Vivek Singh’s Indian Festival Feasts

Eid al-Fitr is a great celebration and a time of thanksgiving, signifying the successful completion of the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast between the hours of sunrise and sunset. It is a special month for Muslims the world over, as a time of spiritual reflection, self-accountability and giving to charity. It is one of the most important months in the Islamic calendar as it is believed to be when the holy book – the Qur’an – was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed.

The word Eid means festivity in Arabic, and Fitr comes from the word fatar which means breaking, which therefore references the breaking of fasts in Ramadan, and a celebration of an end of this fasting. Following the month-long period of fasting, Eid al-Fitr becomes a great occasion to thank God for giving believers the willpower and endurance to observe the fast. It’s also a time to renew one’s faith and seek God’s blessings.

Eid is celebrated much like an open-house event for everyone in the community to interact with one another as a reminder of God’s grace in each other’s lives. Therefore, ‘sharing and caring’ is the principal of Eid and what Islam as a religion emphasises. I remember there would always be people outside mosques distributing food to the whole community. The act of celebrating was all-encompassing, and everyone would get involved. If there happened to be a mosque, market or a fun fair in your area, it didn’t matter what caste, creed or religion you were, as a child it was fun to get involved in all of the celebrations and you were welcomed. For everybody we knew who was observing Ramadan and Eid, we would make the effort to visit and greet them, and likewise they would send something to our home.

Today, there are over 500 million Muslims throughout the Indian subcontinent, making it one of the largest population centres of Muslims in the world. As a result, Islamic festivals are prominent in the Indian calendar, and are a well-established part of the social fabric. In India, all communities join Muslims in celebrating Eid al-Fitr. You see markets and fun fairs popping up, selling toys, gifts, sweets and snacks. Hindus, Sikhs and Christians greet their Muslim friends on this day, and if you didn’t meet someone until a week after Eid al-Fitr, you would still wish them a Happy Eid! The celebration truly brings out the cosmopolitan nature of both the festival and India, and shows how it transcends boundaries of pure religion, becoming a social occasion.

What I like about Eid, and the community that celebrates it, is that it’s not simply a party, but also a time for giving thanks, as well as evoking a sense of sharing, community, being with family and giving to those less fortunate. Even in the run up to Eid al-Fitr, during the nights of Ramadan, iftar parties would be held so that people in the community could congregate to break their fast together. There is a sense of excitement around this occasion and everyone helps with the preparation; and before you’ve even broken your fast, you would share some food with your neighbour, whether they were fasting or not. These parties provide a real feeling of community; the President of India even organises an iftar party for MPs, and his lead is picked up by leaders of business and industry, civil servants, chief justices and MDs of companies, right down to small towns and villages, where people and families of prominence throw parties to acknowledge the role of Muslim colleagues. I remember my dad being out several nights a week attending one iftar party after the other! Much like most other festivals, regardless of and completely separate from faith, the number of invitations you had to the iftar parties was an indication of how active one’s social life was.

Traditions and ways of celebrating Eid al-Fitr include waking up early, eating something sweet before going to Eid prayer at the mosque, visiting the graves of passed loved ones, giving money to charity, wearing your new or best clothes and wearing perfume. As with most of the festivals in this book, it is also common to exchange gifts.

As a child, even though we weren’t fasting, it was absolutely acceptable for us to ask for a token gift from our elders. I didn’t have much engagement in the religious aspect, but the joy one felt when embracing one another, and being wished happy Eid, was truly memorable. And of course, who doesn’t like receiving something for nothing – whether it was just dates, dried fruits or maybe a bowl of vermicelli or biryani, or even sometimes more substantial gifts, such as embroidered handkerchiefs with a small perfume.

One of the main Eid traditions, though, is enjoying a meal together. The feasts begin literally at the doorstep of the mosque, where miraculously, street markets spring up in the days leading up to Eid al-Fitr, selling sweet rice, vermicelli, phirni and other boiled sweets I loved as a child. Other stalls sell kebabs, a few may sell biryani, others bangles, toys, paan, perfume, flowers, incense – you name it and it is likely to be there!

