sookhi sevaiyyan made easy for a modern kitchen | baked version of sevaiyon ka muzaffar

This is a 'sookhi sevaiyyan' or 'sevaiyon ka muzaffar' baked to perfection. Yes baked.

Sevaiyyan is a very thin vermicelli dish that can be made like a thin milky porridge or like a crisp chewy kind of sweet pudding. Actually the taste and the texture is not at all comparable to any other dessert that I know. Sookhi sevaiyyan is known by those who have enjoyed it in real life.

I have remembered and missed the sookhi sevaiyyan that we used to have at our friend's places. It was never made at our home though the sheer khurma (the thin milky version) was very common. But as I understand, these recipes have been a common culture of our land even though these are made basically on religious festivals. So this sookhi sevaiyyan and pheni will be enjoyed in Muslim homes on Eid and Bakrid while it was made for festivals like Teej Hindu homes. How we have weaved food with our festivals. Caste and religion no bar when it comes to food, we keep waiting for all sorts of festivals just for the spread of different types of food we get to eat. So much so that we associate festivals with food only, not knowing the cultural details of a festival.

A friend's grandmother used to make gujhia stuffed with this kind of sookhi sevaiyyan, I still have that taste lingering somewhere in my memory. This was a Hindu version suited for teej festival that comes soon after Eid. The sookhi sevaiyyan made at Muslim friend's homes was decadent and I kept wondering how they get that dry caramelised texture with perfectly cooked khoya and lightly fried nuts. Probably my mother never learned how to cook it, and we remained deprived.

I tried replicating the same texture and taste using the pheni (or feni) sometimes and was pleased with the result, but making it from the thin vermicelli was difficult, it will either get too soft or too dry for my liking. Although, this sookhi sevaiyyan can be made in all variations of textures as I have tasted some really soggy ones too, and a few really really dry textured too. I wanted to make it to my liking, the way I remembered it from my friend's home.

I got a good quality pack of sevaiyyan (thin vermicelli) from Rupak stores, these are pre roasted vermicelli so there is no need to slow roast them in ghee. This got me thinking and I planned a baked sevaiyyan as this would result in slow caramelisation of the sugar added and the milk sugar both. This was a perfect decision as the result was very very close to what I had in my head all these years. And, the total preparation plus cooking time for about 4-5 servings was 20 minutes. I am thrilled.

ingredients..

thin vermicelli (patli sevaiyyan) 100 gm (pre roasted)
milk powder 1 cup to make home made khoya (or 100 gm khoya)
water 1/4 cup
sugar 2 tbsp
chopped almonds 1/2 cup
chopped raisins 2 tbsp or to taste
other nuts according to taste, adding chopped makhana will be great as I love the texture
fresh cream (amul- 25% fat) 1/2 cup , I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup fresh thick malai

procedure...

Roast the vermicelli with minimal ghee if they are not pre roasted. Keep aside.

Place the milk powder and water in a glass or ceramic bowl, mix well and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir well again and microwave for a minute again. Repeat this once more. The milk solids become granular now and taste and smell like khoya. See this procedure of home made khoya in microwave to get a step wise idea of how to do it..

I did the khoya making in the baking tray I used for baking the sevaiyyan, it got a bit stained with all the stirring but lesser utensils used is a better idea.

Now break the sevaiyyan into this khoya, add everything else and mash using your fingers. Pour in the milk and malai (or fresh cream) slowly to incorporate and dampen the dry vermicelli.

Now press down everything in a thin layer, about 2.5 cm thick. Choosing a suitably sized baking pan or dish will be advisable. The sevaiyyan gets dehydrated, caramelised and becomes a bit thinner after baking.

Now slide the tray/dish into the oven and bake at 180 C for about 8 minutes. I had not preheated the oven and it took 8 minutes at 200 C.

This is served warm or at room temperature. The decadent flavors of caramelised milk around thin strands of vermicelli is awesome. The perfect chewy interiors and crisp crust makes it a perfect baked desserts if you are serving it at a party. Just mix everything, press down in the baking dish and refrigerate. Bake when required.

Cut in squares for the ease of serving..

Or just gnaw away from the baking dish.

It keeps well at room temperature for 3-4 days, 2 weeks when refrigerated. Can be cut into fudge like squares so it is easier to serve. But the crisp texture of the crust wouldn't be there when you keep it for long. This was the closest to the sevaiyyan I have had at my dear friend's homes. The ones I loved, I quickly forget the food I haven't liked so they don't exist for me. All bad versions of sookhi sevaiyyan were never given a chance by my memory.

Now this one would keep the memories alive, make more memories and some more happy meals with friends and family.

fenni or feni, a version of Indian vermicelli and sookhi sewaiyyan made with it

Fenni (feni or pheni) is a white flour vermicelli fried in ghee and it is very different from a regular white flour vermicelli or seviyan ...

First, the thickness of the vermicelli is not uniform and it seems to be flattened and rounded irregularly.

