Sooji ka Halwa (Semolina Halwa) – 20 minute Recipe!

Halwa is a famous dessert that is prepared all over the world with various ingredients and in countless forms. This 20-minute recipe is prepared with semolina in the Pakistani and North Indian style.

The History of Halwa

You know how Tolstoy famously said, “there are as many kinds of loves as there are hearts”? Well, I’m going to not-so-famously say “there are as many kinds of halwas as there are countries”.

Apparently, there are few countries in the world in which halwa (or halva, halwah, halveh, helva, halua, and the list goes on) is NOT a traditional dessert. It’s a kind of centuries-old global sweet. The word halwa comes from the Arabic root “helw”, which means “sweet”, and many middle-eastern cultures like to claim it’s their original concoction (hey, I would want to take credit for coming up with like that too). Nonetheless, if a dessert has been carrying on for centuries, it must be pretty good, right? It’s so simple, it’s genius, not to mention easy to prepare.

How to Make Sooji Ka Halwa

I must confess, it took me a couple (okay, several) tries to perfect this recipe. I’ll go on to embarrass myself by pretty much giving away how I messed up each time; so go ahead, make it and impress everyone with your halwa skills at my expense.

I present to you the 5 commandments of Halwa-making:

1. Thou shalt embrace stirring. Seriously, you’re going to be stirring constantly.
2. Thou shalt thoroughly roast the semolina, without burning it.
3. Thou shalt boil the sugar and water mixture separately instead of being lazy and throwing it in with the browned semolina.
4. Thou shalt not attempt to be overly healthy and skimp on the butter.
5. Thou shalt use fine quality semolina.

If you follow the 5 commandments, you will be treated to a dessert that will feel like heaven on earth (sorry, I had to).

Traditional Sooji ka Halwa (Semolina Halwa)

Izzah Cheema

Halwa is a famous dessert that is prepared all over the world with various ingredients and in countless forms. This 20-minute recipe is prepared with semolina in the Pakistani and North Indian style.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian, Pakistani

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup butter both salted and unsalted work depending on preference
• 1 cup fine semolina sooji
• 2-3 cups water*
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar or cane sugar or to taste
• 4-5 cardamom pods slightly cracked open
• 1/2-2 tsp rose water depending on how strong your rose water is
• pinch saffron optional
• slivered almonds for garnish** (optional)

Instructions

 

• Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan on medium-low heat and add the semolina.
• Stir the semolina continuously until it roasts evenly and turns golden in color, about 10-12 minutes. Depending on your stovetop, you may need to raise the heat to medium to help it come to the roasting point. Then lower the heat as needed. Remove from heat once the semolina is well roasted and has turned golden. You can also continue on to the next step while roasting the semolina.
• In a separate small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and cardamom pods to a boil. Stir, and allow to simmer until the sugar is dissolved, and then remove from heat and add the rose water and saffron.
• Place the semolina mixture back over medium heat. Stir this sugar syrup carefully into the browned semolina. Continue to stir for a couple of minutes, until the mixture thickens, loses most of its moisture and the butter starts to separate from the semolina. Sometimes I like to add a dollop of ghee at this point to give it a nice finish.
• Garnish with slivered almonds (or other garnishings) and serve warm.

Notes

* The water will determine the texture. If you want it to be more grainy to be eaten alone, use 2 cups of water. 3 cups will yield a softer and thicker halwa like the one used for ‘halwa poori’.

** You can also add various nuts, raisins, or any other garnishing. Some people add this within the halwa while cooking it (I prefer to keep the halwa center-stage though).

 

Nutrition

Calories: 485kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 6gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 209mgPotassium: 112mgFiber: 2gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 709IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 2mg

Keyword semolina halwa, sooji, sooji ka halwa

Did you try this recipe?Please let me know in the comments below. If you’re on Instagram, I’d love for you to tag me so I can see your creations.

Enjoy!