Sheera – Suji Ka Halwa
Sheera is a sweet, delicious, and easy traditional Maharashtrian dish. It is made with semolina, ghee, milk, sugar, cardamom, and saffron. Sheera is also known as suji ka halwa in Northern parts of India or rava kesari in South India. Every region has its own version of making this dish.
It can be made during any festival or Pujas for prasad as an offering to God. It can be made during Ganesh Chaturthi, Ashtami, Diwali, Janmashtami, or for Satyanarayan pooja.
There are various flavors and ways to make sheera. In this post I am sharing with you the basic sheera recipe which I learnt from my mother. I have very sweet memories of making this dish with my mom.
My mom used to make sheera on a Diwali day for breakfast along with faral (Diwali snacks), as an after school snack, or while traveling to places. Her sheera was so soft, always perfectly roasted with loads of ghee, and the aroma was simply amazing. Slowly, I developed my own style and started making it with less ghee and it is equally delicious.
To make a perfect and tasty sheera, you will need to roast the suji or semolina patiently on a low heat for a long time. Next add the mixture of milk and water gradually so no lumps will form while cooking. That’s the key to making an awesomely tasting sheera.
Ingredients
What Is The Milk And Water Ratio For Making A Perfect Sheera?
If you take one cup of semolina, take 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, and add 1 more cup of water in the mixture before boiling it.
But if you take 2 cups of semolina, you should take 2 cups of milk, 2 cups of water, and 1 cup of extra water.
Make sure to add equal cups of milk and water at first and then add 1 cup of water later.
How to Make Sheera Step By Step Recipe
In a pan, on medium low heat, melt some ghee, add semolina, and mix it well.
Roast the semolina with ghee for about 20-22 minutes, or until it turns light brown in color, on medium low heat. Keep stirring in between and do not leave it unattended or the semolina will burn and will not taste good.
Meanwhile, in another pot, mix milk and 2 cups of water together. Let it boil, add a few strands of saffron, and switch off the heat.
Once the semolina is roasted perfectly and aromatic, lower the heat, add a mixture of milk little at a time, stir the semolina in between without forming any lumps. Add the rest of the milk mixture and mix it well.
Cover the pan with a lid, increase the heat to medium low, and cook the sheera for 3-4 minutes. You will find all the liquid is absorbed.
Remove the lid, add sugar, mix it well, cover the pan, and cook it for 5 minutes.
Now add freshly ground cardamom, nuts, raisins, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp ghee, and mix everything well. Cover it, let it cook on a low heat for another 3-4 minutes, and serve.
Tips for Making Sheera
- Roasting the semolina with some ghee on a medium low heat for between 20-22 minutes is very important to make a perfectly tasting sheera. Keep patience or you will find the sheera is a bit sticky and not good in taste.
- When you add boiled milk and water mixture, make sure to lower the heat. It will splutter everywhere so add it gradually and stir the semolina in between. Don’t add all the liquid at once.
- Adding a pinch of salt gives an amazing taste to the dish so you will not need to add more sugar in the recipe.
- Freshly ground cardamom in a pestle and mortar gives an amazing aroma to the dish.
- Adding the ghee at the end gives so much flavor and shine to the sheera.
Variations
- You can add ½ cup to ¾ cup of ghee if you wish to make it more rich.
- Whole milk gives a rich taste to the dish. You can completely skip adding the milk or add 2% milk in the recipe.
- My family doesn’t like very sweet sheera, generally the ratio of semolina to sugar is 1:1 but we add ¾ cup of sugar. You may add according to your preferences. Adding a pinch of salt brings out the flavors without adding too much sugar.
- You can completely skip adding nuts or raisins in the recipe.
How To Store Sheera?
Sheera has a very good shelf life. It can be stored at room temperature for 24-32 hours depending on the climate.
It can be stored in an airtight container for one week in the refrigerator.
You can freeze it well in a freezer safe container for one month. Take out the sheera from the freezer, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, and heat it in the microwave.
How To Serve Sheera?
Sheera tastes amazing on its own, warm or at room temperature.
It can be served for breakfast, after school snack, in a lunch box, or on road trips because of its good shelf life.
It tastes very good as a sweet dish with batata vada, vada pav, bhaji pav, or misal pav.
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Sheera – Suji Ka Halwa
Ingredients
- 1 cup Semolina coarse, 200 grams
- 1/4 cup Ghee thick, 50 grams
- 1 cup Whole milk
- 2 cups Water *see notes
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 6 pods Cardamom freshly ground
- 8-10 Saffron strands
- 1 pinch Salt
- 6-7 Cashew nuts halved
- 4-5 Almonds chopped
- 6-7 Pistachios chopped
- 12-15 Golden raisins
Instructions
- In a pan, on medium low heat, melt some ghee, add semolina, and mix it well.
- Roast the semolina with ghee for about 20-22 minutes, or until it turns light brown in color, on medium low heat.
- Meanwhile, in another pot, mix milk and 2 cups of water together. Let it boil, add a few strands of saffron, and switch off the heat.
- Once the semolina is roasted perfectly and aromatic, lower the heat, add a mixture of milk little at a time, stir the semolina in between without forming any lumps. Add the rest of the milk mixture and mix it well.
- Cover the pan with a lid, increase the heat to medium low, and cook the sheera for 3-4 minutes. You will find all the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove the lid, add sugar, mix it well, cover the pan, and cook it for 5 minutes.
- Now add freshly ground cardamom, nuts, raisins, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp ghee, and mix everything well. Cover it, let it cook on a low heat for another 3-4 minutes, and serve.
Notes
- Roasting the semolina with some ghee on a medium low heat for between 20-22 minutes is very important to make a perfectly tasting sheera.
- When you add boiled milk and water mixture, make sure to lower the heat. It will splutter everywhere so add it gradually and stir the semolina in between. Don’t add all the liquid at once.
- Adding a pinch of salt gives an amazing taste to the dish so you will not need to add more sugar in the recipe.
- Freshly ground cardamom in a pestle and mortar gives an amazing aroma to the dish.
- Adding the ghee at the end gives so much flavor and shine to the sheera.
- Whole milk gives a rich taste to the dish. You can completely skip adding the milk or add 2% milk in the recipe.
- If you take one cup of semolina, take 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, and add 1 more cup of water in the mixture before boiling it. But if you take 2 cups of semolina, you should take 2 cups of milk, 2 cups of water, and 1 cup of extra water.
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