SUJI GUD KA HALWA/ GULACHA SHEERA

 Here is the healthy sweet dish that holds a lot of importance on various festivals. It's very delicious dessert that has an amazing taste and can be very easily made at home.

Suji halwa/ Gur Ka Halwa (or Gulacha Sheera as it is called in Marathi) is one of the easiest and simplest sweets ever made. It is very tasty and healthy as semolina is extracted during the durum wheat bran separation. It is a traditional  Indian dish, it is mostly prepared during Winters, as jaggery and ghee lend warmth to the body. By adding jaggery this dessert becomes more nutritious and healthier. The benefits of jaggery include its ability to cleanse your body, sweeten your food in a healthy manner and provide good amounts of minerals. Jaggery gives it a very unique flavour and is known to be super healthy for your body. In many places in India, this halwa is eaten in combination with puri.

There are many different types of halwa recipes in India. We make it from fruits, veggies, flour, semolina and even lentils. Like - Gur ka halwa, Aate ka halwa, Moong dal halwa, Pumpkin halwa, Sama chawal halwa. The best part of this recipe is you can make this halwa recipe with both sooji and wholemeal flour. If you are wondering what struck me on head for uploading a Halwa post in this season. The pleasant cool and breezy weather has provided me all the reasons to indulge in this hot bowl of comfort. 

Halwa is the most prepared sweet / dessert at my place as my hubby is very fond of sweets. And rather than making cookies and cakes, I favors much of Indian sweets rather than international. The reason being it’s easy as no special ingredients are required. Can be said all the ingredients are easily available in an Indian household. It takes maximum of 30 minutes to prepare. I normally make Sheera (Suji Halwa) with sugar but in recent times have cut down sugar quite a bit so this option with jaggery was very appealing. I find that eating even a little of a jaggery-based sweet tends to satisfy the craving for a dessert while sugar-based sweets make me crave for more. We have been trying to make conscious effort to include less of refined sugar in our desserts and bakes. And this halwa is one such dessert in that endeavour. I intend to share more of such desserts that have been sweetened with jaggery (gur) in times to come. I already shared Whole Wheat Halwa With Jaggery  recipes on my blog. Any halwa may it be. A little bite of sweet is must after every meal.

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INGREDIENTS :

1-1/4 Cup Sooji/Rava/Semolina

3/4 Cup Ghee

1-1/4 Cup Jaggery ( see notes )

750 ml Water ( see notes )

1/2 teaspoon Cardamom powder 

1/4 Cup mixed Nuts (cashew, pistachio, almond, raisins)

1/2 tablespoon chopped Nuts for garnishing 

METHOD :

STEP 1 - In a deep pan mix together jaggery & water. 

STEP 2 - Heat so jaggery dissolves. 

STEP 3 - Let it come to boil. Boil it for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 4 - Strain it using a strainer. Keep aside.

STEP 5 - Heat ghee in a heavy bottom wok/kadai or non stick pan.

STEP 6 - Add in suji. Roast on low flame till fragrant and colour changes to light brown. ( see notes )

STEP 7 - It takes around 15-16 minutes to roast the semolina/rava.

STEP 8 - Now add the jaggery water slowly while stirring constantly to ensure no lumps are formed. Be careful the hot contents will splatter around.

 STEP 9 - Give it a nice stir and cover it.

STEP 10 - Let the rava cook in the jaggery water till the water is all absorbed and the sheera / halwa comes together as a ball and starts leaving the sides of pan.  Mix well at regular intervals.

STEP 11 - Add in the nuts and cardamom powder and give a nice mix.

STEP 12 - Cover it and again simmer it for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 13- Garnish with some more sliced nuts (optional) and serve warm.

NOTES : * Continuous stirring is required for this halwa as semolina will burn.

* To make this halwa in traditional way , do not cut the amount of ghee while roasting semolina.

* You can always increase the amount of jaggery if you wish for more sweetness.

* You may replace jaggery with sugar if required

* If you like, you can fry nuts in ghee or butter as they taste even better.

* Garnish halwa with nuts and raisins is totally optional.

*  If you want, you can dry roast the nuts or fry them in a little ghee before serving.

* Keep in mind that the halwa will absorb the liquid further on as it sits and so adjust the cooking time accordingly.

 * Can be stocked up to a month in airtight container for a month.

* Store it in refrigerator. Heat whenever you wish to eat it.

