Sujir Payesh or Semolina Milk Pudding
On July 19, 2013 by Meghalee Das
Sujir Payesh or Rawa Kheer or Semolina Milk Pudding is a quick and delicious dessert, where fine semolina is cooked with milk, sugar and raisins. Lately I have been posting some long and somewhat difficult recipes. So I thought of this really easy dish which had been a comfort food when I was little and was often served during festivals and pujas.
Semolina is used in various ways in Indian cuisine in both sweet and savory dishes. There is another more common suji dessert called the Halwa, where the semolina grains are roasted in ghee till they become dark in color, to which water is added, besides cardamom and raisins to make a thick pudding. I was never too fond of Halwa but I always loved its other version of a semolina milk pudding. The basic difference between the two is that here we don’t roast the grains too long, which keeps its color white, and we use milk instead of water. They are both delicious and you can try to make them both ways depending on your preference.
Ingredients:
Fine semolina/suji/rawa: 1/2 cup
Milk: 2 cups
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Ghee or clarified butter: 1 tbsp
Bay leaf: 1
Cardamom powder: 1 tsp
Raisins, cashew nuts or almonds: 1/4 cup
Method:
1. Heat ghee or clarified butter in a heavy pan and add the bay leaf.
2. Once the ghee becomes aromatic, add the fine semolina, suji or rawa to it and lightly saute it on low to medium heat for around 1 minute.
Please note that we are not making halwa here but sujir payesh or kheer. Roasting the suji too long on higher heat will turn it into a dark brown color, preferred for halwa. Here we need to saute the semolina just a bit so that it gets cooked well and also retains its original white color.
3. Now add the milk and sugar and mix it well with the suji. It will become thick and soak up all the milk pretty soon so keep stirring it on medium heat.
4. Now add the cardamom powder, raisins and nuts. You can also roast the cashew nuts before adding them if you want.
Once you have the desired thickness, which should take around 5-7 minutes, remove from heat. Serve sujir payesh warm or at room temperature by itself or with puri/luchi.
- Fine semolina/suji/rawa: ½ cup
- Milk: 2 cups
- Sugar: ¼ cup
- Ghee or clarified butter: 1 tbsp
- Bay leaf: 1
- Cardamom powder: 1 tsp
- Raisins, cashew nuts or almonds: ¼ cup
- Heat ghee or clarified butter in a heavy pan and add the bay leaf.
- Once the ghee becomes aromatic, add the fine semolina, suji or rawa to it and lightly saute it on low to medium heat for around 1 minute. Don't let it turn brown.
- Add the milk and sugar and mix it well with the suji. It will become thick and soak up all the milk pretty soon so keep stirring it on medium heat.
- Now add the cardamom powder, raisins and nuts. Once you have the desired thickness, which should take around 5-7 minutes, remove from heat. Serve warm or at room temperature by itself or with puri/luchi.
