Beetroot Sooji Halwa | Indian beet pudding with semolina

I am a pukka halwa lover. Every weekend, after the early dinner I tip toe into the kitchen to prepare some kind of halwa. Well, tip toe because the husband dear gets the hint he will be with me in the kitchen so I could give him some of the nuts that I roast for the halwa. Yeah, I know! The hard work we go through to keep them off the fat..  

Anyway, Beet halva is a quick and relatively healthy dessert to have, especially if you need a push to keep yourself up for the work the next day. For those who don’t understand what Halwa is – it’s an Indian pudding which  could be made using grated root vegetables (like carrot, beetroot etc.), any kind of flour (like whole-wheat, all purpose flour, gram flour etc.) or using some grains (like semolina, couscous, barley etc.) The basic method remains the same though. you first roast or cook the main ingredient and then add sugar syrup to it to give it your desired consistency. It’s usually easy to make and takes less than 20 minutes if using a flour. 

This one is a new version of Beetroot halwa that I prepared recently. I usually prepare beetroot halwa the same way as Gajar ka halwa. You know, roasting shredded beet and then cooking with some milk or mawa. But this one is a tad different than that, semolina being used in the preparation. Sooji gave this halwa a better texture, than the shiny, slippery one it usually acquires. And also a substance to the whole dish. 

Being not an absolute fan of beetroot, I really needed some push to include it in my diet. Mixing with a dessert is the easiest way I could do that. And the dessert this easy and tasty, is the one I am always up for. 

Some other halwa recipes on the blog are : 

• Banana Halwa
• Badam Halwa
• Mango sooji Halwa
• Urad daal halwa
• Punjabi Whole wheat halwa (atte ka halwa)
• Sweetcorn and wheat halwa
• Low fat carrot beet halwa
• Almond Halwa 
• Bottle guard halwa (Lauki ka halwa)
• Potato halwa 
• Gajar halwa with paneer
• Pineapple Sooji halwa 

What you need?

• 2-3 medium sized beetroots, grated or shredded
• 1 cup  Semolina – Sooji/Rava
• 2 cups- Water
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup Ghee
• ¼ chopped dry fruits – (cashews, raisins, almonds etc.)
• ½ tsp Fresh Cardamom Powder

How to make?

• Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a wide pan and roast semolina on low flame, until light brown and fragrant. Stir continuously. Take it  out on a plate/bowl when done
• In the same pan or wok (kadhai), heat 1 tbsp of ghee and roast nuts on lowest flame, till they get light brown. Add raisins at last, roast for another 10 seconds and then transfer all of them  in a bowl.
• Add the remaining ghee to the pan and add in the grated beetroot. Mix well, and then cook on medium flame for the next 10-12 minutes. Beet will start releasing water and shrink to half its size. Keep stirring frequently.
• Once all the water is almost evaporated (it shouldn’t be completely dry), add roasted semolina to the pan and mix well. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes on low flame till it gets mixed properly.
• In the meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup. Mix sugar with the water and let it come to  boil. Simmer for a  further 5 minutes while your beetroot is getting cooked.

• Once beet is cooked, and sugar syrup is ready- Pour in the syrup carefully, stirring the mixture continuously to avoid any lumps.
• Cover and cook for further 5 minute on low to medium flame, water would be absorbed completely at the end.
• Add cardamom powder and roasted nuts and raisins. Stir once, turn off the flame and serve hot. 

Notes:

• I always prepare sugar syrup separately for all my halwas. That helps in avoiding any lumps, and also ensures that sugar is mixed properly. You may however, skip this part and add in sugar and water all together to the halwa instead of the syrup. It will make your work easy, but the subtle difference is surely there.
• The amount of sugar is the moderate, it doesn’t make halwa too sweet. So you may adjust according to your taste
• Semolina used is the finer variety. If you use course or thick semolina, the result will be different and you may need more water at the end. Halwa tastes better with fine sooji though so try and use that only.
• If you are vegan, you may use coconut oil instead of ghee for mostly all Indian sweets preparation.  

Click here to check out more Indian sweets

 

Try this quick and easy version of Carrot halwa – made in pressure cooker using condensed milk 

 

Sending to the event- Veg box Beetroot started by Citrus Spice UK