Sheera / Halwa/ Sweet semolina pudding

There is something about the rainy weather. You feel nostalgic. 


You want to eat something hot/warm and gooey. 


The only word i can think of now is  Sheera. It is a thick-yet-flowing sweet goodness.


I like that....I feel like making it…


So let's get started.


Ingredients (1 serving)
1. Fine Semolina/ Sooji- 2 spoons (3 tsp)
2. Ghee (clarified butter)- 3tsp (if you want, you can put more)
3. Milk (full cream)- 50 ml+ additional to thin consistency
4. Almonds/ badam- 2-4 (make coarse powder by pounding)
5. Kesar /saffron- 1-2 strands
6. Green cardamom/elaichi-2, remove seeds and crush them
7. Sugar- 2 tsp




Method
1. Take a small thick bottomed kadhai/wok. Heat ghee in it.
2. Add sooji and cook while continuously stirring. It avoids burning of the semolina.
3. When the color and smell of sooji changes to a darker shade and a cooked smell then add milk and cook. The semolina will swell. If it gets too thick, add more milk. You can add water also.
4. Now add sugar and mix well.
5. Add kesar, badam and elaichi.




Footnotes:
Sheera is a common Indian sweet and you will find a number of variations to it.
6. Jaggary /gur also can be used instead of sugar.
7. Water can replace milk in the above recipe.
8. Other dry fruits like raisins, pistachios etc. can also be added to this recipe.
9. Whole wheat flour  can be used instead of semolina.
10. Some people add a small amount of rosewater to it to add a touch of royalty and beautiful fragrance.
11. You can soak saffron in warm milk before adding, I skipped the step.


Enjoy the wholesome goodness of this Indian sweet pudding and appreciate life.
Life is good.

Happy holi! (and how to make mathari at home)

Holi!!

pic

The festival of colors reminds me of soooo... many good things. The colors, the Dhol(Drum) music, the dancing, the pranks we played, and the food....ahhh..the sweet Gujiya made by mom, the cool thandai at my nani's house and a variety of mathries (flaky, salted or spiced biscuits).

Today for holi, I have made these special mathris which my mom used to make. Can't say that it's easy; but it surely is worth all the effort...:)

Ingredients

1. All purpose flour- 2 katori (measure 400ml volume upto the brim)
2. Ghee (clarified butter)-1/5 of the flour
3. Ajwain seeds- 1& 1/2 tsp (you can add cumin seeds also)
4. Salt- 1 tsp (you can increase it to get a more salty flavour)
5. Oil for frying
6. Water for making dough

(Mathari's can be made by adding varied type of spices, this is a simple Ajwain mathari/mathri)

Method

1. Add ghee,ajwain and salt to the flour and mix thouroughly. Add water and knead a little hard dough. Set aside for 15-20 min.

2. Now break the dough into small ball-like pieces.

3. Heat the oil in a wok/kadhai at a low flame.

4. With the help of a rolling pin, flatten the pieces of dough individually into 4 or 5 inch diameter circles. Pierce these circles with a knife or fork in a random manner.

5. When at least 5-6 are done, fry them at low flame. Remove when they become golden brown. Since frying will take time, you can continue rolling the remaining ones. (You can also roll and pierce all of them and then start with frying, but that just increases the time.).

6. Keep them on absorbent paper/paper napkin. Store in an air tight jar. They keep well for a few weeks.

These are usually served with spicy and yummy pickles, but taste pretty good all by themselves. I love them with my evening cup of tea.