Semolina Halwa (or seero) made Desi Style

Semolina halwa cooked desi style is a traditional Gujarati sweet often called " Seero". It's one of those easy to make sweets that Gujarati’s are always finding excuses to make. Most people make it with sugar and milk and is often used as Prashad (offering) for Satyanarayan katha (religious ceremony).   I have made it the traditional way - using jaggery (Gor) and water. Again this recipe is one handed down from my father who was a diabetic. His excuse for being allowed to eat this sweet was that it did not contain sugar!! He was cheeky enough to tell us that diabetics could use jaggery instead of sugar!! Bless him - he enjoyed it and never suffered any ill effects.

This sweet is nice to have on its own when you have lost your appetite or when you are recovering from a cough or cold. It's also good for women who have just had babies. Gujarati's believe that this sweet helps one to recover from mild illnesses.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

2 cups of coarse semolina
1 and half cups of jaggery (Gor)
1.5 litres of boiling water
1 cup of butter - melted and strained (Ghee)
few almonds, pistacios, half a nutmeg, a pinch of semolina, teaspoon of ground cardomon

Method:

1. Add the jaggery to water and allow it to melt whilst boiling the water.

2. Add half to three quarter cup ghee to the semolina and cook on a mild heat until the semolina starts to get golden brown. If the semolina feels dry - add a bit more ghee.

3. Carefully pour the hot jaggery water to the cooked semolina. The semolina will start to bubble and cook so be careful that you don't get splattered. Add the ground nutmeg, cardommon and saffron to the mixture.

4. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes fairly solid and doesn't stick to the saucepan. If you like ghee, you can add the remaining ghee to the semolina but it's not necessary. The older generation still like to add more ghee to their sweet and it's fine if they do not have health problems.

5. Transfer the halwa or seero to a serving dish. Slice the almonds and pistachios and sprinkle them on the halwa.

6. Serve it hot as a sweet on it's own or with ice cream or thick double cream.

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Mohanthal - a Traditional Gujarati Sweet

Mohanthal is a traditional Gujarati sweet. It's tastes a bit like fudge and one of the most popular and traditional dishes served at Gujarati weddings.

Ingredients:

500 grams gram flour.

300 grams ghee
half a cup milk.
250 grams unsweetened mava or khoya (if shop bought then grate it )
350 grams sugar.
2 tablespoons, coarsely grounded cardamom seeds.
half tea spoon essence of saffron.
25 grams each of finely sliced almonds and pistachio nuts.

Method:

1. Add 50 grams of ghee to flour and mix nicely with a fork.
2. Add in the milk, mix thoroughly using a fork.

3.    Sieve this mixture through a large holed sieve. The largers grains which are sieved through help to give the mohanthal a lovely grainy texture.

4. Heat the remaining ghee and stir in the flour. Keep stirring and cooking the mixture until the flour looks golden brown.  Please take your time with cooking the mixture - rushing it will burn the flour and give the mohanthal a dark colour and bitter taste.

5. Add khoya, cardammons and nuts and cook till the mixture turns smooth and khoya turns a nice brown colour. (Once you get this colour, wait for the sugar syrup to reach its consistancy).

6. Mix 2 cups water in the sugar and heat this mixture gently until it forms a syrup. The syrup should be of one-thread consistency . To check this – take a drop of the syrup and rub it between your thumb and first finger. When you separate the thumb and finger, the syrup should be thick enough to form a thin string.

7. Add syrup to the cooked flour and mava and keep on stirring till the mixture turns thick.  Add a couple of drops of saffron essence. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes.   (In Gujarat - they tend to use more ghee and when the mohanthal cools down, you can see a layer of ghee.  My recipe uses less ghee and it doesn't make any difference to the taste)

8. Pour the mixture in a greased dish similar to a flan dish (thali) and level the surface using a flat spoon. Sprinkle more sliced nuts to decorate the mohanthal.

9. Let this cool down.   This could take several hours so cover the thali and leave it  in a cool place. Then cut the mohanthal into small  rectangle or diamond shapes and store in air-tight container.

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SHRIKAND - A SWEET DISH MADE WITH YOGURT AND SUGAR ETC.

SHRIKAND is a sweet dish always served chilled.   It can be served with pooris (recipe to follow soon).   Most Gujarati thalis have this as one of their sweet items and it provides a refreshing change when eating  hot and spicy curries.  It can also be served as a sweet dish at the end of a meal. It's often served at weddings in the summer.

Shrikhand's recipe is easy and versatile. You can make many variations of it by adding honey or fruit to it.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

Yoghurt (I made homemade yogurt with 2 litres of full fat milk - recipe below). If using shop bought yoghurt, I would buy the cheaper brands rather than the Greek style yogurt.  Greek style yogurt is lovely and thick and can be made to taste like shrikand by adding sugar or honey to it.

8-10 tablespoons sugar

handful of almonds and  pistachios - sliced thinly

cardamom- gently crushed in a mortar

half a teaspoon of saffron

half a teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg.

Method:

Recipe for yoghurt:

Ingredients:

Milk 2 litres  (you can use semi skimmed or full fat milk)

Small pot of live yoghurt

Method:

Boil the 2 litres of milk.

Transfer this to a container with a lid.

Cool the milk down to about 45 degrees.

Add  3 tablespoons of live yoghurt to the milk and stir.

Cover the container and keep in an airtight and warm cupboard. In the winter,  I tend to keep my container in the microwave.  I also add a boiled kettle next to my container to give the microwave some warmth .  Sounds crazy but it works!!  I know of friends who keep a hot water bottle next to their container.  In hot countries, it is a lot easier to make yoghurt. My suggestion would be make the yogurt overnight.

Recipe for Shrikand: 

1.  Take a clean muslin or similar type of cloth.  Using a large bowl, transfer the yoghurt into the muslin cloth and tie a knot to the cloth. 

2.  Hang this for several hours - overnight if possible. I use the banana stand to hang mine.

3.  The curds and whey will separate. (The whey can be used to make dhokra or kadhi)

4.  The curd will now resemble curd cheese.

5.  Transfer the curds to a mixing bowl.

6.  Add the sugar and mix well using a wooden spoon.

7.  I have a sweet tooth so tend to use more sugar.  My advice would be to taste and decide how much sugar is needed.

7. Add in the nutmeg, cardomom, saffron and half the almonds and pistachio.

8. Transfer to a serving dish and decorate with almonds and pistachios. Leave it in the fridge before serving.

9.  You can add fruit such as pomegranates, passion fruit, mangoes etc..to the shrikand if you wish.

Please see the video of pictures to make this recipe easier to follow