Traditional Indian dessert, Sooji Halwa is a pudding made from semolina (sooji).Ghee, sugar and sooji are the three main ingredients required to make this easy dessert!
Like so far, I had not shared the recipe for Sooji Halwa (Suji Halwa)! I mean can there be any simpler (and easier) Indian dessert?
Growing up, there were 2 desserts that mom made on a regular basis- one was halwa and the other was kheer.
While halwa is a broad term used for pudding like desserts in India, the most common halwa that mom made were sooji halwa and aate ka halwa (made from wheat flour).
Sooji ka halwa was made in home whenever we wanted to have something sweet. It was an easy dessert which mom could whip up in 15 minutes and hence it was her go to dessert for sweet cravings. The halwa was also made as prasad (offering) for various festivals. I remember eating bowls of sooji halwa during Navratri!
Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar 75 grams, or use more for a sweeter halwa
3/4 cup water 6 oz/180 ml
3/4 cup milk 6 oz/ 180 ml
1/2 cup ghee 100 grams, in semi-solid state
1/2 cup sooji (semolina) 90 grams, use fine sooji
10 whole cashew nuts broken into small pieces
1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
Method* To a pan, add sugar, water and milk. Stir and let it heat up on medium heat. You don't want to boil it but mixture should be heated through and sugar should be dissolved.
* While the milk-water heats up, put a pan on medium heat and add ghee to it. Let the ghee melt. Then add sooji to the pan and stir. Add in the broken cashews and stir.
* Stirring continuously, roast the sooji on low-medium heat.
* Add cardamom powder and continue to stir.
* Stir for around 8 to 9 minutes on low-medium heat. As soon as sooji is fragrant and beginning to change color, that it the time to add the liquid.
* I don't like to brown my sooji, if you want darker color halwa, roast couple more minutes.
* Add the heated milk-water-sugar-mixture into the pan.
* It will bubble a lot as you add the liquids into the pan so be careful and add slowly.
* Whisk the sooji continuously as you add the liquids. Add the liquids in 2-3 parts, whisking continuously with one hand.
* Keep stirring, sooji will begin to absorb the liquid and thicken up.
* Stir for 2 minutes more until the halwa thickens and leaves the sides of the pan.
* Garnish with more cashews and serve sooji halwa warm.