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Sooji ka Halwa using German grocery store ingredients

A warm bowl of this halwa on a cold winter morning takes me back to my childhood
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6 persons
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup (150 ml) full fat milk (or plant based milk)
  • 8-10 saffron strands
  • 3 green cardamom pods (substitute: ½ tsp ground cardamom)
  • 1 cup (200 grams) Semolina (Hartweizen-Grieß)
  • ¼ cup (50 grams) Ghee (or vegan ghee/butter)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped or slivered almonds
  • 2 Tbsp raisins
  • 2 Tbsp shredded coconut
  • 1 cup (200 grams) raw sugar (Vollrohr-Zucker)
  • 1 liter water
For garnish:
  • 1 tsp chopped or slivered almonds

Method
 

Preparation:
  1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it up until you see small bubbles appearing on the sides. Switch off heat and add the saffron strands. Mix to soak the saffron strand into the milk, then cover and keep aside until needed.
  2. Crush the cardamom pods using a mortar and pestle. Start by pounding the cardamom pods to open, then grind in a circular motion to crush most of the seeds. Alternatively you can use an electric grinder or use ground cardamom instead. Keep aside
Cooking:
  1. Put a big pan/ skillet on medium heat and let it heat up. Once hot, add your semolina and dry roast it on medium heat until it turns golden. It will take about 12-15 minutes, and you have to constantly keep it moving (on medium heat) for even roasting. Once it starts to turn fragrant and is evenly golden, transfer to a bowl and keep aside.
  2. Wipe clean the skillet and put it back on medium low heat. Add the ghee and let it melt. Add the almonds and fry for 1 minute, until they turn golden.
  3. Add the raisins and fry until they fluff up (about 1 minute).
  4. Add the shredded coconut and fry for half a minute.
  5. Add the roasted semolina and raw sugar. Turn the heat to low and saute for 2 minutes.
  6. In the meanwhile, bring the water to boil. While the water boil, keep stirring the halwa so it doesn't burn.
  7. Slowly add the boiling water to the halwa with one hand while stirring it with the other to avoid lumps. Let cook on low heat, stirring slowly until the semolina absorbs the liquid. Once you reach a consistency when you draw a line in the middle of your halwa and it doesn't run back immediately, switch off the heat.
  8. Add the saffron infused milk and the crushed green cardamom to the pan and mix until well incorporated. The halwa will thicken up as it cools down. Adjust the consistency to your preference. You can either add more boiled water or boiled milk to make the consistency runnier, or cook further to make the halwa firmer.
  9. Garnish with chopped almonds and serve warm.

Notes

  • For a vegan version, replace the ghee with vegan ghee or butter and milk with plant based milk.
  • Use the same measurements for semolina and sugar. If you are using weight measurements for semolina, use that for sugar as well. Same goes for the cup measurement. The amount of semolina and sugar should be the same for the recipe.
  • If you want to make a smaller portion, simple cut all the ingredients in half.