Halawat Sha’riyya is the Arabic translation for sweet vermicelli. It is a traditional Iraqi dessert that is made of “Sha’riyya” which is thin angel hair pasta or vermicelli pasta, toasted with oil, flavored with typical Middle Eastern flavors, cardamom, and rose water, and sweetened with sugar.
I know I’ve said in Um Ali’s post that it is one of the easiest Arabic dessert recipes. But trust me, this recipe is even easier to make, has fewer ingredients, and tastes incredible.
I’ve always thought that “halawat sha’riyya” was an exclusive Iraqi dessert, and to be honest, haven’t seen it in other cuisines before. However, while I was doing some research for this blog post I came across a recipe for sweet vermicelli popular in India called “Meethi Seviyan” which is quite the same as the Iraqi recipe.
Also in Somalia, a sweet dish called “Cadriyad” that said to be originated from Yemen “Adriyad“, is a sweet vermicelli recipe similar to the Iraqi one.
Today I am sharing my vegan twist on the original recipe for the Iraqi sweet vermicelli, which I loved eating since I was a kid. My mother used to prepare it, especially during Ramadan, after Iftar for desserts.
The smell of toasted vermicelli and cardamom brings such a sweet memory of my mother’s kitchen while I used to wait eagerly to taste it.
Sweet vermicelli ingredients:
You will need a few ingredients to make this recipe. The basic ingredients are vermicelli, water, and sugar, the rest are for flavoring and you can only add one ingredient for flavoring the rest are optional:
- Vermicelli noodles.
- Vegetable oil: originally the recipe was prepared with ghee or butter, but my mother always prepared it with oil and it worked fine.
- Sugar: I have used organic sugar, and the original recipe calls for a 2:1 ratio of vermicelli: sugar which means for every 2 cups of vermicelli add 1 cup of sugar, however, I prefer mine slightly less sweetened so I’ve added less sugar, but the beauty of making your own dessert at home, is that you can adjust the sweetness according to taste. Therefore start with less sugar and you can taste and adjust accordingly.
- Hot water
- Rose water
- Mastic
- Cardamom powder
- Pistachios and/or desiccated coconut: optional toppings.
How to make Vegan sweet vermicelli?
This is a dessert recipe that can be done in 10 minutes only, and you can have a quick tasty vegan dessert.
- First thing, toast the vermicelli in oil.
- Add hot water and stir, cover the lid and let it cook
- Add sugar and stir
- Add your flavoring ingredients: cardamom, and mastic powder, and stir till all are dissolved.
- Turn the heat off and add rose water, stir and serve.
Recipe variation and how to serve it:
Some recipes use milk or custard, I have tasted this before and found it rather heavy and the sweetness was too much for me personally. But it is a common variation to this recipe.
This recipe is best served hot, sprinkle chopped nuts, and enjoy.
Storing:
Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, just add a little bit of water and heat in a pan.
Recommended Vegan recipe to try:
Vegan Sweet Vermicelli Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup vermicelli
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup organic sugar
- 300 ml hot water
- 1 tsp rose water
- 2 pebbles mastic powdered
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
Optional toppings:
- pistachios chopped
- desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium high heat and add the vermicelli, stir and toast it till golden brown for about 5 minutes.
- Add hot water, stir, and bring to a boil, lower heat and cover the pan and let it cook for 4 minutes till the vermicelli is cooked.
- Remove the lid and just before all the water is evaporated add the sugar and stir, add the cardamom powder and mastic powder, and stir till all dissolved completely.
- Turn the heat off , add rose water and stir.
- Serve in a large serving bowl or on individual plates, sprinkle chopped pistachios and/or shredded coconut.
I am making this today, it is a wonderful and simple recipe nice for a cheeky morning sweet treat. Thank you!
Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it
I’m Ethiopian but my mother lived in North Sudan before having me, and they have this dish too. It’s called Sheriyah (sometimes spelt Sha’riyah)/ B’sukkar, so delicious I loved this so much as a child.
Keen to try this recipe! I haven’t tasted it since childhood. Now I can make it for my little one!
I didn’t know they have it in Sudan as well
thanks for sharing that
the best food is the one that brings memory from our childhood, am glad you liked this recipe and I hope your kid loves it too