Seviyaan are an integral part of Ramadan and Eid celebration in every Muslim. Seviyaan can be made in different ways and this is one of those ways. Though Vermicelli is made in almost all Indian Families, sweet and spicy, but there is something very special about “seviyaan Zarda” or sweet seviyaan that is cooked in Muslim families during the holidays. The taste is awesomely delicious and is always treated as something very special. I personally always looked forward to the seviyaan made by my mother every Eid.
I have a funny story with this dish. So, after I got married, during my initial “cook to impress hubby” days, I asked my mother for the seviyaan recipe. Back home, in India, people like my mother don’t cook with proper measurements, but its mostly a calculation done while cooking and always comes out perfect. So, my mother gave me the recipe based on her calculations, but what she didn’t realize is that I required perfect measurements. Anyways, I started cooking and was happy that it smelt and looked like what my mother makes. Once done, I decorated my seviyaan and started waiting for Mr. Parveez to get back from work. I felt he will be super impressed and happy and honestly, he did love the look but just as he took a spoon to dig on, he just couldn’t stop laughing. My seviyaan, once on room temperature got so hard that it if thrown at someone, the other person could get injured. Mr. Parveez though behaved like a good husband and tried his level best to break that rock solid seviyaan. That time I didn’t understand what went wrong but now I do. I put too much sugar and very little water . The imbalance of ingredients made the dish terrible.
After that episode, Mr. Parveez cooked seviyaan and since then seviyaan became his dish, which he would cook on Eid and other special days… and I always enjoyed them and so did my boys, till one day I learnt that seviyaan can also be made with Khoya and I felt that this recipe is pretty different from what Mr. Parveez cooks and it should come out good. I must say, this is one of the best kinds I have ever eaten.
Here the Vermicelli is cooked with milk solids and is very different from the seviyaan we normally make. The dish is cooked using Ghee and its a request that if you decide to make this dish Please use Ghee. No matter what oil you use, it will never make the dish appear, smell or taste this amazing unless you make it using Ghee. Please follow the recipe properly in order to get a perfect dish. This dish serves as a great sweet dish for parties, specially Eid and Ramadan. It can be prepared a day before and just needs to be reheated.
If you like this Please do have a look at Gulbahar as well.