There is nothing quite like a bowl of homemade rava sheera, just like mom made! This is my favorite classic sheera recipe. It comes out deliciously sweet, soft, fluffy and rich every time and always sure to satisfy the sweet tooth.
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❤️Why I Love This Recipe
- It requires only 3 main ingredients (plus a couple more for garnish & flavor).
- Sheera gets ready in 20 minutes only (from prep to serve).
- I just love it’s texture - Soft, smooth, fluffy with the perfect amount of richness and sweetness.
- I know it is loaded with calories, but it’s ok we eat it occasionally. And it doesn’t taste right when made low-calorie by reducing ghee amount. A big NO-NO.
- Kids and toddlers just love this. When my daughter was teething, I used to feed her this sheera as she doesn’t have to chew. Plus, it keeps her full and gets enough energy from ghee.
🧾Ingredients
Here is the pic of ingredients to make this delicious rava sheera. Total 6 ingredients (3 being main - ghee, semolina and sugar).
Ingredient Notes
Semolina (rava or sooji) - To make sheera, always use fine verity of semolina. There is also coarse verity of semolina available in the market and it is good for upma, rava idli, rava uttapam, etc
Sugar - traditionally sugar is used for sweetness. But if making for kids/toddlers (and if they like), I would recommend adding jaggery powder.
Water - I have seen my mom making it with water, so I am following her footsteps. But I have seen my grandma making it with milk occasionally. Milk adds some richness
Ghee - Please do not reduce the amount of ghee. It adds nice flavor and richness. NO, you cannot make it vegan by using oil. It doesn’t taste good at all.
🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Take ghee and fine semolina in a pan. Turn the heat on low-medium. Mix and start roasting the sooji with stirring constantly.
2) In the beginning, sooji feels heavy while stirring. Keep stirring and cooking.
3) On another stove, heat the water in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. You can heat it in the microwave instead.
4) Roast the sooji until the slight color change and aromatic. Plus, it feels very light and bubbly while stirring. Ghee starts to ooze out from the sides. It takes around 7-8 minutes.
5) Now add that simmering water slowly and keep mixing with another hand to avoid lumps. Be very careful, it will get bubbly and may splutter a lot.
6) Keep mixing and within a couple of minutes, all the water is absorbed by the sooji.
7) Now add sugar.
8) Mix, as the sugar melts it becomes loose and runny. Keep stirring and cooking till it thickens again. Sheera starts to leave the sides of the pan, ghee starts to ooze out from the sides.
9) Turn off the stove. Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts.
10) Mix well and it is ready to serve.
💭Expert Tips:
Roasting Sooji: This is the most important step to get the best texture of sheera. Roast with stirring continuously until they are light, fluffy, slightly golden and aromatic.
Low-medium heat: During the entire sheera making process, keep the heat low-medium. If you have kept the heat medium to high, semolina will get color soon without being properly roasted.
Stir constantly: Whether it’s sooji roasting process or after adding water, sugar you’ll need to stir constantly from start to finish. You can’t do other tasks simultaneously. Focus on making sheera only.
Water temperature: Always add hot/warm water. Never add cold, room temperature tap water.
You can add your choice of nuts and dried fruits like cashews, almonds, raisins, chironji or charoli.
You can add a pinch of saffron while roasting sooji.
📖Variations:
- In North India, it is known as sooji ka halwa (suji halwa). Sometimes, jaggery is added instead of sugar.
- In Maharashtra, it is known as Sheera.
- In Gujarat, it is known as Shiro (rava no shiro). Sometimes, milk is used instead of water, and it adds more richness and creaminess.
- In South India, it is known as Rava kesari or Kesari baath. The method is slightly different and the saffron color is added.
The basic sheera can be made with different flavors with the addition of fruits e.g. banana sheera, Mango hawla, Pineapple halwa.
🪔 Festivals & Occasions It’s Made
- It is the traditional auspicious dish of India. On any religious occasion, whether it is pooja or Satyanarayan katha, it is made in every household. Elders in my house say that pooja is incomplete without sheera as a prasad. Many make it with banana and garnish of pomegranate arils as a prasad. During the prayer or pooja, sheera is offered to God. Then distributed to devotees as a blessing.
- Not only religious occasions, but it is also made on a special occasion. I remember my mom making it on dad’s birthday.
- During the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, it is offered to Lord Ganesha as a naivedya (prasad).
- It is made to accompaniment the feast meal (for family or guests) on festivals like Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, Bhaidooj, Holi.
- It is made as a Navratri Ashtami prasad. The prasad combo is halwa, puri, and sookha kala chana.
Check Out Other Classic Indian Sweets
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📋 Recipe Card
Rava Sheera
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup Water
- ¼ cup Ghee (clarified butter)
- ½ cup Sooji (rava or semolina) (fine verity)
- ½ cup White granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder
- 2 tablespoons Almonds , cashews, raisins, chopped
Instructions
- Take ghee and fine semolina in a pan. Turn the heat on low-medium. Mix and start roasting the sooji with stirring constantly.
- In the beginning, sooji feels heavy while stirring. Keep stirring and cooking.
- On another stove, heat the water in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. You can heat it in the microwave instead.
- Roast the sooji until the slight color change and aromatic. Plus, it feels very light and bubbly while stirring. Ghee starts to ooze out from the sides. It takes around 7-8 minutes.
- Now add that simmering water slowly and keep mixing with another hand to avoid lumps. Be very careful, it will get bubbly and may splutter a lot.
- Keep mixing and within a couple of minutes, all the water is absorbed by the sooji.
- Now add sugar. Mix, as the sugar melts it becomes loose and runny. Keep stirring and cooking till it thickens again. Sheera starts to leave the sides of the pan, ghee starts to ooze out from the sides.
- Turn off the stove. Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts. Mix well and it is ready to serve.
Notes
- Roasting Sooji: This is the most important step to get the best texture of rava sheera. Roast with stirring continuously until they are light, fluffy, slightly golden and aromatic.
- Low-medium heat: During the entire sheera making process, keep the heat low-medium. If you have kept the heat medium to high, semolina will get color soon without being properly roasted.
- Stir constantly: Whether it’s sooji roasting process or after adding water or sugar you’ll need to stir constantly from start to finish. You can’t do other tasks simultaneously. Focus on making sheera only.
- Water temperature: Always add hot/warm water. Never add cold, room temperature tap water.
- You can add your choice of nuts and dried fruits like cashews, almonds, raisins, chironji or charoli.
- You can add a pinch of saffron while roasting sooji.
Sagar Nath
Nice! Love to make in your style. Thanks!
Kanan
sure. give it a try
Reshma
Hi
Tried this today with butter. It was amazing! Thanks a lot! =D
Kanan
Good to hear that you liked it
Sukhbir
Hhmmmm..... One of my favourites! This is exactly the way I make it! Tooooo yummy.... Thanks Kanan, now I know what I'll making fir desert today!
Kanan
yes my fav too. enjoy your dessert today.