On the day of Eid, every household makes some desserts. The most common and traditional desert is shemai. Some other deserts are payesh, jordabhat, pudding, faluda etc.
However, if you are planning to come out of the tradition, here are some variations idea for you.
Unique shemai items
Since shemai is an item which must be present in our eid day dessert menu, why not make something unique using shemai as the main ingredient?
Sheer khurma
It’s just like your regular milk shemai but with the addition of dates. The flavour of dates will be overpowering in this desert.
To make this, you need your regular shemai, dry fruits and dates that have been soaked all night. The seeds need to be removed from dates and chopped off.
Add them while adding the other dry fruits. Cook until it thickens. Just be careful with the amount of sugar. Because dates are also very sweet.
Shemai pudding
How about making a fusion of shemai and pudding? You need to shallow fry your shemai in some ghee and after making your usual base of the pudding, mix them together.
The shemai will settle down at the bottom making two separate layers of shemai and milk pudding after freezing it. A pure delight to your eyes also.
Shemai-custard basket
This is similar to tart where the tart shell is made with shemai. To make the shell, you have to shallow fry the shemai for a while, add sugar and condensed milk.
Cook until the mixture seems sticky. Then place it in ghee brushed cupcake mould, press well with glass, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. In the meantime, make your regular custard cream.
After 30 minutes, unmold the tarts and fill them with custard cream. Add toppings according to your taste. You can add some fresh fruits, nuts, sugar balls or sprinkles.
Custard shemai
This one is for lazy people as this recipe is simple and consumes less time.
Just shallow fry the nuts and the shemai in ghee individually. Make the custard cream in a little thin consistency. Take the fried shemai in a bowl. Spread the custard all over the shemai. Decorate it with the nuts.
Kunafa
Kunafa or knafeh is a Middle Eastern desert. You will need laccha shemai, butter, sugar syrup, cream cheese for layering and some dry fruits.
First, mash the laccha shemai with butter. Spread the shemai in a mold and press. The cream cheese layer is added and the layering of shemai is done. It goes on according to your preference.
Then bake it until the upper layer becomes crispy. Spread the sugar syrup as per your taste. Use dry fruits for garnishing. The crunch of shemai and the creaminess of cream cheese would feel heavenly to you.
Some other desserts worth trying
Nobabi jorda
A rich version of jorda can be called ‘Nobabi jorda.’
Make the jordabhat the way you usually make it. Prepare the rabri thicker than usual. Boil the milk and make it half of its portion through boiling. There will be a lot of milk skin seen after that.
Add powdered milk and sugar. In a high flame, stir it until it gets thick. It will need 20 minutes of resting time.
Then take small serving glasses. Layer the rubric and jorda one after another. Garnish it with some dry fruits. It should be served chilled. It tastes much different than your regular jordabhat.
Green mango delight
Summer has arrived and this is the season of green mangoes. This dessert will be a showstopper for the sour lovers.
Green mango puree is made. Then on low flame, it is cooked along with sugar and salt. Just when it will start to boil, add the food colour and cornflour (mixed with water). At this stage try to continuously stir the mixture so that no lumps generate within it.
When it seems to be thick, pour it into a glass, refrigerate it and after 1 hour unmold it. Cut it horizontally to make a circular shape. Cover it with some powdered sugar or dry coconut flakes and serve.
Shahi tukra
It’s a delicious dessert made with bread. There are 3 steps to make it. In step one, you have to cut the bread in a triangular shape and toast it with ghee. In step two, the sugar syrup is made. Then the bread slices are dipped in the syrup and placed on the serving dish.
The third step is to make the malai. Boil the milk, thicken it, and add condensed milk and sugar. Continuously stir it and when it becomes dense, pour it on the bread slices. You can spread some roasted dry fruits as well to give it a crunch.
Mahalabia
Mahalabia is a Middle Eastern desert. To make this dish, boil the full cream milk with sugar, add cornflour (mixed with milk) and cook it on low flame. Then pour it into a bowl, and add vanilla essence and processed cream cheese. Mix it well.
Transfer it to your serving small glasses. Let it be set for at least 4 hours. After 4 hours, pour a spoonful of rooh afza in each glass. Garnish it with some dried coconut flakes and crushed pistachios.
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