The Day of Feasting:Eid

The Holiday of Eid(meaning festivity in Arabic) holds the best memories of fun n frolic for me. Eid is the time of reconciliation,joy and thanksgiving.Its a celebration of unity ,twice every year,one at the end of month long fasting in Ramadan and the other at the end of the sacred pilgrimage of Hajj.Growing up in the bustling city of Hyderabad South India,also known as the land of Nawabs(governors of mughalai empire),I adored the ecstatic ambiance of Eid every year.As a child it was the most awaited jubilant time of the year, we got our best clothes stitched for the occasion ,after the morning Eid prayers ,visited friends and family,slurping the warm sweet nutty sheerkhorma,embracing each other with warmest eid hugs and the most exciting moment of the day was the Eidi(gift as money) from elders.
The lavish feast on Eid is got to be the food lovers best part of the day.As the day progresses ,the inviting aroma of spicy foods fills the air making us voracious for the most appetizing meal of the year and the indulgence in sweet delicacies would leave us pretty much satisfied with sugar until next Eid.
The hyderabadi cuisine is haven of spicy dishes strongly influenced by Persian and Mughalai cuisine. The meaty Haleem and Biryani , prepared with many variations and known with different names from South Asia to Middle east,are the most crowding please recipes of the Eid feast.Here is the Eid feast menu with the array of enticing majestic flavorsome dishes sure to leave the guests stuffed up with contentment.


Appetizer
Hummus with Whole wheat pita chips

Starters
Salad Olviye .
Sesame Dinner rolls with Chicken Shorba

Main course
Haleem
Lamb Biryani

Side Dish
Mirchi Ka Salan

Dessert
Double ka meeta
Sheerkhorma

Drink
Pomegranate Juice

The key to making a satisfying stress free meal for a feast without spending major part of the festive day in the kitchen is to prepare a game plan.
Game Plan
4 days ahead
Make sure you shopped for all the spices and other ingredients needed .
3 days Ahead
Make the hummus and pita chips
2 days ahead
Make the dessert Double Ka Meeta ,Mirchi Ka Salan,Marinate meat for Haleem and chicken shorba
1 day ahead
Make the Chicken Shorba and Haleem ,marinate the meat for the biryani
Night before the feast
Make the SheerKhorma,Cook the meat gravy needed for the biryani
On the day of feast
Make the dinner rolls,Salad and the biryani

To make the feast as healthy as possible,I cooked with the healthiest olive oil ,enhanced flavors with fresh herbs and home made ground spices, bought Organic ingredients were ever possible,used meat low in fat,cut down the saturated fats in the desserts.


Appetizer
Hummus with Whole wheat pita chips
Hummus is creamy yummy is apt as a nutritious appetizer for any party.
The recipe .



Soup and Salad
Salad Olviye

When my buddy Zee gave me her favorite salad recipe,it was my instant choice for eid dinner.Salad Olviye/Olvieh is a hearty persian salad that's protein rich and usually served cold . Its original recipe was created by a French cook living in Russia and it is referred to as Olivier Salad in Russia.Even though it is referred to as a salad it can be consumed as a wholesome meal.
Ingredients

1 big russet potato boiled,peeled and finely chopped
2 hard boiled eggs ,finely chopped
1 medium sized chicken breast
1 dill pickle ,chopped
1/4 cup par-boiled fresh green peas/canned peas
2 medium sized boiled and chopped carrots
1 medium sized onion diced
1 cup fat free mayonnaise
2 tbsp vinegar/fresh lime juice
Salt and black pepper
2 tablespoon Olive oil

Preparation:
- Boil the chicken along with onion, a little bit of salt, pepper, 1 tbsp fresh lime juice and a glass of water.
- Simmer till done, cool and shred.
- In a big mixing bowl toss in all the ingredients; chicken, potatoes, eggs, pickle, peas, carrots, mayo, vinegar/lime juice, salt and pepper.
- Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning.
- garnish with fresh tomatoes, herbs, peas or pomegranates.

Sesame Dinner rolls
Sesame dinner rolls are ideal for dunking in the spicy chicken shorba .

Ingredients
2 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1 envelope rapid rise yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoon Olive oil
2 tablespoon Sesame seeds for topping
2 tablespoon milk for brushing.

Method
Combine flour with yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl.Heat milk until its warm and pour in the bowl of dry ingredient along with the Olive oil.Knead the dough until smooth and silky.Grease the bowl with some oil on the sides and cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place until double its size.punch the air out and transfer on the flour work surface.
Make walnut size balls off the dough and form them in to small rounds,place on a greased or lined baking sheet.The balls of dough should be 1/4 inch apart .Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F,while they rise.When the buns have puffed up,brush them with some milk and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.Bake them for about 15 minutes until lightly brown on top.

Chicken Shorba


The spicy chicken shorba is the perfect warming start of the meal.
Ingredients you'll need are
1 lb Free-range skinless chicken,fat trimmed
1/2 cup fresh herbs cilantro and mint, chopped
2 medium onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilly powder
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger root or 3/4 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala powder(ground cumin,coriander,cloves and cinnamon mix)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

To make the Shorba
Trim any excess white fat from chicken pieces. Freeze the chicken for an hour before trimming that way fat cuts off easily. Clean meat by running it through cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric and keep aside for few minutes.This helps kill any bacteria on meat.
Heat a skillet on medium high flame. Add Olive oil ,chopped onions and cumin seeds. Saute until lightly brown ,for about 8-10 minutes and add the minced garlic and ginger . Now add the chicken ,turmeric ,garam masala ,salt and chilly powder.Saute for a minute on high flame,then add 2 cups of water. Cover and simmer for an hour on medium-low flame or in a slow cooker for 5-6 hours,until chicken is tender and falls off the bones,serve warm with rice or Flat breads.