The meal itself is mostly celebrated at home with family and will traditionally comprise a couple of curries, a few kebabs, perhaps a biryani, sheer khorma – all of which you can find in this chapter.

Muslim boys greet one another after prayers at Eid al-Fitr. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty)

The market place in the old city of Hyderabad is full of shoppers ahead of Eid al-Fitr. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty)

In the mid-eighteenth century, competition between cooks and chefs (then known as bawarchis and rakabdars) increased in Lucknow, with each trying to out-do the others by creating different and more luxurious dishes than his rivals. The use of gold leaf to finish a dish, either as decoration or by incorporating it into the sauce, was one such attempt as gold leaf is symbolic of the ultimate luxury. This is a dish to stand out – the piéce de résistance and a great example of Lucknow’s sophistication and culinary development.

50g large dried morels – the largest you can find! (Dried morels are expensive, so you could substitute a variety of dried wild mushrooms such as oyster, shiitake or maitake)

Wash the morels thoroughly to remove any grit, then soak them in 200ml of water for 30 minutes. Drain the morels, reserving the liquid, and pat them dry on kitchen paper.

To make the onion paste, heat the vegetable oil in a pan and deep fry the onions until golden. Mix the onions with the yoghurt and 2 tablespoons of water and blend into a paste using a blender or food processor. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee in a heavy-based pan and add ½ teaspoon of the royal cumin seeds. As it crackles, add the morels and sauté for a couple of minutes until they soften and brown. Add the remaining royal cumin seeds, let them crackle for 1 minute or two, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining ghee to the same pan, add the mace, cardamom, black pepper and allspice and stir for 1 minute or two, then add the chicken pieces and sauté for 2–3 minutes over a high heat. Add the ginger-garlic paste and the fried onion paste and mix together. Stir for another 2–3 minutes, then add the red chilli powder and salt and cook for another 2–3 minutes.

Add the yoghurt little by little over a high heat, stirring continuously to make sure that the yoghurt is thoroughly mixed into the dish and does not split. Bring the yoghurt to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Next, add the stock and the reserved soaking liquid from the morels. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces from the sauce and pass the sauce through a strainer to remove the whole spices.

Return the sauce to the pan and bring back to the boil. Reduce to the desired consistency if required, then stir in the cream, saffron, garam masala and grated nutmeg, add the chicken pieces back to the sauce and simmer for a brief minute or so to heat up.

Just before serving, add the morels into the curry, finish with rose water if you wish and turn out onto a shallow dish. If you wish, decorate the dish with gold leaves.

This is an unusual dish in the sense that most celebratory biryanis are expected to use lamb, beef or mutton. I think this version brings a nice change to the norm and, most importantly, the use of fenugreek makes it light and irresistibly fragrant, too.

Start by cooking the rice. Pour 1.5 litres of water into a pan, add the royal cumin seeds, salt, cardamom pods and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then add the rice and lime juice and cook for 6–7 minutes until the rice is two-thirds cooked. Drain it and let it cool on an open flat tray.

Start on the chicken next. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat the rest in a heavy-based pan. Add the sliced onions and cook over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes until golden brown. Next add the ginger-garlic paste, stir for 1 minute, then add 2 tablespoons of the chopped fresh fenugreek leaves and stir. Next add the salt, turmeric and chilli powder and cook for a minute or so, sprinkling a little water on if the spices begin to stick or burn. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2–3 minutes.

Add the chicken and slit green chillies and cook for 5–6 minutes, then add the chicken stock or water. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 7–8 minutes until the chicken is cooked and about 350ml liquid remains in the pan. Add the garam masala and the remaining fenugreek leaves, both dried and fresh. Cover with a lid and set aside for a couple of minutes.

To assemble, take a wide pan with a tightly fitting lid and smear the remaining tablespoon of oil over the base. Spread half the cooked rice in the pan, then layer the chicken and gravy over. Cover with the remaining rice.

Sprinkle over the milk and cream and dot the rice with the butter. Place the lid on, and cook for 2–3 minutes over a medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until the rice is steaming. Leave to rest for 5 minutes more.

