Mango Sheera - Ambyacha Shira
आंब्याचा शिरा

Ripe Mango Semolina Pudding Recipe

This Mango Sheera recipe or aam aur sooji ka halwa is a popular sweet dish in India. It is made during the summer months when ripe mangoes are available.

Sooji ka halwa is made for breakfast or as a snack or as a side dish with a main meal. Sheera is also made as naivedya for offering to a deity at the time of pooja.

In Maharashtra and Karnataka, it is distributed to the devotees as a 'Satyanarayana Prasad', after the Satyanarayana Pooja. At that time Banana is also added to this 'prasadacha sheera'.

How to Make Sheera - Sooji ka halwa?

Ingredients for making sheera - shira - Sooji halwa:

Semolina (sooji / rava / cream of wheat) - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup or a little more.
Mango pulp - 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups, made with alphanso mangoes
Water + milk - 2 to 2 1/2 cups
Ghee - 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup
Cashew nuts - 4-5 chopped finely
Raisins - 10
Cardamom powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon.

Cooking method to make sooji ka halwa:

Making sugar syrup

Add sugar to a pot.

Add water to sugar. Heat it on medium flame till sugar dissolves.

Add milk to to the water/sugar mixture.

Roasting semolina - Sooji

Heat a deep thick bottomed pan. Add rava/suji/semolina. Dry roast rava on low flame for 4-5 minutes.

Add ghee to semolina and roast some more.

Roast till semolina starts giving a nice roasted aroma. It will take about 7-8 minutes. But do not let it become brown.

Add the dissolved water/sugar/milk mix. Rava will immediately start absorbing the liquid and to fluff up.

Stir well and let cook covered on low fire for a few minutes.

Remove lid mix well and let cook some more till all the liquid is absorbed in the rava.

Add mango pulp. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring. Let mango pulp become blended with the cooked sooji/rava.

Homemade Alphonso mango pulp

In a pan add some ghee and cashew pieces. Fry till cashews are golden. Take off the stove.

Add roasted cashew nuts, cardamom powder to ready sheera. Mix well. Switch off and keep covered till serving time.

Mango sheera or Aam Sooji Halva is ready to serve.

Tips:

Add banana, mango, apple or pineapple as a variation. If using fresh fruit or canned one, add it in the end after you take sheera off fire. Mix well.
You may omit the cardamom powder when you add fruit if you wish but you don't have to.
Add milk instead of water if you wish. Or you can use half milk and half water. Milk makes it more tasty and rich.
If you are a vegan, use only water. Instead of ghee, use coconut oil.
To reduce time, heat water while you are roasting rava/semolina and add this hot water to roasted. Cooking will be done fast.

Mango sheera - आंब्याचा शिरा