Main Course
Haleem

Delectable Haleem is originally a Persian recipe and is commonly prepared during Ramadan.The recipe.

Lamb Biryani

Hyderabadi Biryani is my ultimate recipe for a flavorful rice. The bite of protein,the aroma of spices,the tang from lime,sweetness of onions and touch of herbs make this biryani a top favorite of my family and guests in any daawat(party).
The recipe.

Side Dish
Mirchi Ka Salan

This spicy Chillies curry is never missed in any local party in Hyderabad,one can always make it milder with mildest chillies.The recipe.


Dessert
Double ka meeta (Rich bread dessert)

The richness of this dessert has made it a prominent dessert of the authentic Hyderabadi cuisine.The recipe.


SheerKhorma


Sheerkhorma is a luscious dessert prepared on Eid,made with roasted thin vermicelli in milk garnished with loads of dry fruits,traditionally slurped after the morning Eid prayers.The recipe.

Comments

Anonymous said…
what a feast! Its making me drool profusely.
Srikitchen said…
WOW! THAT'S VERY DELICIOUS AND GOOD FEAST TO EYES! SO PATIENCE TO PREPARE SUCH A HUGE NUMBER OF DISHES! REALLY IT IS TOO GOOD!
Anonymous said…
Awesome!Don't forget to invite me for your next Eid dinner:)
Anonymous said…
What a spread! Looks absolutely fantastic.
Dori said…
That is quite a feast! Everything looks mouthwatering!!!
Anonymous said…
The idea of game plan is so neat to plan a holiday feast.I like all the spicy spread of dishes.
Priya Suresh said…
Real feast for eyes...lovely collections of delicious dishes...tooo good...
Anonymous said…
WOW that is a feast for a king!
Cham said…
OMG what an excellent feast! Looks very tempting
Anonymous said…
Love all the spicy dishes,winter warming too.
Maria Verivaki said…
fantastic feast you presented - i really enjoyed looking through the range of dishes
syeda said…
Yasmeen! Tussi great ho! So many dishes for eid...wonderful,great job!
Kaash I could come to ur house to eat ur eid's feast, just great,how u made such a great spread of dishess...wonderful job!
Anonymous said…
Yasmeen, happy Eid to you and your family! Everything you posted looks so delicious. Feast to the eyes, and I am sure to tummies too:)
Finla said…
Next time for Eid i am comming over.
This is what i call a really yummy food for any celelbration.
For me it is difficult to say i like one of them best. I must say i love all of those dishes.
Drool drool
CurryLeaf said…
EXCELLENT FEAST.THANKS FOR SHARING THE RECIPES WITH US.NEXT TIME WE ARE COMING OVER FOR THIS FEAST.LOVELY
Anonymous said…
This coming festive Christmas we must have a reconciliation, joy, and thanksgiving. We must also be aware of the foods that we eat, I for myself is living a healthy life.
Anonymous said…
Plentiful food looks so good.
wow lots of food. great way to celebrate.
Unknown said…
wow what a grand feast Yasmeen.Looks so tempting and nice.
Pravs said…
wow ! thats some sumptuous looking food to feast on.
Bharti said…
I'll just have to repeat what everyone else said- "what a feast"!!
lubnakarim06 said…
Wish i was your neighbour :-)
Sevayian....kya yaar hume bhi yaad kar leti...lol.
notyet100 said…
omg,...tis post is awewsome,..i am droolin,...everythin looks so yummy,..:-)
Anonymous said…
Hope you were my elder sis !! This is an extremely tempting and heartful post yasmeen..I could very well imagine how you celebrated Eid !! Love,
Raks said…
You had a great brunch seems!!! Mouthwatering!!!
Anonymous said…
I like spicy food,Its amazing how you could plan and make all the dishes ready for the feast.
Anonymous said…
Looks like you had a very grand eid feast,every dish looks yummy.
wowwww :)
i'm allllllll craving for that yummaliceous food so completely n sooo totally!
:)
now i wish you do a speciaL FEATURE for christmas too- hurray!

my fav generally is moslem biriyani n shawarma n humus :)

will refer to recipes when i get married shortly- loveee ")
Anonymous said…
thanx for following my blog yasmeen...:-)
Suganya said…
Excellent feast. Looks so good. Nice recipes. Loved the photos. YUM!
Chandani said…
such an impressive feast!!! sheer khorma has been a family favorite dessert since years..my very dear friend's mom sends this to our place every eid :)
Malar Gandhi said…
Wow miss those daawat here! Awesome post. The spread makes me nostalgic.

Haleem & sheer khurma is my all time fav'. All the recipes sounds inviting, chicken shorba sounds new to me...will try this in future.
Gita Jaishankar said…
Such a delicious platter Yasmeen, everything looks so yummy :)
anudivya said…
I wish I could dive into your pics! Looks like a perfect feast fit for a kind.
Seena said…
Assalam alaikkum,
Yasmeen, you forgot to invite me? :)
ok no prob, send me some H.biryani and the dessert in the last pic.. yum.. :P
Vikis Kitchen said…
Your game plan is a good tips for everyone who plan for a party.
Gone thro each and every recipe and now feel soooo..hungry ya.
Your friends and family are very lucky to get u dear. what a feast!
Andhra Flavors said…
what great feast. it looks tempting
Purva Desai said…
Wow every thing looks divoine, especially hummus, pita bread and biryani they are my fav.....
Sunshinemom said…
Good game plan, Yasmeen! The feast shows the effort taken.
Uj said…
My gosh..Such a big spread... This is definitely a great feast! You do have a lot of patience to cook Don't you?
Mr Akshay said…
Maharashtrian Snacks Recipes In Marathi Looks so good. Nice recipes. Loved the photos. YUM

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