Indian dessert made with semolina, ghee and sugar, sooji halwa is one of the most common Indian desserts made in every household.
Recipe Snapshot
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sugar ([adjustable] 75 grams [/adjustable], or use ½ cup (100 grams) for a sweeter halwa)
- ¾ cup water ([adjustable] 180 ml [/adjustable])
- ¾ cup milk ([adjustable] 180 ml [/adjustable])
- ½ cup ghee (in semi-solid state, use ⅓ cup ghee if you prefer less ghee in your halwa)
- ½ cup sooji (semolina) ([adjustable] 90 grams [/adjustable], use fine sooji)
- 10 whole cashew nuts (broken into small pieces, optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder
Method
- To a heavy bottom pan, add ⅓ cup sugar (or ½ cup for a sweeter halwa), ¾ cup water and ¾ cup whole 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 ½ cup ghee to it (or use ⅓ cup if you prefer less ghee). Let the ghee melt. Then add ½ cup sooji to the pan and stir. Add 10 cashews, broken (optional) and stir. Stirring continuously, roast the sooji on low-medium heat. Add ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder and continue to stir.
- Stir for around 8 to 9 minutes on low-medium heat. As soon as sooji is fragrant and begins 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 to 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!
Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note
Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.