Step 1
Heat the olive oil (or another cooking oil of your choice) in a non-stick wok or pan on medium heat. Fry the cashews until they start to turn slightly brown.
Note: You may need to use some extra oil if you choose you use a regular pan for cooking. Non-stick pan helps to cook in less oil.
Step 2
When cashews start to turn slightly brown, add the samolina (sooji) and almonds and fry until the samolina turns light brown. Keep stirring the samolina to prevent from burning. It takes about 10 minutes for the samolina to turn light brown on a medium heat. Every cooking stove heats differently; therefore, your stove may take a little more or less than 10 minutes to cook the samolina.
While the Samolina is still cooking, boil 1 and 1/4 cup of water in a pan for later use.
Note: You can replace nuts with raisins if you do not want to use nuts.
Step 3
Once the samolina turns light brown, add the cardamom powder and sugar and mix well.
Step 4
Reduce the heat to low, and add the boiled water slowly by gently stirring the samolina mixture. Increase the flame to medium-high, and let the samolina mixture cook until the water gets absorbed. Make sure to keep stirring to avoid any lumps.
Note: If you are a milk lover, you can replace boiled water with hot milk to enhance the taste and provide a creamy texture to Halwa.
Step 5
Your Sooji Halwa is ready to serve. You can serve it as a desert or with any Indian bread and vegetable curry.
To make Sooji Halwa, semolina (called sooji or rava in hindi) and nuts are fried together in oil until golden brown. The fried mixture of semolina and nuts is then cooked with sugar and water or milk to make soft and slightly creamy Halwa. A hint of powdered or crushed cardamom seeds adds flavor and aroma to the dish.
Sooji Halwa is served as a desert or part of a meal. It is also made on festivals as an offering to God.
Happy Cooking!