This has to be the ultimate celebration dish to put on the menu for any feast laid out at Eid. A proper centrepiece, it’s also very simple as far as the number of ingredients go, making this an absolute must try. Do give this a go. It’s traditional to use leg of lamb, but the dish tastes just as good if you use shoulder.

1½ tablespoons black peppercorns, roasted in a dry frying pan for 30–60 seconds, then coarsely crushed

Remove the surface fat from the leg or shoulder of lamb and prick the leg thoroughly using the tip of a sharp knife or a trussing needle (you can ask your butcher to do this for you, if you wish).

Mix all the marinade ingredients together into a paste. Spread the paste all over the lamb and massage the spices in. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or preferably for a few hours in the fridge.

Scatter the whole spices in a deep baking tray large enough to accommodate the leg, then place the marinated lamb on top. Pour over enough water to come three-quarters of the way up the lamb. Cover with foil and cook in the preheated oven for 2½–3 hours until the meat is soft and easily comes off the bone. Remove from the oven and let the leg cool, then drain and reserve the cooking liquor.

Once cool, make deep incisions into the leg and remove the meat from the bone. Cut the meat into 1cm thick slices and arrange on an ovenproof serving platter. Brush with the butter and heat in a warm oven; hold warm until ready to serve.

For the sauce, transfer the strained cooking juices to a pan, add the tomato purée and cook down slowly to a sauce consistency. Add the peppercorns, nutmeg and cream. Check the seasoning and add salt and sugar to taste. Whisk in the butter, remove from the heat and pour over the sliced raan. Sprinkle with spring onions. If using rum, pour it into a ladle and heat it until flaming, then pour over the lamb and bring to the table as the show-stopper.

Top left: Elaichi Paratha
Bottom left: Haleem
Middle: Gucchi aur Murgh Kalia
Top right: Methi aur Murgh Biryani
Bottom right: Mughlai Paratha

These parathas are a firm favourite on the street stalls that spring up outside the mosques during the month of Ramadan. In essence it’s just a filled paratha, but the use of plain flour rather than whole wheat, the addition of eggs and mince, and the elaborate filling process make it suitable for most celebrations. Don’t be put off by the lengthy process – it’s well worth the effort!

To prepare the dough, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, if using, in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the oil. Using your fingers, bring the mixture together to form a dough, adding the warm water slowly and kneading to obtain a dough which is soft and pliable enough to be rolled out thinly. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, heat the oil in a pan and fry half the chopped onions over a high heat for 7–8 minutes until golden brown, then add the lamb and continue to cook over a high heat for another 4–5 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste, all the spices, half the green chillies, salt, sugar and chilli powder. Continue frying the mixture over a high heat for 4–5 minutes or until all the moisture from the meat has dried up. Check the seasoning, then lower the heat, cover and cook for 1 minute or until the meat is cooked thoroughly. Add a few spoonfuls of water if required to prevent the meat and spices burning. Add half the chopped coriander and mix it well. Leave the mixture to cool.

To assemble, divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Also divide the cooked mince and remaining onions, chillies and coriander into 8 separate portions. Grease a rolling pin and the work surface lightly with oil.

Roll a ball of dough into as thin a square as possible (but not thinner than 1-2 mm or it will not hold the stuffing well). Spread a teaspoon of beaten egg evenly on to the paratha, leaving the edges clear. Place the minced meat filling in the centre of the rolled dough, leaving enough space round the edges to fold the dough over. Sprinkle the chopped onions, chopped green chillies and coriander and 2 teaspoons of the egg mixture over the minced meat. Fold the dough over from the edges, enclosing the mince well.

Heat a shallow frying pan and place one paratha in the pan, folded side down first. Cook it over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes, then once it starts getting brown specks, flip it over and cook the other side for another 2 minutes. Brush the cooked side lightly with oil and flip over again. Cook for 30–60 seconds until crisp and golden. Brush the second side with oil and cook again in the same way.

Repeat until the dough and filling are used up. Serve or cut in to small pieces, with tomato ketchup, mustard for dipping and wedges of lime to squeeze over.

