Sweet Shira – Simple and Quintessentially Indian

Sweet Shira – simple and quintessentially Indian, is popular among the young and old, all across India. While Maharashtrians call it Shira (Shee-raa), others call it Sooji Halvaa, Kesari, etc. The name really doesn’t matter – everyone recognizes it the moment they see it and salivate in anticipation!

My father simply loved Shira, so my Mom made it often – sometimes for breakfast, or snack or dessert or… just whenever! My brothers and I enjoyed it too, although Mom wasn’t a huge fan herself. To my Dad’s utter delight, both my children loved it too. I have very special memories of the two boys, savoring their ‘perfect Shira’ along with their grandfather, during one of our visits to India. My younger son, 4 years old at the time, told my mother, ‘Aji, it’s so Yummy! It tastes just like my Mom’s Shira’. He was a bit perplexed by the amusement his comment generated, until Mom asked him, “Guess who taught your Mom how to make it?” For me, of course, that was the best compliment, ever!

How to make shira?

There are so many variations of Shira – each delectable in its own way. My favorite, though, is the way my Mom made it, with medium-textured Sooji (also called Ravaa; Cream of Wheat; Semolina; Farina). As with anything and everything she did, the path to perfection was always about the details!

In essence, the basic procedure is very straightforward. Roast the Sooji in ghee, add water/milk, cover and cook for a few minutes. Then stir in sugar, which makes it become a bit watery again. Continue to cook until the liquid is fully absorbed. Add nuts, raisins, cardamom, saffron, etc., and serve piping hot! Interestingly, in Maharashtra, many folks enjoy pairing it with something just a tad salty, tart and spicy – like the lemon pickle I posted recently. I am solidly in this group myself – just a little lick of the spicy pickle somehow enhances the pleasure of having Shira.

Roast the Sooji – to perfection

So… what about those details? If the initial roasting is not done right, that is a sure path to sub-par quality Shira. In my opinion, this step is, by far, the most critical. You must roast the Sooji on medium heat, with pretty much continuous stirring, until it becomes fragrant and starts turning golden brown. Keep going – decrease the heat so it doesn’t burn, until the color darkens a bit more – to a rich golden brown. Of course, it takes patience and a watchful eye.

You cannot really accelerate the process by roasting on high heat – it does turn golden faster, but the Shira will just not have the right texture. I find it very convenient to make a small batch of Shira in the microwave. You still need to have a watchful eye, of course, but at least you don’t have to stir it continuously. Just be sure to use a glass or ceramic container for making it. Plastic containers, even if labeled as “Microwave-Safe” are really not suitable for making Shira. The fat and sugar content in the dish is quite high and can cause plastic bowls to melt/crack and release harmful substances into the food. I have given directions for both methods – stove-top, as well as microwave.

When Shira is made as Prasaad (Prus (like ‘bus’) – aad) for a religious festival/ceremony, it is typically made with extra Ghee, cooked with milk and studded with toasted nuts and raisins. This rich concoction, distributed rather sparingly to all the guests and attendees, never fails to hit the spot in a very special way.

On a Restricted Diet?

This recipe is vegetarian but not vegan or gluten-free, since it contains Ghee and is made with wheat Sooji. If you want to make it vegan, you can substitute the Ghee with coconut oil. A word of caution: please do NOT use unsaturated oils for roasting the Sooji. The prolonged heating can cause changes in the chemical composition of the oil that create harmful products. Coconut oil does not typically undergo such changes because it is a mostly saturated fat. You can omit the nuts to make it nut-free, if you wish. To make it gluten-free, you can try it with Jowar (Sorghum), ground to a Sooji texture, or use cornmeal. Cooking times will need to be adjusted for these substitutions, of course. The taste, too, will be a bit different, but both gluten-free variations are still delicious.

Sugar-alert!

Shira, as only to be expected for a sweet dessert item, packs a lot of sugar! So, if you need to watch your carbohydrate-sugar intake, perhaps you should avoid it or consume only infrequently, and in small quantities, as a special treat. Please refer to the nutrition information provided to help you make such decisions.

Celebrating my Mom and Dad

This post today has an extra special meaning for my family: my parents got married in 1949 on this date. I wanted to post something that taps into our cherished memories about both of them – and Shira certainly fits the bill! So, here it is – my Dad’s beloved Shira, with my Mom’s meticulous way of making it – path to perfection, indeed!

And the fragrance of this sweet Shira, the simple and quintessentially Indian crowd-pleaser – oh… it fills the whole house, pervading every nook and cranny!

Enjoy!

