This Eid, turn your kitchen into a festive space with these delicious and simple recipes. Whether you crave a caramel-drizzled date pudding or a rich, spiced shahi tukda, these treats will make your Eid-ul-Fitr extra special. Eid falls on March 31 this year, so why not make the celebration sweeter with these dishes?
Sticky Date Pudding by Chef Ali El Bourji (Serves 4)
A classic dessert made with soft dates and a rich caramel sauce.
Ingredients:
- Butter – 220 g
- Castor sugar – 650 g
- Eggs – 9 whole (approx. 440 g)
- Date paste – 650 g
- Water – 700 ml
- Flour – 650 g
- Baking soda – 30 g
Method:
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Boil date paste with water until smooth.
- Mix eggs into the butter mixture, then add the date mixture.
- Fold in flour and baking soda.
- Pour into greased moulds and bake at 180°C.
Caramel Sauce:
- Castor sugar – 1 kg
- Butter – 100 g
- Cream – 1 L
Caramelise sugar, add cream, stir, then whisk in butter. Pour over pudding and top with almond flakes.
A warm, creamy drink packed with nuts and spices.
Homemade Masala Powder:
- Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios – ½ cup each
- Crushed black pepper – 1 tsp
- Grated nutmeg – 1½ tsp
- Cardamom – 15 to 18 pods
- Saffron – ½ g
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Milk powder (optional) – 4 tbsp
Roast nuts, cool them, and blend all ingredients into a coarse powder. Store airtight.
For Masala Milk:
- Milk – 2 L
- Cashews – 7 to 8 (for paste)
- Saffron – a few strands
- Sugar – 10 tbsp
- Chopped nuts
Make a smooth cashew paste. Boil milk, add masala powder, cashew paste, saffron, and sugar. Simmer for 8-10 mins. Garnish with nuts.
Shahi Tukda by Chef Sanjyot Keer (Serves 8)
A royal dessert with syrup-soaked bread and creamy rabri.
Shahi Tukda Masala:
Grind almonds, cardamoms, peppercorns, and fennel seeds into a powder.
Rabri:
Boil and reduce 1½ L of milk, stirring often. Add sugar and masala, cool, and refrigerate.
Chashni (Sugar Syrup):
Boil 1 cup sugar and water with saffron and cardamom until syrupy.
For Shahi Tukda:
- Brown bread slices – 8 to 10
- Ghee for frying
Fry bread slices until golden. Dip in syrup, top with rabri, nuts, and optional rose petals.
Mango Phirni (Serves 11)
A fruity twist on a classic rice pudding.
Ingredients:
- Raw rice – 100 g
- Mango pulp – 1 cup
- Milk – 1 L
- Sugar – 100 g
- Elaichi powder – a pinch
- Chopped nuts – 1 tbsp each (almonds, cashews, pistachios)
- Salt – a pinch
Soak rice, dry it, and grind coarsely. Soak rice in 200 ml milk. Boil the rest of the milk, add rice mixture, and cook till thick.