The festival of Eid evokes nostalgia. School days were reminiscent of gathering around the table with my friends, waiting for the feast that would follow the fast during Ramadan.

A table creaking under the weight of iftar (the fast-breaking evening meal) would signal the end of the day’s fast. Hours of abstaining from food and drink would make my friends hungry enough to devour everything in front of them, I would think. But I’d watch in awe as they elegantly took some khajoor (dates), followed by fresh fruits and then meaty snacks, and the likes. The iftar would then be washed down with a drink of roohafza (a refreshing drink made with basil seeds, fruits, herbs and flowers).

But among many other delicacies set before us, one dish reigned supreme — ‘seviyan’, a vermicelli pudding made with ghee, rice vermicelli noodles, milk, spices, and a sweetener. While it is a common guest at the iftar feast, my friend Thousif Raza explains it is its fancier cousin ‘sheer khurma’ that makes an appearance on Eid. “Sheer khurma is made with extra khoya (thickened milk) and dry fruits — a richer version of the seviyan.”

But nevertheless, the creamy concoctions are fit for kings. Once prepared for royalty, the dish reflects regional sensibilities, with each diaspora adding to it what they deem best.

The origins of the vermicelli, one of the main ingredients in seviyan, are hidden by the passage of time. Translating to ‘little worms’, these thin rice noodles have been a part of diets as far back as the 1660s. And, each cuisine has embraced a different form of it in its dishes.

An ironic........

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