Sweets recipes | Havyaka

Shira or Sheera | Suji Halwa

By Leena Hegde, Puttanamane

Ingredients A quick look Step by step Notes

Shira or Sheera is a traditional pudding made with fine semolina (rava / suji), ghee, sugar, cashews, raisins, and flavoured with cardamom powder. This delicious dessert has a soft texture with delicate flavours of ghee and cardamom. To make it more flavourful and aromatic, I have added chopped fresh pineapple which is optional.

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Cool off time

0 Total time

25 mins

Course

Sweets

Diet

Vegetarian

Difficulty level

Moderate

Servings

5

Ingredients

1 cup fresh and fine Bombay rava (semolina / suji)
½ cup fresh homemade ghee (can reduce to 6 tablespoons)
¾ cup raw sugar or as needed
2.5 cups water
15 cashews or as needed
20 golden raisins (dry grapes) or as needed
5 cardamoms
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple (optional)

Cookware / Utensils

Thick pan
Spoon or spatula
Mortar and pestle

Instructions

Remove cardamom seeds, rinse, and crush them using mortar and pestle.
Rinse cashews and raisins. If you like you can lightly fry cashews and raisins in ghee.
Chop 1 cup fresh pineapple, cover and keep aside.
Heat ghee and add rava to hot ghee.
On medium flame roast rava until fragrant and turns light golden (not brown) while stirring continuously.
Then add water and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps. Then add sugar and stir well.

Note: If you prefer, you can add hot water. If so, please boil the water and keep it ready.
Add chopped pineapple and mix well.
The rava grains will begin to absorb the water and swell. The mixture starts thickening. Stir often.
Keep stirring and cooking till it absorbs all the water and leave the sides of the pan.
Lower the flame and add cardamom powder, cashews, and golden raisins. Mix well.
Switch off the heat.
Serve Shira hot, warm, or at the room temperature.

Step by step guide

How to make Shira or Sheera

1. Remove cardamom seeds, rinse, and crush them using mortar and pestle. Rinse cashews and raisins. If you like you can lightly fry cashews and raisins in ghee. Chop 1 cup fresh pineapple, cover and keep aside.

2. Heat ghee and add rava to hot ghee.

3. On medium flame roast rava until fragrant and turns light golden (not brown) while stirring continuously.

4. Pour the water and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps. Then add sugar and stir well.

Note: If you prefer, you can add hot water. If so, please boil the water and keep it ready.

5. Add chopped pineapple and mix well.

6. The rava grains will begin to absorb the water and swell. The mixture starts thickening. Stir often.

7. Keep stirring and cooking till it absorbs all the water and leave the sides of the pan. Lower the flame and add cardamom powder, cashews, and golden raisins. Mix well.

8. Switch off the heat.

9. Serve Shira hot, warm, or at the room temperature.

Notes

Ghee: Make use of fresh and preferably homemade ghee. ½ cup ghee to 1 cup rava is the right ratio. You can reduce to 5 to 6 tablespoons if you like less ghee and a lighter version.
Sugar: Add sugar as per your preferences. Try using unrefined raw sugar. You can also substitute sugar with jaggery powder.
Water: Usually water at room temperature is added to cook Shira. But if you like to speed up the cooking process you can add hot water. Boil and keep the hot water ready. Also, adjust the water quantity according to type of rava.
Roasting rava: Roasting rava is the key step to make non-sticky Shira. Roast rava evenly on a medium heat stirring continuously until light golden. There will also be a fragrant of suji and ghee. Do not brown the rava. Unroasted rava makes sticky Shira.