Suji is a type of halvah made by toasting

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Ety ...

(called सूजी, suji, sooji or रवा, rawa in India) in a fat like

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from ...

or oil, and adding a sweetener like sugar syrup or honey. It can be served for breakfast or as a dessert item. The basic recipe is made with just

, sugar or honey,

, and sometimes

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

. Variations on this include dried or fresh fruits, nuts, shredded coconut, and other toppings.

History

In Medieval Arabic cuisine semolina halvah was made by roasting the milled wheat in butter and adding honey or sugar syrup to moisten the dessert. One recipe for ''hulwa a'jamiyya'' is made by boiling honey to create the syrup (diluted with water if needed) and garnished with pistachio and poppyseed. Milk can be added, as well as toppings like almonds, pistachios and pine nuts.

Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq ( ar, أبو محمد المظفر بن نصر ابن سيار الوراق) was an Arab author from Baghdad. He was the compiler of a tenth-century cookbook, the ( ar, links=no, كتاب الطبيخ, ''The Book of Dishes''). This is the earlies ...

's 10th-century cookbook includes varieties made with carrots, apple and dates. According to some scholars, this dish was introduced to India by the Mughals, but it is already listed as ''shali-anna'', present-day

Kesari bat Kesari bat or kesari baat ( kn, ಕೇಸರಿ ಬಾತ್) is a sweet Indian food that is common throughout the country. The classic ingredients used for its preparation are semolina, sugar, ghee (usually), water, and milk. The sweet is more com ...

, in Manasollasa, a 12th-century work by a south Indian

Chalukyan The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

king,

Someshvara III Someshvara III (; ) was a Western Chalukya king (also known as the Kalyani Chalukyas), the son and successor of Vikramaditya VI. He ascended the throne of the Western Chalukya Kingdom in 1126 CE, or 1127 CE. Someshvara III, the third king in t ...

. In 14th-century Spain, semolina was cooked with almond milk, oil and optionally saffron for coloring. In India, sheera is made from semolina, ghee, and sugar; cardamom and milk, almonds and cashew-nuts are added. Suuji ka halwa2

Terminology

In Marathi, the halwa made with semolina is called rawa sheera (रवा शीरा). When the similar halwa is prepared with wheat flour it's called ''gavhacya pithaca sheera'' (गव्हाच्या पीठाचा शीरा). In

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, it is ''sooji ka halwa'' (सूजी का हलवा). In south India, the dish is currently called

Kesari Bat Kesari bat or kesari baat ( kn, ಕೇಸರಿ ಬಾತ್) is a sweet Indian food that is common throughout the country. The classic ingredients used for its preparation are semolina, sugar, ghee (usually), water, and milk. The sweet is more com ...

. In Myanmar (Burma), the dish is called ''

sanwin makin Sanwin makin ( my, ; , also spelt sa-nwin-ma-kin) is a traditional Burmese dessert or '' mont'', popularly served during traditional donation feasts, satuditha feasts, and as a street snack. The dessert bears resemblance to desserts in neighbori ...

''. In the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

, it is known by

Indo-Caribbeans Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...

as ''Mohan bhog'' or simply just as parsad, as it is a common sweet that

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Indo-Caribbeans ''charhaway'' or offer as prasad in

pujas ''Puja'' ( sa, पूजा, pūjā, translit-std=IAST) is a worship ritual performed by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honor a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. ...

. It is called Sajjige in parts of Tulunadu.

References

{{Cuisine of India Vegetarian dishes of India Indian desserts South Indian cuisine Halva

History

Terminology

See also

References