A biryani of some description is always a regulation dish at celebrations, but at Eid the Kashmiri version is often preferred as it is rich and made even more special by the use of dried fruit and nuts. Much as at all other celebrations where the dishes remain similar but the ingredients or their quality change with the status of the family, this dish is judged by both the quantity and the array of nuts and dried fruits included.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, add the meat and stir to coat, then set aside to marinate for 30 minutes or, if possible, in the fridge overnight.

In the meantime, cook the rice. Bring 2.5 litres of water to the boil in a pan, add the drained rice, lime juice and salt and boil for 6 minutes, until the rice is two-thirds cooked. Drain the rice and immediately spread out on a tray to cool.

Next, start to cook the marinated meat. Heat 120g of the ghee in a wide heavy-based pan, add the raisins and fry for 30 seconds or so until they puff up, then remove them using a slotted spoon and drain. Next fry the walnuts for 30 seconds and remove these too.

Next, add the cardamom pods, cinnamon and bay leaves to the pan and crackle for 30–60 seconds, then add the royal cumin and black cardamom seeds. As they splutter, add the meat and the marinade and cook the meat for 10–12 minutes over a high heat. Add the ground coriander, garam masala and 250ml of water and cook, covered, over a medium heat for 30 minutes or so until the meat is almost cooked and about 235ml (or a cup) of gravy remains in the pan. If needed, add a little more water to make up the liquid.

Next, on to the assembly. Evenly spread the par-boiled rice over the cooked meat, sprinkle the saffron milk, rose water or kewra water, fried raisins, walnuts, figs/apricots, cranberries and mint over the rice and dot over the remaining ghee. Cover with a tightly fitting lid and cook over a medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes, turning the pot around every 3–4 minutes to prevent it catching, until the dish is hot and steaming. Set aside for another 5 minutes, then open the pot and serve.

Although difficult to imagine, this classic from Lucknow is served for breakfast. This hearty cross between soup and curry, made with trotters and served with saffron bread, is very popular during the month of Ramadan. The rich combination provides nourishment throughout the day. Instead of the combination of lamb trotters and diced lamb, you could also use four lamb shanks.

In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the ghee or oil. When hot, add the sliced onions. Reduce the heat to medium and fry the onions until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place the onions on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Allow to cool, then crush the onions, divide into 2 bowls and set aside (one half will be used as a garnish).

Heat the remaining ghee or oil in the same pan and fry the cardamom pods, cinnamon, bay leaves and ginger for 30 seconds. Add all the meat and cook over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes, then add the ginger-garlic paste and continue cooking for 1–2 minutes, then add the ground spices. Cook, stirring continuously, for another 1–2 minutes. Now add the yoghurt carefully, little by little, stirring all the time so it doesn’t split.

Once mixed in, add 2.5 litres water, the salt and the crushed onions. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook slowly for 1 hour, then remove the lid and cook uncovered for a further hour, stirring every 20–30 minutes.

Spoon off the ghee from the surface, place in a separate pan and bring to heat. Add in the flour and cook over a low heat to form a lightly roasted roux, then add back into the pot of simmering meat and stir to mix well. This should thicken the sauce and give it a nice glaze and body.

Garnish with the coriander leaves, green chillies, ginger and the reserved fried onions. Serve with sheermal bread.

This dish could also be served as a soup. If so, do not add the flour at the end to thicken the soup – simply serve as it is.

This classic Muslim dish is a rich, rustic and hearty preparation with lentils and spiced lamb. During the month of Ramadan it’s a very popular dish for breaking a fast, even though in Muslim parts of India, like Hyderabad and Old Delhi, and throughout Pakistan and Bangladesh it’s sold in restaurants throughout the year. This is also great as a weekend brunch dish. If you are buying beef from a butcher, ask for the marrow bones to be chopped up and added in as well, as the marrow enriches the dish. It’s easy enough to substitute beef for lamb if you prefer.

Rinse the chana dal in running water, then soak in a bowl of water for 30 minutes. Soak the bulgur wheat in another bowl of water for 30 minutes.

Reserving 1 tablespoon of ghee, heat the rest in a heavy-based pan. Add in the whole spices, bay leaf and sliced red onions and sauté for 8–10 minutes or until golden, then add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 30 seconds or so. Add the beef and cook over a high heat for 10 minutes, stirring, then add the chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and salt and cook for another 5 minutes.