Sweet Shira- Simple and Quintessentially Indian

Roast Sooji in Ghee till fragrant and a rich golden brown. Add hot water, cover and cook for a few min. Stir in sugar, cover and cook for a few more min. Add raisins, chopped nuts, cardamom, nutmeg and/or saffron, Serve steaming hot, along with spicy lemon pickle.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Calories 254 kcal

Equipment

• Heavy bottomed stainless steel cast iron frying pan or carbon-steel wok. I do NOT recommend using non-stick pans/wok for roasting the Sooji in Ghee. The Sooji grains are hard and the continuous stirring will scratch and ruin the non-stick coating of the pan.
• Microwave oven – in case you do not have a stainless steel/cast iron pan or a carbon-steel wok. A non-stick wok is NOT suitable.
• Microwave safe glass/ceramic bowl if making in the microwave. Plastic containers are NOT suitable for making this- even if labeled as Microwave-safe.

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup Sooji (Rava) Medium texture- do not use Coarse or Fine Sooji/Rava ;; Quick-Cooking Cream of Wheat (do NOT use "Instant"), Farina, Semolina OK too;(see Recipe Notes)
• 1 tbsp Ghee if not available, use 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 10 tbsp sugar same as 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp; adjust more/less as per sweetness preferred
• 1 cup water: boiling hot: divided- 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup can replace water entirely with milk, or a 1:1 mixture of water and milk. May need to add a bit more water (up to 2-3 tbsp), depending on the coarseness of the Sooji used.
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder – freshly ground preferred 2-3 whole cardamom pods, peeled and the seeds ground just before using; add more, if you like. Already powdered cardamom seeds lose flavor quickly.
• 1/8 tsp tsp nutmeg (optional) – freshly grated Already grated nutmeg lose flavor quickly.
• 1 pinch Saffron (optional) – 4-5 strands crumble the strands and soak in 1-2 tsp milk to release color and flavor
• 1 tbsp slivered/sliced almonds (optional) can use cashews, chopped walnuts instead ; can use more nuts, if desired
• 1 tbsp raisins (optional) seedless preferred

Instructions

 

• Heat Ghee in a shallow frying pan (stainless steel, heavy bottom) or wok (carbon steel works well). Do NOT use a non-stick pan for roasting the Sooji. The Sooji grains become hard while being roasted. The constant stirring of these hard granules will scratch and ruin the non-stick coating on your pan.

  If using butter, add the butter, and let it melt and turn into ghee (clarified butter)- this will take only 2-3 minutes because of the small amount of butter.
  
• Add Sooji to the Ghee and roast it, with continuous stirring, on medium heat, until it becomes fragrant and turns a light golden brown.

  Decrease the heat a little and continue to roast, with stirring, until Sooji becomes evenly roasted to a rich golden brown. Be patient, and do not leave Sooji unattended for even a few moments.
  
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• Meanwhile, set the measured quantity of water (or milk-water mixture) to heat to boiling. (stove-top or microwave).
• When Sooji is nicely browned, carefully add a total of 3/4 cup water in 2-3 smaller portions. Be careful: it will sizzle and may splatter when you add the liquid.
  
• Cover and simmer for 3-4 min on low heat. Remove cover, the liquid should be completely absorbed. add raisins at this stage, if using; cover and lower the heat – cook for 4-5 mins. Add the remaining 1/4 cup water, stir, cover and cook again for 2-3 min. Add more hot water if it looks too dry (2-4 tbsp)
  
• Spread the sugar over the surface, and stir. It will immediately start becoming watery. Stir well, cover and simmer for 5-7 min on very low heat. Check after 4-5 min – run a sturdy spatula under the Shira to ensure that it is not starting to stick to the pan and/or burn. If it does look like it is starting to stick, it means that your heat setting was too high. Remove the pan from the cook-top for a couple of min, sprinkle a little water, and continue to cook, on the lowest setting possible, for 4-5 min until it looks moist, but not slurpy.

  Turn heat off, move pan away from the hot stove, and let it rest, covered, for 5-7 min

  Or, transfer the Shira to a microwave safe ceramic or glass bowl, cover and finish cooking in the microwave – about 5 min on 40% power, until it looks moist, but not slurpy.

  Note:

  Please do NOT use a plastic bowl, even if it says microwave-safe- because of the high sugar and fat content of the Shira, it is not suitable for cooking in plastic containers.
  
• 
• 
• Meanwhile, prepare the cardamom, nutmeg and/or saffron.