Secondly, it is not made in a bunch of straight thin vermicelli, it is made into a circular bunch of vermicelli which stays together if you lift the disc like fenni in your hands.

Thirdly, it does not need cooking as it is pre cooked, and it is just dipped in hot milk and enjoyed with sugar and nuts....

 So fenni is different from seviyan. It has been a long time since I had had these.

Fenni is available in Banaras and old Delhi (and many old cities of India) during the holy month of Ramadan and I think it is a Muslim specialty. But interestingly, it is valued on the day of  hartalika teej  for Hindu married women too. You will find very interesting amalgamation of the two cultures in old cities of India, where Hindus and Muslims have lived together for centuries and adopted each others food and culture as if their own. This is thee way I understand it, would like to believe it to be true.

This year when teej was approaching I was talking to Arvind how husbands cook meals for their wives when they break the fast next day. Teasing him.

I know he can't make anything in the kitchen except coffee. He makes malai wali coffee adding a lot of cream and claims to be a great coffee maker :-) and he certainly is.

Since he could not cook and I was successful in teasing him, he brought a lot of fenni for me. Some people know how to compensate the lack of cooking skill.

But to be honest I almost fainted seeing the amount of fenni he brought. A kilo of fenni is just too much. There were 4 packs of 250 gms each.

Now I had to find good ways of using the fenni as just fenni soaked in milk is a bit boring if you ask me. And such a rare commodity needs to be treated well too. I tried making sookhi sewaiyyan with it, just the way I had tasted in my Muslim friend's homes.

In fact fenni is served with hot milk on the eve of teej which is called sargi which a gift from the MIL to the bahu. Sargi includes some material gifts along with sweets and savories for the bahu from the saas. I think these traditions must have been made to create bonhomie between the saas-bahu (MIL-SIL) and the trick still works. I have fond memories of my MIL arranging these for me during the first few years.

The sewaiyyan I made with the fenni looked something like this.

Ingredients

2 rounds of fenni about 125 gm ( as 250 gm pack had 4 rounds)
sugar 5 tbsp
ghee 2 tbsp
assorted dry fruits chopped roughly
12 strands of saffron mixed with a tbsp of warm milk.

procedure

Mix sugar with 120 ml water in a pan and boil for about 5-6 minutes to make a thick sugar syrup (one thread consistency).

Heat ghee in another wide pan or kadai and fry the chopped nuts on low heat slowly. Add the broken fenni and fry some more (2 minutes on low flame)...

Now pour the sugar syrup over the fried fenni and stir quickly to mix and within 30 seconds put off the flame...

Keep mixing the strands of the fenni with the help of a fork. Sprinkle the saffron milk, mix and serve hot, warm or cold.

Next time you see fenni or sewaiyyan in any old markets, don't stop yourself from buying it. These are much much better than the pastries and cakes and a little indulgence of such desi desserts always quenches the parched soul. More because one wonders how such intricate things must have evolved.

Fenni or feni is an evolved version of sewaiyyan. Isn't it?

seviyan kheer or vermicelli kheer | sheer khurma

After sharing my experiences in Banaras this recipe of seviyan kheer or seviyan payasam seems to be a good idea as I brought some fine seviyan from Dalmandi where you get the best seviyan of the world. Yes I have heard many of my Muslim friends mention they get their seviyan for sheer khurma and seviyon ka Muzaffar from Dalmandi of Banaras and that it is the best they can get.

I agree absolutely with them. The sheer khurma is called a seviyon ki kheer or seviyan in Hindu homes, a clear influence of the Muslim cuisines and we love it. Everyone stocks u some seviyan during the Eid season as that is when these come in truckloads.

Sheer khurma or light and thin seviyan kheer is easy and quick to make and Arvind can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner, he is brought up on sweet breakfasts and breakfasts for meals. As an occasional dessert we all love sheer khurma or seviyan.

ingredients
a cup of broken seviyan (thin vermicelli)
1 liter whole milk
2 tbsp sura
chopped nuts to taste
cardamom or rose water to flavour (optional)

procedure

Heat some ghee (2 tbsp) in a pan, tip in a cup of broken seviyan into it and fry slowly till golden brown. It is better to keep the flame low as it allows uniform browning to ensure great taste.

Pour in full cream milk into the pan (1 litre) and let it boil while stirring constantly, adding 2 tbsp sugar or more if you like it really sweet. It is done as soon as it starts boiling. Some cream can be added to make it really rich but that is optional.

Some chopped nuts added and it is ready. Serve it hot, warm or chilled, we love it any which way.

Cardamoms or rose water can be added if you like. We like it plain.

I remember these seviyan and sooji ki kheer used to be quick desserts whenever some guests came unannounced, in the 70s and 80s there was no custom of letting people know if one had a plan to visit. Those surprise visits used to be the sweetest. Those days are gone forever.

We can make seviyan even now and find a way to remember good old days.