Watch the video for step by step recipe 👇👇

INSTANT BHATURE with ENO

 Quick and instant bhatura recipe - Eno fruit salt is used while making bhatura instead of yeast. Bhatura is a leavened, puffed deep fried bread made from Maida or All Purpose Flour. A popular recipe from the Punjabi cuisine, It is mainly served with spiced chickpea curry such as Pindi Chole and Amritsari Chole. Traditionally, bhatura is made using fermented dough, which is rested for minimum of 6 hours and has a peculiar tang to it. So to make the traditional version of bhatura, one needs to be pre-planned. In this post I am sharing the recipe of how to make bhature with ENO fruit salt. There are many variations of making these crispy and fluffy fried bread. Dry active yeast, baking soda, eno (fruit salt), baking powder are some of the ingredients that are added to leaven the dough. 

Today’s bhatura recipe is the quicker version. No fermentation is needed. To replace the yeast, I have added Eno fruit salt as a leavening agent and trust me, that lends the bhaturas with that perfect crispness on outside and perfect fluffiness on the inside. Dough needs only 30 minutes resting time. After that start rolling and frying the bhaturas. Within 40-45 minutes you will have piping hot bhatura ready to serve. The texture of the bhatura is just fantastic. So when you are short of time and crave for this delicious Chole Bhatura combo, these instant bhaturas come to your rescue. You won’t have to compromise in terms of taste and texture. It has crispy top with soft and fluffy bottom or inside.

Usually bhatura are made with maida or all purpose flour. But you can use half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. So it is very little on healthier side. Bhatura is traditionally served with punjabi chole.  It is generally eaten as a breakfast dish with yoghurt based beverage lassi, but can be served any time of the day for a complete and satisfying meal. Now no one (including me) can afford to have this kind of heavy breakfast in this modern lifestyle. So I usually make this as a weekend lunch or sometimes as a dinner.

So, without wasting any time further, let's start with the recipe.

[ 1 cup = 240 ml ]

INGREDIENTS :

For Bhatura Dough :

2 Cups All Purpose Flour (Maida)

3 tablespoons Suji (Rava or Semolina)

½ teaspoon Baking Powder

¼ teaspoon Eno Fruit Salt

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Plain Yogurt / Curd

¾ cup Warm water

1 tablespoons Oil 

 More oil for deep frying

METHOD :

For Making Dough -

STEP 1 -  Take dry ingredients ( flour, semolina, salt, sugar, baking powder and eno fruit salt) in a bowl.

STEP 2 - Mix well and then  add plain yogurt.

STEP 3 - Mix it by rubbing between your fingers till everything is incorporated well.

STEP 4 - Now start adding little warm water at a time and knead the dough. Keep adding water and keep kneading the dough.

STEP 5 - I have used exact ¾ cup of water. Dough should be tight and firm (not loose).

STEP 6 - Now add a tablespoon of oil.

STEP 7 - Again knead the dough till it is smooth. It took approx 3-4 minutes.

STEP 8 - Cover it with clean damp kitchen towel. Let it rest for 30-40 minutes. Longer resting time will not hurt.

For Making Quick Bhaturas -

STEP 1 -  After resting time dough should be leavened slightly. 

STEP 2 - Knead the dough again and make it smooth. 

STEP 3 - Divide the dough into equal portions. Make smooth ball and then flatten it between your plam. Keep the balls covered with damp cloth.

 

STEP 4 - Grease the platform with oil and roll out each ball into 4 to 5 inch diameter discs or in oblong shape, whichever you like. Do not use any dry flour to roll the bhaturas.

STEP 5 - Work with one flattened ball at a time.

STEP 6 - Bhatura should not be too thin or too thick. It should have medium thickness.

STEP 7 - Roll and keep all the bhaturas in a plate covered with kitchen towel.

STEP 8 - While you rolling the bhaturas, heat the oil in pan on medium heat for deep frying bhaturas. Oil should be medium hot.

STEP 9 - Slide the bhatura in hot oil. Press down with a spatula so that it puffs up completely. It will take hardly few seconds to puff up.

STEP 10 - Turn and fry on the other side as well until nice golden.

STEP 11 - Lightly press it with spatula, so it gets fried evenly from all the sides.

STEP 12 -  Then remove it using the slotted spatula and let it drain the excess oil.

STEP 13 - Keep in the paper towel lined plate.

STEP 14 - Repeat the same frying process for all the bhaturas. 

Serve bhatura hot or warm with chole. Chole Bhature is usually served as a breakfast but I usually make it as a weekend lunch or sometimes as a dinner.

NOTES - * The heat has to be constantly on high so that all bhaturas puff nicely. 

* I used all purpose flour in this recipe but you can made them with wheat or plain flour, or mix both the flours in equal quantity.

* If you want to make the healthier version,  make bhatura with whole wheat flour but, the taste and texture would be completely different.

* Dough should be tight and stiff and not loose.

* Do not use any dry flour to roll the bhaturas.

Watch the video for step by step recipe 👇👇