Milad-un-Nabi/Id-e-Milad is celebrated on the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Mohammad Saheb. It is also known as Un-Nabi by the name of E-Milad, Nabi Day, Mohammad's Birthday or the Prophet's Birthday.
In India, Eid Milad-un-Nabi is being celebrated from Thursday, 29 October to 30 October. On this day, some of the banks and business offices are closed.
Many Muslims in India observe this festival. People who observe this festival mostly discuss and celebrate the origin of the Prophet Muhammad and his teachings. People are seen gifting Milad-un-Nabi e-cards to their friends and family.
On this festival, it is believed that Sunni Muslims celebrate it on the 12th of the Islamic month of Rabi al-awwal, whereas, Shia Muslims celebrate it on the 17th of Rabi al-Awwal.
Communal meals are offered at mosques and shared within the community. Here are some delicious desserts that you can make at home to celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi this year.
Sheer Khurma
Sheer Khurma is a mix of sewai, dates and milk. This mouthwatering dish is an easy yet time-consuming dessert to cook. Sheer Khurma can be served cold or hot, and it is highly nutritious either way. This sweet dish is mostly served after Eid prayers as breakfast to family and guests. What remains constant in all these dishes is milk, dates, and sewai; this is because the very origin of the words means milk (sheer) and dates (khurma).
Shahi Mutton Biryani
Indian’s love for Biryani has no restrictions and is a popular dish throughout the country, no matter the occasion.
Add ginger garlic paste to your meat of choice and leave it for 2-3 hours to marinate. The longer the marination, the greater the flavour. Next, prepare your dry mixture, Fry some chopped onions till they are golden brown and mix it with red chilli powder, yogurt, cinnamon, cardamon, green chilli, jeera, coriander, mint, saffron and salt to taste.
Add this dry mixture to the meat marination, and rest it for a few hours. Once rested, take a heavy-bottomed vessel, and add a layer of semi-cooked rice. Spread the marinated meat pieces over the rice. Repeat layering the leftover semi-cooked rice and the meat pieces, alternately, and add rose water.
After completing the layers, cover it with a vessel lid and let it cook on low flame. After about fifteen minutes, turn off the flame. Garnish with mint leaves, coriander leaves, and lemon.
Peshawari Naan
A Peshawari Naan is filled with dry fruits and grated coconut. Mix flour, yeast, yoghurt and adequate water in a big bowl and knead it into a soft dough. Cover with a clean cloth and leave it to rest for 2 hours.
Prepare your naan filling by grinding pistachio, raisins and coconut flakes to get a coarse paste. Prepare a smaller dough, fill the dough with the prepared mixture and seal it again in a form of balls. Roll the balls to form oval shapes. Put the naans into a preheated oven at 220 degree C. Bake it for approximately eight minutes until it is puffed, and brown spots appear on their surfaces. Apply ghee or butter and serve hot.
Kimami Seviyan/Sewai
Kimami Sewai is a rich Awadhi style festive dish, prepared using sewai, sugar and mawa. This dessert is roasted slowly on low heat and usually served hot. For this sweet dish, sewai is roasted and the other ingredients, like phool makhana, khoya, almond, etc., are added for garnishing.
Apart from these, there are other traditional sweet delicacies like Ma'amoul, Cambaabur, Sohan Asali, and so on, that are prepared across the globe to celebrate the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr.
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