Drain the soaked lentils and bulgur wheat and add to the pan. Let them cook in the meat juices for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the lentils and wheat catching. Reduce the heat to low, then add the boiling water and stir over a low heat. Cook over a low heat, covered, for 1–1½ hours until the meat, lentils and wheat are all thoroughly cooked. If the broth gets too thick, add more water – you are aiming for a consistency between soup and porridge.

Once cooked, remove the meat pieces from the pan. Transfer half the spicy lentil and wheat mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the blended paste back into the pan and add back the pieces of meat.

Check the seasoning and correct as necessary while reheating over a low heat. Finish with the garam masala, half the mint and the juice of half the lemon, and stir in the remaining ghee.

Garnish with chopped ginger, the remaining mint, crisp fried onions and a last-minute squeeze of the remaining lemon. Serve with sheermal or a bread of your choice.

Top left: Phirni
Bottom left: Sheer Korma
Middle: Khajoor Biscut
Top right: Parsi Sev
Bottom right: Pista Kulfi

This slightly sweet and rich bread is a perfect foil for any gutsy and spicy haleem.

2 pinches of saffron dissolved in 1 tablespoon milk OR 1 teaspoon turmeric mixed into ¼ cup water

Heat the 500ml of milk in a pan to simmering point, then add the sugar and turmeric solution, if using, and stir until it dissolves completely. Allow to cool. If using saffron, add the saffron when it has cooled.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt, green cardamom and ghee and mix well until the ghee is evenly incorporated into the flour. Next add the milk and turmeric mixture and knead into a soft dough. Cover with cling film or a damp cloth and set aside for at least 15 minutes.

Divide the dough equally into 25 balls of about 60g in weight. Cover and set aside for another 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out into circles 15cm in diameter, then cook one at a time in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until brown specks form on the side in contact with the pan. Turn over and repeat on the second side. While the second side is cooking, brush the first side with ghee and flip over again. Brush the second side too with ghee and cook for a minute or so, then remove from the heat. Repeat until all the dough has been used up, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Phirni is very similar to kheer in terms of its ingredients; however, the rice is ground for a phirni, whereas it’s mostly added whole in a kheer. The other difference is that kheer can be served either hot or cold, whereas phirni is usually served chilled and is considered best served in earthenware bowls. The earthenware bowls help the phirni to set, as well as imparting a characteristic earthy flavour to the dish.

Bring the milk to the boil, then reduce the heat, add 3 cardamom pods and simmer for 10–15 minutes. Add the sugar and continue to simmer the milk until it has reduced to about 750ml.

In the meantime, drain the rice, then grind with 150ml of water to get as smooth a paste as possible. Add the ground rice to the milk, stirring continuously to avoid any lumps, and cook for 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the milk is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour the mixture into individual earthenware bowls if available or, if not, any serving bowl will do. Sprinkle with the pistachios, almonds and the remaining cardamom seeds, and dot with the drained saffron. Refrigerate until chilled, then serve.

Part cookie, part shortbread and part sticky date, these biscuits are a great thing to break the fast with. These are particularly popular with children. Grandparents often involve children in the shaping, rolling and baking of these biscuits, to keep them occupied and out of mischief! This recipe comes courtesy of Firdaus Takolia’s family, and it’s a firm fixture on their table at Eid.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy and pale in colour. Add the cornflour and egg yolk and mix, then add the vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Add the ground cardamom and flour to the bowl – you may need to add a little more flour to achieve a soft dough that is not too sticky, but not hard.

Pull off a piece of dough and flatten into an oval approximately 4 x 2cm. Place 3 pieces of date inside and roll up the dough so the dates are concealed inside. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 30–35 biscuits in total. Roll each biscuit lightly in beaten egg white, then coat on all sides with the desiccated coconut. Place on the greased baking tray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes until lightly golden brown and firm to the touch.

We don’t think twice about walking around with kulfi lollies during summer in Delhi today, but it must have been such hard work in the days of Emperor Akbar when teams were dispatched to the Himalayas to farm for ice. They would bring back cartloads of it to Agra so the most amazing frozen desserts could be fashioned out of seasonal fruits and reduced milk for the celebratory feasts and banquets the emperor would lay on for his guests. Thankfully it isn’t anything like that now, and you can indulge in a treat every now and again without being an emperor.