  Peel the cardamom, collect the seeds and crush/grind them in a mortar and pestle. if you don't have a mortar and pestle, make an envelope-like packet with the seeds and pound/roll firmly with a rolling pin to crush the seeds.

  Grate a little bit of a whole nutmeg using a fine grater/shredder. Grate only as much as needed. Save the remaining piece in a Ziploc bag in a dark bottle.

  Crumble the strands of saffron into 1-2 tsp warm milk in a small bowl. In a few min, the color and flavor of the saffron will be released into the milk, which will turn a bright orange-yellow.
• Prepare the nuts, if using:

  Almonds: Toast lightly in a dry frying pan – 1-2 min on medium heat. until lightly browned and fragrant.

  Cashews: Add 1/4 tsp of Ghee to a small wok and fry the cashew pieces/halves for 2-3 min until golden and fragrant.

  Walnuts: Chop the walnuts to a coarse crumbs I generally do not toast the walnuts, but you can, if you wish, for just 1-2 min.
  
• Scatter half the cardamom, most of the nutmeg and all the saffron, if using, on the Shira. combine the remaining cardamom and nutmeg – save for garnishing the Shira after it is transferred to the serving bowl/platter. Likewise, scatter half of the nuts, saving a few for garnish. Stir a little to mix everythig..
  
• Serve, piping hot, garnished with the reserved cardamom, nutmeg, raisins and nuts. Put out a small bowl of sweet and spicy lemon pickle.
  
• Enjoy!

Microwave directions: if you do not have a pan/wok suitable for stove-top roasting (pictures show Shira made with 2 tbsp Sooji, in a cereal bowl)

• Melt butter in a 2 quart glass/ceramic microwave-safe bowl. Do NOT use a plastic bowl.

  Add Sooji, stir and microwave on hi for 1 min. stir and repeat2-3 times. you will begin to see the the Sooji beginning to brown at the center. Continue to heat on hi for 20-30 seconds at a time until it becomes a rich golden brown. will take about 10 min to get it evenly browned.
  
• 
• Meanwhile, heat 1 1/4 cup water to boiling. Add it carefully to the roasted Sooji – it will sizzle. Stir, cover and microwave on medium power ( 40 %) for 3-4 min. Add raisins,if using, stir and continue to cook, covered, on 40% power for another 3-4 min..All the water will be fully absorbed.
  
• 
• Add the sugar. Stir- it will become watery. Cover and microwave for 6-7 min at 30% power. Stir it and ….It's done!
  
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• Garnish as described above, for the stove-top directions.

Notes

Sooji, Rava, Semolina, Farina, Cream of Wheat:

They are very similar, with slight differences in texture and color.  Any of these can be used for making Shira. Semolina may be pale yellow in color- that’s OK: the prepared Shira might have a slight yellowish hue, but the taste is excellent.

Fine Sooji:

The directions for making Shira are the same, but the proportion of sugar and water needs to be adjusted if you’re using ine Sooji. Fine Sooji does not absorb as much liquid as the coarse, medium-grain Sooji, and will likely become too sweet and/or “wet” and slurpy without the following adjustments.

For making Shira with 1/2 cup fine Sooji, use 1 tbsp Ghee, 1/2 cup sugar and 3/4 cup hot water/milk.  The Shira will be more creamy-textured than the one made with medium grain Sooji. The quantity of the prepared Shira will also be slightly less.

Coarse Sooji

I do NOT recommend using extra coarse Sooji for making Shira. the prepared Shira is too coarse for my taste.

Whole wheat flour:

I do NOT recommend using whole wheat flour for making Shira with this recipe. While the general procedure for making Atta-Halva is similar to the one I have presented here,, it requires several modifications that deserve a separate post of its own.

Storing & Reheating Leftovers:

Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, sprinkle a little water, cover and microwave for about a minute, until heated through. Alternatively, place in a shallow frying pan or wok, sprinkle water, cover and simmer on low heat for 6-7 min. Allow it to get really hot ( steaming!) and then cool it a little before serving. The Shira becomes a little hard when chilled; when it is heated thoroughly, it will become soft again.

You can also store it for up to 3 months or so, possibly even longer, if you freeze it in a container with a well-fitting lid (or double bag it in a Ziploc bag: remove as much air as possible before sealing the bags). To thaw, use the defrost setting on the microwave (or 30% power setting), then heat thoroughly as directed above (after sprinkling a little water).

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 32mgPotassium: 81mgFiber: 1gSugar: 30gCalcium: 160mgIron: 7mg

Keyword cardamom, Halva, Kesari, light brown sugar, nutmeg, Rava, saffron, semolina, Sooji

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