Sheer Khorma’s essence : Why handmade ‘Seviyah’ remains in high demand in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: As the holy month of Ramadan is nearing its end and Eid-ul-Fitr is just over a week away, the shoppers are heading to Charminar, which has become a hub of bustling activity in this month.

Several shopkeepers from clothing merchants to bangle sellers and eateries to delicious street food hawkers are doing brisk business in the old city.

People were also seen buying ingredients including vermicelli or ‘seviyah’, to prepare the mouth-watering sweet dish ‘sheer khorma’, which is served to visitors on Eid-ul-Fitr. The delicacy is made with fine vermicelli, dates, milk, and dry fruits.

There are two types of ‘seviyah’ available in the marker — handmade and machine made vermicelli. However, most people prefer handmade ‘seviyah’ as it preserves the texture and taste of dessert unlike the cheaper and easily available machine-made vermicelli.

According to traders, the demand for handmade ‘seviyah’, which is an important ingredient for ‘sheer khorma’ shoots up every Ramadan due to the shortage of it in the market.

Only a few families located in Tolichowki, Afzalgunj, Chaderghat, Dabeerpura and Yakutpura areas of Hyderabad continue the tradition of making handmade vermicelli. These families have been in this business for generations.

One of the vermicelli makers said due to the growing demand, they start making these handmade ‘seviyah’ about six months before the start of Ramadan.

If you cross the lower Chaderghat bridge, you may notice white curtains made of fine strands of ‘seviyah’ left for drying under the sun on one side of the road.

According to the vermicelli makers, making them requires a lot of strength as they have to knead and pull the dough (of maida) and stretch it out till they get finer strands and then the finished product is left to dry. Later, they roll out these strands for packaging and then sell them to the shopkeepers.