Shemai () is a traditional dessert in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Shemai is popular during Eid, but consumed throughout the year. Shemai is a dessert form of

vermicelli Vermicelli (, ; , literally "little worms"), is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In Anglosphere, English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is thicker. It is typically made ...

, soaked in sweet milk and often garnished with nuts.

Ingredients

The staple ingredients of shemai are milk, ghee, sugar, roasted vermicelli, and various assortments of nuts and spices. Shemai variations include a kheer version, dry fruits, and jodda shemai.

History

Shemai originated from Bengal. '' Ice Today'' described shemai as a distant cousin of

sheer khurma Sheer khurma or sheer khorma ( "milk and dates") is a festival vermicelli pudding prepared by Muslims on Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and parts of India and Central Asia. It is equivalent to shemai, a Bangladeshi desse ...

, an Afghan dessert, as well as seviyan, a pudding popular in North India and Pakistan. Some recipes use powdered milk and/or condensed milk. The hygiene of factories producing shemai has been questioned. In June 2016, substandard shemai, produced in unauthorized factories, flooded the market in

Saidpur, Bangladesh Saidpur () is a city of Nilphamari district in Rangpur Division of Bangladesh.Around 144,000 people live here which makes this city the largest in Nilphamari District and 33rd largest city in Bangladesh. The city has become a very important c ...

. The next year, there was widespread adultered shemai in

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. Sales of packaged shemai fell during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bangladesh in March 2020. The firs ...

. The prices also rose as many of the factories stopped production due to the pandemic.

References

Bengali cuisine Bangladeshi desserts Indian desserts {{Confection-stub