Place the milk, cream, sugar and cardamom in a large pan. Slowly bring to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce the liquid by about a third (to around 1.8 litres or so), again stirring often and scraping the sides of the pot – this will take about 35–40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/140ºC Fan/Gas Mark 3. Place the nuts on a baking tray and roast in the preheated oven for 5–6 minutes.

Remove the cardamom pods from the milk and add half the nuts. Blend with a hand blender, then place in an ice-cream maker to churn until it begins to freeze but is still pliable or spoonable. Chop the remaining pistachios. Mix the churned kulfi with the chopped pistachios and portion into metal containers or small glasses. Stick a bamboo stick in the centre of each and place in a freezer until frozen hard.

To serve as lollies, briefly dip the moulds in a hot water bath to help release the kulfis.

Sheer Khorma is a favourite dessert for lots of people, young and old alike, during the festival of Eid al-Fitr. In its most basic form, it is vermicelli cooked in sweetened milk but during festivals it acquires a life of its own and the renditions are no less than an art form. The festival celebrations are an opportunity to use the best dried fruit and nuts possible, the best essences, colours and garnishes to make the most beautiful, the most delectable dessert in the community!

Some think of sheer as sugar, but it also refers to reduced milk. In Bengali language, kheer also implies reduced or evaporated milk.

This recipe comes courtesy of Habibur Rahman Khan, a longstanding chef friend of mine when we worked together at the Gharana restaurant in Kolkata in 1997. Habibur would often make this dessert for the team to break their fast during the month of Ramadan.

2 tablespoons sugar or as required (the dates and raisins add a lot of sweetness to the milk, so add sugar accordingly)

Bring the milk to the boil in a pan, then add the sugar and simmer until reduced to about 700ml.

In a separate pan, heat ½ tablespoon of the ghee in a medium hot pan and roast the broken vermicelli until it is golden brown and evenly roasted. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

In the same pan heat the remaining ghee, add the chopped nuts and sauté for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are roasted and smell toasty. Then add the dates and raisins, stir in and remove from the heat.

Add the roasted vermicelli to the reduced milk and simmer for 6 minutes over a low heat until the vermicelli is cooked and has become soft. Add half of the dried fruit and nut mixture and the ground cardamom and stir in the rose water. Taste to see if more sugar is required.

Even though this can be served cold or at room temperature, its texture is best enjoyed hot. If serving hot, simply garnish with the remaining nuts and cardamom and serve in bowls. If serving cold, set in earthenware pots and serve garnished with rose petals, saffron strands, nuts, edible gold or silver leaf or anything else you fancy!

In case you’re wondering what a dish with a name like Parsi Sev is doing in this chapter, rest assured I haven’t made a mistake. This is probably one of the hundreds of examples of the exchange of ideas, inspiration and rituals that exist in everyday India. Parsis too make vermicelli (sev) in their homes, but during Ramadan it’s the Muslims who make it their own. This version is slightly different from Sheer Khorma in that this recipe doesn’t use milk, only water to cook the vermicelli. I have several friends who swear by this recipe and it’s the highlight of their Eid feast. I love it that they love it.

Mix the sugar in 575ml of water until the sugar is properly dissolved. Meanwhile heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee in a pan and fry the almonds and raisins for 30–60 seconds until the almonds are golden and the raisins puff up. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.

Into the same pan, add the remaining ghee and lightly roast the vermicelli over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes until it turns golden brown and smell roasted. Add the sugar solution and mix thoroughly, lower the heat and cook, covered, for 8–10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the vermicelli is cooked. If it still isn’t completely cooked, sprinkle in 1–2 tablespoons of water, cover again and cook over a low heat for another 4–5 minutes. When done, sprinkle over the ground cardamom and nutmeg and mix.

Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle with rose water and serve garnished with the fried almonds and raisins.

After offering prayers at Navroze, a Parsi women walks by figures of knights outside a fire temple in Mumbai. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty)