Traditional Indian dessert, Sooji Halwa is a pudding made from semolina (sooji).
Ghee, sugar and sooji are the three main ingredients required to make this easy dessert!
I have realized that I haven’t shared some very basic Indian recipes on the blog.
Like so far, I had not shared the recipe for Sooji Halwa (Suji Halwa)! I mean can there be any simpler (and easier) Indian dessert?
Growing up, there were 2 desserts that mom made on a regular basis- one was halwa and the other was kheer.
While halwa is a broad term used for pudding like desserts in India, the most common halwa that mom made were sooji halwa and aate ka halwa (made from wheat flour).
Sooji ka halwa was made in home whenever we wanted to have something sweet. It was an easy dessert which mom could whip up in 15 minutes and hence it was her go to dessert for sweet cravings.
The halwa was also made as prasad (offering) for various festivals. I remember eating bowls of sooji halwa during Navratri!
What is Sooji Halwa
It’s a pudding made with sooji (semolina), ghee (clarified butter) , sugar and water.
Everything else is optional.
Like, I have added some milk but you can very well use 100% water.
Milk makes the halwa more creamy and so I prefer using 50% milk and 50% water.
I have slightly flavored the halwa with cardamom and nuts.
Again you can skip both if you want, totally optional.
My mom’s everyday sooji halwa (or suji halwa) never had nuts in it. She didn’t even add cardamom powder.
How to Make Best Sooji Halwa
It’s just a simple dessert but here are few things you need to keep in mind while making sooji halwa.
Getting the ratio right: back home, I have often heard this from people that for making the best sooji halwa, use same amount of ghee, sugar and sooji and double the water.
Now that might seem like a lot of ghee but it does really make the best halwa.
For this recipe, I do use same amount (1/2 cup) of ghee and sooji. I slightly cut down on the sugar and use 1/3 cup.
You can very well 1/2 cup so then it will be 1/2 cup of each ingredient.
I use 3 times the water since I like my halwa more on the softer side. And I don’t do 100% water but rather 50% milk and 50% water for a creamier halwa.
Roast the sooji until fragrant: the most important step! If you don’t roast the sooji properly, the halwa will have raw taste.
I don’t like to brown my sooji for the halwa. So I roast it on low heat, stirring continuously until it’s nice and fragrant.
It takes around 8 to 9 minutes for it to roast on low heat.
Be careful while adding the liquid: when you add hot liquid (water and milk in this case) to the hot pan of roasted sooji, it bubbles up like crazy. So be very careful!
Add slowly and carefully else you will burn yourself.
It’s also a good idea to use a pan with a long handle to heat up the milk, sugar and water mixture.
That makes it easier to pour the hot liquids into the sooji.
Stir constantly to avoid forming lumps: to make sure your halwa is smooth, stir continuously as you add the liquids.
If you don’t do that, it will form lumps and won’t have the creamy texture.
This sooji halwa is lightly sweetened. Increase the quantity of sugar for a sweeter halwa.
Method
1- To a pan, add sugar, water and milk. Stir and let it heat up on medium heat. You don’t want to boil it but mixture should be heated through and sugar should be dissolved.
2- While the milk-water heats up, put a pan on medium heat and add ghee to it. Let the ghee melt.
3- Then add sooji to the pan and stir.
4- Add in the broken cashews and stir.
5 – Stirring continuously, roast the sooji on low-medium heat
6- Add cardamom powder and continue to stir.
7- Stir for around 8 to 9 minutes on low-medium heat. As soon as sooji is fragrant and beginning to change color, that it the time to add the liquid.
I don’t like to brown my sooji, if you want darker color halwa, roast couple more minutes.
8- Add the heated milk-water-sugar-mixture into the pan. It will bubble a lot as you add the liquids into the pan so be careful and add slowly.
9- Whisk the sooji continuously as you add the liquids.
10- Add the liquids in 2-3 parts, whisking continuously with one hand.
11- Keep stirring, sooji will begin to absorb the liquid and thicken up.
12- Stir for 2 minutes more until the halwa thickens and leaves the sides of the pan.
Garnish with more cashews and serve sooji halwa warm!
If you’ve tried this Sooji Halwa Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Sooji Halwa
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup sugar 75 grams, or use more for a sweeter halwa
- 3/4 cup water 6 oz/180 ml
- 3/4 cup milk 6 oz/ 180 ml
- 1/2 cup ghee 100 grams, in semi-solid state
- 1/2 cup sooji (semolina) 90 grams, use fine sooji
- 10 whole cashew nuts broken into small pieces
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
Instructions
- To a pan, add sugar, water and milk. Stir and let it heat up on medium heat. You don't want to boil it but mixture should be heated through and sugar should be dissolved.
- While the milk-water heats up, put a pan on medium heat and add ghee to it. Let the ghee melt. Then add sooji to the pan and stir. Add in the broken cashews and stir.
- Stirring continuously, roast the sooji on low-medium heat. Add cardamom powder and continue to stir.
- Stir for around 8 to 9 minutes on low-medium heat. As soon as sooji is fragrant and beginning to change color, that it the time to add the liquid.I don't like to brown my sooji, if you want darker color halwa, roast couple more minutes.
- Add the heated milk-water-sugar-mixture into the pan. It will bubble a lot as you add the liquids into the pan so be careful and add slowly.
- Whisk the sooji continuously as you add the liquids. Add the liquids in 2-3 parts, whisking continuously with one hand.
- Keep stirring, sooji will begin to absorb the liquid and thicken up.Stir for 2 minutes more until the halwa thickens and leaves the sides of the pan.
- Garnish with more cashews and serve sooji halwa warm!
Notes
- You can add raisins and almonds to the halwa.
- If you think that's a lot of ghee, you can cut it down to 1/3 cup. I would not recommend going below that.
- This halwa is lightly sweetened. For a sweeter halwa, use 1/2 cup sugar.
- You can add saffron for color and flavor. Add it to the liquids while heating them up.
- If you prefer a more roasted halwa, simply roast the sooji for additional 1 to 2 minutes for darker color halwa.
Looks so delicious!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
welcome 🙂
Very nice
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Many years ago, I dined regularly at an Indian restaurant. I became friends with the owner/chef, and my love for Indian cuisines started there.
Sooji Halwa was a dessert that I enjoyed regularly at his restaurant, but I never learned how it was made until now. I made a batch tonight. I added a half-dozen whole green cardamom pods, and it turned out exactly as I remembered. Perfect. Thank you!
I tried this recipe today and it turned out great.thanx 🙂
I didn’t have ghee so used butter; doubled the recipe and added a bit of cinnamon and vanilla extract at the end. Simply divine!
Best recipe ever
Can you use coconut milk instead of full fat milk?
yes should work!
It was too much ghee.
Ghee and sugar can always be adjusted to taste, I shared how I like it!
Made this for the first time in years . For got how to make it.come on this site . I made it with full milk and ghee so soft thank you but I couldn’t find a recipe for the puri .
glad you liked it! don’t have a recipe for puri yet 🙂
I can only find coarse Suji, do you think I can use it.
Thank you ,
Pam
fine is preferred but you can definitely make halwa with coarse too
I don’t like ghee. Is there any alternative of ghee and what should be the quantity?
butter, same quantity
Thank you, I made this but was told the the sooji was not properly cooked because it wasn’t browned enough. I personally loved it this way – I don’t like the taste of brown semi burnt sooji – what’s the feedback on this?
Thank you
everyone makes it differently , there’s no right or wrong way of doing it. You sooji should be roasted enough, doesn’t matter if it still looks white or dark brown!
Awesome recipe as it turned out perfectly. Soft but not too sweet (followed recipe exactly). My family all commented on how wonderful it tasted and asked for the recipe. 10/10!!
yay 🙂
The recipe looks delicious and I intend to try it. Could I skip the ghee/butter totally i.e can I just roast the semolina in the pan without the fat? Thank you!
no you can’t, it won’t be halwa then, it will be some other dish. The taste of the halwa comes from the ghee, you can reduce it if you want but can’t skip it if you want to make halwa.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. This is my Mauritian father in laws favourite desserts. I made this for him and he absolutely loved it! He said it was as good as my mother in laws Halwa, which was a great compliment!
Jazaakallah Khairan kaceera for the recipe. Shayad I made it for the first time. Very nicely instructed .
Alhamdulillah loved it
glad to know!
Made a beautiful brown, fragrant & crumbly sooji ka halwa with your recipe today. Regret not adding as much almonds/cashews as was recommended. But this reminded me of Gurudware ka kadha prashad; this is the best ever halwa I have made. Thanks 😊
awesome 🙂
Tried this today! Simple to make. Thanks to your awesome recipe 😁 my husband loved it!
glad to know!
Can i add jaggery instead of sugar, would that make a difference as far as taste is concerned?
you can try, I have never tried this halwa with jaggery 🙂
So delicious & easy to make! I hesitated to try this because my mom is such a good cook but this recipe is delicious and it came out perfectly!
She will definitely enjoy this!
Thank you!!
glad to know 🙂
Your recipe is wondrous. I was looking for such a recipe. The creamy texture is the best part! This is usual serve in temples and gurudawras, today you seem to have decoded it for me..really amazed my it!!
Just tempting!
so glad!
I hadn’t made this for years, so looked for a recipe to remind me – so glad I came across yours – it came out perfectly !!!! I added sultanas which were fabulous. So impressed, I’ve signed up for your recipes 🙏 thank you 😊
welcome! 🙂
I love this recipe, except one thing. My only thing is that I added almost the same amount as you did of the ghee and when everything was combined, there was a nice, soft halwa, sitting in a bed of ghee. And that is not very appetizing as everything is oily and had to pour it out which was hard. But I have to say that you did say we can reduce it and you shared it as you like it, so kudos to you. And I absolutely love this site. Just wanted to share my feedback..
Thanks for the feedback
I just made it and it turned out awesome. I added saffron in the milk and skipped the nuts.
Thank you for the amazing recipe.
you are welcome! glad you liked it Shilpa
I just made this and it turned out awesome. I added saffron in the milk, skipped the nuts and added extra semolina to balance the ghee. Thank for the amazing recipe!
Hi Manali,
I used to always get confused with the sheera measurements, today made it as per yr receipe, turned out perfect, offered prasad also
Thank you so much 😘
Glad to know Monisha!
I don’t have an Indian store near me. Can I use Italian Semolina instead?
sorry I don’t know how Italian semolina works so I am not sure