SAJJIGE/SOJI GUR KA HALWA/SHEERA

Sajjige brings back memories of my twenties when as a new mother I was pampered with oil massages, hot herbal water to rinse the oil, drying my thick mop of hair with sambrani  ( a kind of balsamic resin) smoke... and wait for piping hot semolina puddig aka sajjige with a dollop of ghee. Heavenly indeed.

Sajjige a highly nourishing combination of semolina, jaggery, dry coconut, dry fruits and off course sinful amounts of ghee, is a must for new mothers in Mysuru and Bengaluru region of southern India.

Simply put this dish  is ubiquitous. Call it sheera, soji ka halwa, rava kesari, or  Halwet el sameed (arabic).

This dish is also very popular during pooja as offering at homes and temples as prasadam.

Preparation is - No fuss and not elaborate, fits into any meal for breakfast or as a dessert.

• Difficulty - very easy
• Preparation time - 10 mins
• Cooking time - 15 mins
• Serves - 4

Ingredients

• Semolina - 1 cup
• Grated desiccated coconut - 1/2 cup 
• Ghee - 2 table spoons (more if you wish to)
• Dry fruits - cashew, almond, raisins as per choice
• Cloves - 4
• cardamom - 4

Method 

• Cut/chop almond and cashews, deep fry in ghee in a wok till golden, keep aside
• Add semolina to the same wok and roast under low flame till aromatic, keep aside.
• Boil 2 to 2 1/2cups of water in the wok, add grated coconut, bring to boil again and add roasted semolina slowly with constant stirring. Let semolina cook for 2 minutes.
• Add powdered jaggery, mix well
• Add powdered cloves and cardamom, add ghee as per your taste/requirement

Tips and Notes

• Roasting semolina  under low flame till aromatic is an important step for getting good texture and aroma.
• can substitute jaggery with sugar/ demarera sugar