the sugar and mix. Transfer back the fried nuts into the pan and mix. Also add the rose water, cardamom powder and mix. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat and then turn off the heat. Serve Sheer Khurma warm or chilled.
2. Shahi Mutton Biryani: Made with Indian spices, rice, and meat, and sometimes, in addition, eggs or potatoes in certain regional varieties, Biryani is popular throughout the Indian subcontinent, as well as among its diaspora, and can be cooked at any occasion.
Apply ginger-garlic paste to the pieces of meat and leave it for 1 hour to marinate. Till the time, fry onions till brown colour on a very low flame. Cool it and crush it. Mix the third-fourth amount of fried and crushed onion, red chilli powder, curd or yoghurt, cinnamon, cardamom, a paste of green chilli, jeera, coriander leaves, mint leaves, clove pieces saffron water, and salt according to taste. Then add the mixture to marinated meat pieces and leave it for an hour. Prepare aromatic water by mixing 1 tsp of salt,
clove, mint leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander leaves. In a heavy-bottomed vessel, put a layer of semi-cooked rice. Add two to three drops of saffron colour, ghee, lime juice and the remaining fried and crushed onions to the rice layer. Spread the marinated meat pieces over the rice. Repeat putting the leftover semi-cooked rice over the meat pieces and add rose water. After completing the layers, cover it with a vessel lid and put the flame on low. In around fifteen minutes, turn off the flame. Garnish with mint leaves, coriander leaves, and lemon.
3. Hyderabadi Mutton Haleem: A kind of stew comprised of meat, lentils and mixed with wheat made into a thick paste is known as Haleem.
Wash and soak whole wheat grains for half an hour. Add half teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste to mutton. Also add half teaspoon of garam masala, a pinch of turmeric and cook the mixture in a pressure cooker for around 8-10 minutes, maybe around 4 whistles and simmer for next 15-20 minutes. Shred the mutton and keep it aside.
Boil the wheat chana and urad pulses along with two to three number of green chillies, add a tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste, a pinch of turmeric and peppercorns. Bring the ingredients to boil and mix around eight to ten cups of water until the mix is cooked and water is absorbed. Blend the mixture a few times. In another saucepan, pour oil, cooked and shredded mutton pieces, spices, green chillies, coriander and saute the mixture for 2-3 minutes. Add yoghurt and saute for another 12-15 minutes. Add 3 cups of water and boil. To the mixture, add the blended wheat and stir it well. Add ghee accordingly. Simmer it for at least half an hour. Then, garnish the stew with fried onions, fresh coriander leaves, cashew nuts and lemon wedges. Serve hot.
4. Peshawri Naan: A rich Mughlai stuffed bread, Peshawari Naan is filled with dry fruits and grated coconut.
Mix flour, yeast, yoghurt and adequate water to prepare a soft dough in a big bowl. Knead it until it becomes soft. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it for two hours. By the time, prepare the filling by grinding pistachio, raisins and coconut flakes to get a coarse paste. Prepare a smaller dough, fill the dough with the prepared mixture and seal it again in a form of balls. Roll the balls in an oval shape. Preheat the oval-shaped naans at 220 C. bake it for approximately eight minutes until it is puffed, and brown spots are seen. Apply ghee or butter and serve hot.
5. Sweet Rice Phirni: Wash a half cup of basmati rice properly and grind it till it resembles sooji or rava. Keep the ground rice aside. Heat two litres of milk. Take a teaspoon of warm milk, stir 12 to 15 saffron strands in it and keep it aside. When the milk reaches a boil, lower the flame, add the ground rice and sugar as per taste. Stir it. On a low or medium flame, cook the mixture. Don’t cover the pan and stir it continuously to avoid the formation of lumps. Take 18 to 20 almonds and soak for 30 minutes in warm water and peel them.
Chop them into small pieces. Also, powder 6 to 7 cardamoms. When the rice is almost cooked, add cardamom powder, almonds (leave some to garnish) and saffron dissolved in milk. Cook the phirni till the mixture becomes thick. Add rose water Pour it in a bowl, garnish it with the remaining almonds.