Delicious Suji Halwa Recipe From Northern India
Shwetha Bhat is passionate about food and cooking. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and share recipes from her native Indian cuisine.
Suji Halwa
What Is Suji Halwa?
Suji halwa is a classic and traditional North Indian sweet that is made using semolina, sugar, ghee, and dried fruits. Suji means semolina. This confection is often made for the pooja ceremony as well as for festivals. It can also be served as a simple dessert. Since it is a very easy recipe that does not require much time to prepare, you don't need to wait for a special occasion to make it. You can make it at home whenever you want to have something sweet.
There are many different ways to prepare this halwa, although many of the recipes call for similar ingredients and similar methods of preparation. In South India, a very famous dessert called sheera or kesari bath is prepared with the same ingredients and a slightly different method of preparation.
Cook Time
| Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
|---|---|---|---|
5 min | 15 min | 20 min | 3 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup suji (semolina or cream of wheat), fine variety
- 1 cup warm milk
- 3/4 cup ghee, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup sugar, or to taste
- 8-10 cashews, chopped
- 8-10 almonds, chopped
Instructions
- In a bowl, add suji (semolina).
- To this add warm milk. Soak it for 10 minutes. The suji will absorb the milk.
- In a pan, heat the ghee for about 2-3 minutes.
- To the pan, add sugar. In 2-3 minutes, the sugar will turn a brown color.
- Lower the flame and add soaked suji. Mix evenly.
- Keep stirring constantly for about 4-5 minutes till you can see ghee getting separated.
- Drain out the extra ghee and continue stirring.
- When the ghee stops leaving from sides and the suji-sugar mixture is soft and intact, stop stirring.
- Add chopped dry fruits. Mix well.
- Delicious suji halwa is ready to serve.
Photo Guide
In a bowl, add 1 cup of suji.
Add 1 cup of warm milk to the suji.
Let sit for 10 minutes. The suji will absorb the milk.
Add 3/4 cup of ghee to a pan and heat it over medium flame for 2-3 minutes.
To this hot ghee add 1 cup of sugar. (You can adjust the amount according to your desired sweetness.)
In 2-3 minutes, the sugar will turn a brown color.
Now lower the flame and add suji. Immediately start stirring.
Mix well so that no lumps form. Break up the lumps (if any) with a spoon. Stir for about 4-5 minutes till ghee separates from the sides.
Drain out the extra ghee and continue stirring.
Repeat this process till the ghee stops oozing from the sides (around 3 minutes). Now you can see your halwa is soft and intact.
Add chopped dried fruits and mix. (I used almonds and cashews.)
Delicious suji halwa is ready to taste. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
More About Suji Halwa
- If you want halwa that is less sweet, just decrease the amount of sugar. Increase the quantity of sugar for sweeter halwa.
- Use the fine variety of suji, as it gives a smooth texture.
- You can reduce the amount of ghee. But don't reduce it by too much, as the ghee enhances the flavor and makes the best halwa.
- Add any dried fruits of your choice.
- Use a thick-bottomed pan to prevent the suji from burning.
- I use homemade ghee, but you can also use store-bought ghee.
- This recipe can be easily halved, doubled, or tripled. Adjust the quantity according to the number of servings you require.
- Don't replace ghee with oil. It don't taste good with oil.
- You can replace milk with water, but milk gives a creamy texture that enhances the flavor and makes it softer.