Suji / Sooji ki Halwa - a popular dessert

 

Halwa made of Sooji/Suji is a very popular dessert all over India. It is also made on religious occasions, as prasad. After offering prayer Halwa is served to devotees as a blessing. Some version of this is made of milk and some without milk. Even there is one recipe for infants. But this is one without milk but tasty. It is very easy to prepare – please check out:-

Preparation Time: - 5 min

Cooking Time: - 20~25 min

Servings: - 4~5 person (vary according to the personal consumption capacity)

Ingredients:- 

1. 1 cup Sooji / Semolina flour / Rava
2. ½ cup ghee (clarified butter)
3. 1 cup sugar (If you are not a sugar lover as I am you may reduce the amount by little as per your taste)
4. 3 cups of water
5. Handful of Cashew nuts and green raisins – you can add sliced almonds and pistachio also if you want
6. ½ tsp Cardamom powder
7. 2 crushed whole green cardamom

 Preparation:-

1. Take the raisins and soak in the water. Keep aside.
2. Take a heavy bottomed non-stick pan or kadai and heat the ghee.                                                                    
3. Roast few cashews in the ghee along with pinch of cardamom powder. Keep aside when cashew turns golden brown.
4. Now add Sooji or Semolina flour to the hot ghee and start roasting it.
5. In the meantime, pour sugar in water in a skillet. Add crushed cardamom to it.
6. Heat the mixture turning your burner on a medium flame and let the solution start boiling. Then put the burner in low flame and let it simmer.
7. Keep on sautéing & stirring the semolina for 7-8 times till it changes its color to golden brown and a light sweet aroma gets generated.
8. Keep on stirring the flour to ensure even browning on all sides. Stirring needs to be continuous so that the sooji does not get stuck.
9. Now put the burner of sugar solution to high so that it starts to form bubbles.
10. Just then pour the sugar solution to the sooji mixture. Pour it slowly so that it does not splash and generate lot of steams. It may hurt your hand.
11. Now start stirring viciously so that the mixture becomes smooth and no lumps are formed.
12. The mixture will absorb water and will thicken. This will take 2~3 minutes.
13. Continue stirring and when the mixture thickens to your liking add half of cashew nuts and raisin, stir again for few seconds and switch off the flame.
14. Now garnish with the rest of cashew and raisins on top.

Your delicious Sooji ka halwa is ready to serve and eat it hot or warm. This is a dessert dish and you can eat alone or with Aloo Poori.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.