Celebrate Eid at home with these classic recipes

Sheer Khurma

The staple: Sheer khurma
For actor Zareen Khan, her fondest childhood memory is that of savouring the sheer khurma made by her nani on Eid. "Our whole khandan would gather at her home in Bandra for lunch and we'd savour her food, especially the sheer khurma. I'm glad she passed on the legacy to my mother and I simply adore her version. Back then, the best part for us kids was waiting to get Eidi [gift money] and at the end of the day, we'd count how much we all got and get super happy. Those were simpler times but definitely most cherished," remembers Khan.

Zareen Khan

Ingredients
For 7 litres sheer
khurma: >>7 litres milk >>3 tins condensed milk >>400 gm sevai >>Dry fruits, chopped (as per choice) >>Ghee for roasting

Method
Roast the sevai in ghee and drain out the excess in a sieve. Bring the milk to a boil, add condensed milk and keep stirring. After it boils again, add sevai and let it cook for another three minutes while stirring. Turn the gas off, and add the dry fruits.

Regional delight: Akhni gosht
Cooked in its juices, it is served with sandan (rice cakes) after Eid namaz as breakfast and to those who come to greet. For home chef Mumtaz Kazi, Eid meant going to their native place in the Konkan to celebrate with her grandparents. "The festivities began the night before with the sighting of the moon from our aangan [front yard] and making duas. A day before, my grandfather would bring neera for the fermentation of sandan. On chand raat, the ladies would start preparing and the aromas of slow-cooked food would soon fill the air. We'd eagerly wait for the men to return from namaz to begin the feast. I miss those days," recalls Kazi.

Ingredients
>>500 gm mutton with bones
>>25 gm ginger
>>25 gm garlic
>>5 to 6 green chillies
>>1/2 tsp fennel seeds
>>1 tsp jeera
>>Few sprigs of fresh coriander
>>2 medium tomatoes
>>3 tbsp Kokni mutton masala (a mix of 2 tbsp red chilli powder, 1 tbsp dhaniya powder, 1/2 tbsp jeera powder and 1/2 tbsp garam masala powder)
>>1 tsp haldi
>>3 tbsp roasted dry coconut
>>1 inch cinnamon
>>4 cloves
>>3 green cardamoms
>>5 to 6 black peppercorns
>>3 medium onions, sliced
>>4 tbsp oil
>>Salt as per taste

Mumtaz Kazi

Method
Grind together ginger, garlic, green chillies, fresh coriander, fennel seeds and jeera into a fine green masala paste. Grind the roasted dry coconut along with cinnamon, green cardamom, and clove. Wash and marinate the mutton with salt, green masala and haldi. Heat oil, and fry the sliced onions till light golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and the marinated mutton and roast for a few minutes, adding very little water. Cover and cook till partly done. Now add the Kokni mutton masala, and cook till tender. Add ground coconut paste and cook further till you see oil on the surface. Simmer. Garnish with coriander.

Across the border: Lahori Murgh Biryani
Hailing from the Qureshi family in Lucknow, for Shadab Ahmed, chef de cuisine, Jyran, Sofitel Mumbai BKC, Eid strictly means biryani and sevai. This recipe is his nani's sister's, who was from Lahore. It quickly became a hit in his paternal home as well, thanks to his mother. "This is also called bibi ka murgh, as bibi means lady in Urdu. Back home, the preparations for Eid festivities begin the night before by slow-roasting the sevai to make either kemami sevai or sevaiyon ka muzzafar. The biryani was always Lahori murgh and it would be served with dahi phulki - we try and replicate the same menu for Eid here as well," says Ahmed.

Ingredients
>>250 gm chicken curry cut
>>150 gm basmati rice
>>10 gm yellow chilli powder
>>10 green chillies
>>2 gm green cardamoms
>>5 gm cinnamon sticks
>>3 gm clove
>>2 gm black cardamom
>>25 gm ginger-garlic paste
>>100 gm pure ghee
>>100 gm brown onion
>>5 bay leaves
>>50 ml lemon juice
>>Salt to taste

Method
Heat ghee in a copper vessel (lagan); add whole spices and let them crackle. Add chicken and sauté, followed by salt, ginger-garlic paste and brown onions. Sauté further till the oil separates. Add yellow chilli powder and green chillies, and cook well with little water. Meanwhile, wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes. Boil water in a pan and add the whole spices, salt and lemon juice. Add the rice to this mixture and cook till two-thirds is done. Layer the cooked chicken with the boiled rice. Add a mixture of ghee and a little cream on it. Line the lid with dough to seal and put the vessel on an iron griddle or tawa, and cook for 15 minutes on dum. Garnish with fried onions, coriander, mint and elaichi powder. Serve hot with raita of choice.

Shadab Ahmed

Order in

>> Cheesy fun: Chef Devansh Jhaveri is doing an Eid special with Your Place or Mine sheerkurma cheesecake made with milk-soaked sevaiya and dates. Topped with slivered dry fruits, this is one treat you must not miss.
Log on to: @your.place.or.mine on Instagram
Cost: Rs 1,000 for 1/2 kg and Rs 1,900 for 1 kg

>> Turkish delight: Hurrem's luxe hampers are a great way to indulge in Turkish treats like Meyveli Beyoglu or kurabiye. You can also opt for their assorted baklavas, lokums and Turkish delight gift box.
Log on to: @HurremsBaklava on Instagram
Cost: Rs 175 per 100 gm onwards