Recipe: Sheero |Sooji Ka Halwa
Sheero |Sooji Ka Halwa is a popular Indian sweet or dessert made from semolina, saffron, cardamom and ghee. Absolutely delicious, melt in the mouth and comforting mithai, it is generally prepared for festivals and happy occasions. Easy to make, some use water to prepare the sooji ka halwa and some use milk. Sheero or shiro is the Gujarati name for sooji ka halwa and we usually prepare it using milk.
Memories
I like to prepare sheero for Ram Navmi and Bhai Beej. Ram Navmi is the birth date of Shri Ram Bhagwan. Bhai Beej, bhai dooj or bhav bij is a festival like Raksha Bandhan, a day dedicated to the love between brothers and sisters. Normally on this day brothers are invited by the sisters for a hearty meal. A tilak and arti is performed and in return the sisters get a gift. The spirit of love and togetherness is celebrated on this day. I don’t have my brothers living near me but I celebrate this day by offering sheero to Lord Krishna.
At this juncture I have to mention that the best sheero I’ve ever had is when there is a Satya Narayan Katha. The method of making the halwa is same but somehow it just tastes so different. The other place where the sheera is awesome is at the Sikh Temple in Makindu, Kenya. It has been years since I last went there, but I remember we use to get nice buttery warm shiro as prasad whenever we visited the Gurdwara. Back then the sheera was made with salted KCC butter which gave it a unique flavour. Don’t know if they still use butter nowadays.
Sharing This Recipe With Foodies_Redoing Old Posts
I make sheero often but would forget to take photos. The opportunity came when I made Sheero as part of the bhog offering for Shri Ram Bhagwan of the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Have updated this post with better photos, write up and a video. This recipe was first posted on 15/11/2012
You May Like To Check Out Some More Traditional Indian Sweets |Mithai
Ingredients Required For Sheero |Sooji Ka Halwa
Semolina – also known as sooji, suji, rava. Use either fine or medium grain sooji.
Ghee – clarified butter. Don’t skimp on the amount required. You need enough ghee to roast the semolina properly and also for that smooth velvety texture of the sheero.
Milk – I use 3% milk.
Sugar – I prefer to use normal white granulated sugar. You may use brown sugar or jaggery if you wish. However, it will change the colour of the halwa.
Cardamom Powder – elachi or eliychi powder. Add according to your taste.
Saffron – threads or powder. Add according to your taste. This is an optional ingredient.
Raisins – I love adding raisins to sheero. Some people don’t like. The choice is yours. I have given the quantity as a rough guidance.
Almonds – roughly chopped or sliced. Add some in the sheero. Leave some for garnishing.
Pistachio – roughly chopped or sliced.
Watch How To Make Sheero | Sooji Ka Halwa
SHEERO |SOOJI KA HALWA
Ingredients
- ½ cup semolina
- 1½ cups warm milk
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp almond slivers
- 2 tbsp pistachio slivers
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- ⅛ tsp saffron
- ¼ -⅓ cup ghee
- 2 tbsp raisins
Instructions
- Heat milk in a pan till it becomes hot. Add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron. Keep the milk hot by leaving it on very low heat till the semolina gets roasted.
- Heat ghee in a pan over low heat.
- Add the semolina and roast it in the ghee till it turns brownish in colour. Stir it constantly to avoid the semolina from getting burnt. This takes about 10 minutes over low heat. Do not roast the semolina over high heat.
- Make sure you roast the semolina well. If you leave it white, it will taste raw. For the melt in the mouth kind of sheero you have to roast the semolina properly.
- Add the raisins and stir fry till they plump up.
- Add the hot milk mixture little by little. Be careful when you add the milk as it will splatter and hot steam will come out.
- Stir the mixture till it becomes like a soft paste and comes away from the sides of the pan.
- Take the pan off the heat.
- Add some almond and pistachio slivers or chopped. Leave some for garnishing.
- Garnish with the pistachio and almond flakes and serve piping hot.
Notes
- I prefer to use slightly coarse semolina for this recipe to give a more grainy texture. But when not available, I use fine semolina.
- If you cook the sheero ahead and it becomes slightly hard, add a bit of milk when you heat it up.
- Add or omit raisins according to your preference. I love to have a bit more in mine.
- I find ⅓ cup sugar just right. Add ½ cup if you like sweeter shiro.
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