Sheera

Sweet Sheera- an all time favorite
Now here when I say all time favorite, I dont mean mine. I mean favorite for people in general like my husband who would devor it gladly anytime of the day: breakfast, snakcs, lunch or dinner. Sheera is made from sooji also known as wheat creamlets. This sheera is also prepared duirng any auspicious occasions or even whenever we have a simple puja at our home. Personally, I am not a big fan of sheera, but when S proclaimed his love for this simple dessert, I decided to give it a try. I usually have this after my meals, as a dessert. I kow people who would gladly have this for a main course.
Recipe:
1 cup sooji
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tsps milk masala (crushed powder of almonds, cashew, pistachios, cardmoms and saffron)
1/2 cup clarified butter (ghee), more if you are not watching your weight.
pinch of salt (to bring out the sweetness)
1 heavy bottom pot just so that sooji doesnt get burned while roasting
Preparation:
Heat the pot and keep it on medium-low flame. Add the sooji to this and start roasting slowly. add clarified butter slowly. Sooji should be medium brown and soon you will be able to smell the it. Take care not to burn this. Then in a separate container mix the milk and water together and microwave on high for 2 min. Add the hot milk to the roasted sooji immediately and carefully and add the pinch of salt too. Mix well. Lower the flame to "low" and cover the pot. Check after sometime to see if the sooji is cooking properly. you can check by pressing some between your fingers to see if is cooked properly. When cooked completely, add sugar and milk masala to it. Mix well and cover it. Let it steam twice and serve hot.
SOme poeple like it cold, some hot while some at room temperature
Some add fruits like pineapple, banana and mango while adding sugar. Lessen the quantity of sugar accordingly.
When heating it the next day, add some milk and microwave it.
Enjoy
Dipti