Eid recipes: traditional sweets and festive dishes

Eid is the largest Muslim holiday — and food is an inseparable part of it. Families come together, tables fill with food, and recipes pass from generation to generation. The aroma of sheer khurma in the morning after prayer, golden-brown gulab jamun in syrup, quick semolina halwa — these are the flavours of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha for millions of people around the world.

Sheer Khurma — sweet vermicelli milk

Sheer khurma is the traditional Eid breakfast in Pakistan and India — a sweet milk drink with vermicelli noodles, dates, almonds and pistachios. "Sheer" means milk, "khurma" means dates.

Recipe: Heat ghee, sauté the vermicelli to a golden colour (2 minutes). Add full-fat milk, bring to a boil. Add sugar, cardamom, saffron, dates, almonds and pistachios. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Serve warm or cold.

Gulab Jamun

Gulab jamun are sweet fried dough balls made from milk powder, soaked in cardamom syrup with rose water. "Gulab" is Persian for rose, "jamun" is a similarly shaped fruit.

Recipe: Mix 1 cup milk powder, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ghee and enough milk to form a soft dough. Shape into small balls (without cracks). Fry in low oil over a low flame to a golden brown — slowly, about 8–10 minutes. Soak in warm sugar syrup with cardamom and rose water for 30 minutes.

Suji Halwa (semolina halwa)

A quick and simple sweet — ideal for unexpected Eid visitors. Heat ghee, fry the semolina (suji) to a golden colour with an aromatic scent — about 8–10 minutes. Add hot water or milk (mind the splatter), sugar and cardamom. Stir until thickened. Optionally add raisins and almonds.

Festive dishes for Eid

Sweets are one thing, but the Eid table also needs festive main dishes:

• Biryani: Indispensable on Eid al-Adha — festive Pakistani mutton biryani with the dum method
• Nihari: Slow beef or lamb stew — traditional morning meal after Eid prayer
• Seekh Kebab: Minced lamb on a skewer — grilled or oven-baked
• Haleem: Thick dish of wheat, lentils and meat — slow-cooked 4–6 hours
• Qorma: Creamy curry with almonds and yogurt — an elegant festive version

Where to buy Eid ingredients

Shalamar Foods offers all the ingredients for Eid sweets and festive dishes — vermicelli, milk powder, ghee, rose water, cardamom, saffron and hundreds of other products. We deliver across CZ and SK.