Kumkum's Food: Sooji Halwa - Rawa Halwa - Suji Halwa

Welcome to Kumkum’s Food, a journey about food and love!

Traditionally in our country, all auspicious/new beginnings/celebrations in one’s life are accompanied with the cooking of sooji halwa. It could be the start of a new married life or entry into a new home, this is the first sweet dish you are supposed to cook in your kitchen.

I too was supposed to cook this halwa on a destined day, when all the relatives and family gathered to taste the food cooked by the new bride for the first time and bestow their blessings/gifts on her. I being a complete novice was nervous beyond imagination even though there was not much pressure, but I wanted to learn and cook it the right way from the very first day ‘cause as they say “First impression is the last impression”.

I gathered on the recipe from the chats of few elderly women in the family and was determined to get a perfectly cooked halwa. And the new bride, as in me was able to impress everyone with a flavorful halwa. So here’s the perfected recipe for all of you, whether you are a new bride, a seasoned cook, or someone craving for some freshly cooked halwa, let’s begin!

Ingredients (You will need):

1 cup sooji/rava/semolina

½ cup ghee/clarified butter

2 cups sugar

4 cups water

Optional:

Some food colour/saffron strands in 1 tsp milk

Dry fruits for garnishing

Cardamom seed/ilachi powder

Cooking Steps:

Step 1:

Melt ghee in a utensil of your choice and add sooji.

Step 2:

Fry sooji till you get a chocolate-brown colour.

Step 3:

In another pan, heat water and add sugar to make a sugar syrup (takes approximately 5 minutes for the sugar to dissolve completely). I have added cardamom seed powder to the same.

Step 4:

Once the sooji achieves desired colour (approximately 5 minutes), add the sugar syrup from step 3 to the sooji. Be careful as both pans are at high temperature and there would be lot of spluttering.