Kimami Seviyan or Meethe Sewai is the most delicious and luscious dessert I have ever tasted. The festival of eid is just incomplete without a vermicelli dessert, be it Kimami or Sheer Khurma.
There are a few dishes that I instantly fall in love with the moment I taste it for the first time. Kimami Seviyan is one of those desserts and I always dreamt and wished to prepare it with confidence. I had this feeling that it must be very difficult and tricky, whereas to my surprise Kimami Seviyan turned out to be the easiest of all the traditional desserts I know.
What is Kimami Seviyan?
Kimami Seviyan is now almost synonymous with the eid festivals and no eid is complete without this dessert. Seviyan means vermicelli, generally very thin in texture and used exclusively for making desserts.
Kimami is the name given to something that is sweet and flavorful. Kimam is mostly used in preparing sweet pan which is supposed to be a sweet and flavored stuffing like gulkhand.
Whereas in this dessert, kimami is the name given to the sweet syrup in which the vermicelli is being cooked. This sweet syrup could be either made of water or milk.
How to make Kimami Seviyan?
The tricks and tips for making Kimami or Meethe Seviyan
Step 1 – Start by preparing sugar syrup. Here we are not looking for any thick one-string double string syrup. The idea is to make sure that sugar is well dissolved and the syrup is flavored with saffron, rose water, and cardamom.
The syrup is only simmered for 5 minutes on low flame and also taking care not to over boil the mixture which might end up is evaporating most of the liquid. The water used in making syrup is almost double in quantity as compared to the vermicelli. I have taken 500 ml of water for 200 grams of vermicelli.
Step 2 – Toasting the nuts in ghee. Using ghee is an essential part of this dessert which gives extra richness to the entire dish. You can add any nuts of your choice like cashew nuts, pecans, walnuts, etc.
Step 3 – This step involves the preparation of vermicelli and gently toasting it in ghee. I try to crush the vermicelli strand in the packet itself into small bits. This makes it easier for frying evenly and also to cook and stir well. Heat ghee and fry the vermicelli on a slow flame for almost 7 to 10 minutes.
Never try to multi task while frying the vermicelli, as it gets browned or burnt much faster than you can expect.
Step 4 – Finally, we assemble all the preparation together. Once the vermicelli gets a golden hue and smells aromatic, you can slowly add the warm (not hot) sugar syrup. Simultaneously add the remaining ingredients like fried nuts and khoya.
Before stirring much, place the lid and cook on a slow flame for 3 minutes. And then stir it gently to combine the nuts and khoya with vermicelli. Cover it again and this time let it cook on a slow flame for another 10 minutes.
The water should almost dry up and you will see that vermicelli is well cooked and fluffed up. This is the time to turn off the flame and let it stand covered for another 5 minutes.
The dessert is usually served warm or at room temperature.
You can store it in a refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days.
How to make perfect Sheer Khurma?
Kimami Seviyan Recipe Video
Kimami Seviyan
Equipment
- Saucepan
Ingredients
For Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups of water 500 ml
- 1 cup sugar 400 gms
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon kewra water
- Pinch of saffron in 2 tbsp of chilled water
For fried nuts
- 1 teaspoon ghee
- 2 tablespoon chopped pistachio
- ¼ cup chopped almonds
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup chopped fresh coconut
Other ingredients
- 200 gms crushed thin vermicelli
- ½ cup grated khoya/mawa
- 2 tablespoon ghee for toasting vermicelli
Instructions
For sugar syrup:
- Heat 500 ml of water along with 200 gms of sugar. As the syrup is heating, add ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder or 3 whole green cardamom pieces, 1 teaspoon kewra water or rose water, and saffron soaked water. Stir well and wait for the syrup to boil. Once it starts to boil, simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on slow flame. Cover and simmer to avoid water from evaporating.
For fried nuts:
- Heat a wide non-stick saucepan and add 1 or more teaspoons of ghee. Now add chopped almonds, pistachio, raisins, and chopped coconut pieces and toast all of these on slow flame until light golden. Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, place the vermicelli and crush it into small bits using your palms.
- In the same pan in which you fried nuts, add 2 tablespoons of ghee and toast the vermicelli on slow flame until it turns light golden. This will take at least 7 to 10 minutes. Constantly keep stirring as it might burn if left unattended.
- Now add sugar syrup to the fried vermicelli and stir well. Keep the flame on low and add fried nuts and khoya. Without stirring much, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Now open the lid and give it a stir by mixing nuts and khoya well with the vermicelli.
- Place the lid again and cook on slow flame for 7 to 10 minutes. Once all the liquid dries up and the vermicelli is cooked and fluffed up, turn off the flame.
- Serve this dessert warm or at room temperature.
Video
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