Sheera - Semolina - Sooji - Suji ka halwa Recipe

Cream of Wheat - Semolina Pudding Recipe

This Sheera recipe or sooji ka halwa is a popular sweet dish in India. It is made all over india. In the south as well as north indian states.

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.

Rava kesari - Semolina pudding - Suji halwa - Sheera

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.
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:

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.

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 some more ghee and saffron soaked milk or the food colored milk. Mix well and cook for a minute.

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

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

Sooji Halva is ready to serve.

semolina pudding - rava sheera - sooji ka halva

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.