The month of Shravan is going on & is considered the most auspicious month of the Hindu calendar. A lot of people observe fast and worship Lord Shiva on Monday’s in this month. I too have been observing this fast for many years now.
As a kid I was really fascinated by my Amma and Bappamma (grandmother) who used to keep this fast every shravan maas. While my mother used to eat only fruits, my grandmother used to break her fast by eating potatoes fried in ghee and delicious Sheera. God..both these dishes were so yummy. I always craved to eat them but my grandmother would tease me saying that only people who observe this fast get to eat these delicious treats. After making me go nut for 15 – 20 mins, she would hand over me a dish filled with fried potatoes and sheera saying that since I was a kid I was allowed to eat it.. LOL.. I really miss her.
Sheera or Suji Halwa as known in northern parts of India or Rava Kesari as known in southern india is a semolina dessert made along with clarified butter (ghee) and sugar. This sweet dish does not take much time and is mostly loved by everyone.
There are many variations to this classic dessert but today I am sharing with you all my favourite variation, that is Mango Sheera. The recipe is exactly like the classic one but the only addition is fresh mango pulp.
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Serves: 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
Suji – 1 cup
Fresh mango pulp – 1 cup
Water – 1 1/2 cup
Milk – 1 1/2 cup
Sugar – 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee – 1/4 Cup
Dry Fruits like cashew nuts, raisins – few
METHOD
Heat a kadai with 1 tsp of ghee. Fry your choice of dry fruits till they get a nice golden colour. Keep them aside.
Now add another 2 tsp of ghee and roast the suji nicely till you get a nice aroma from it and it changes its colour to light brown. Remove and keep it separately.
Then boil water and milk together. Once it starts boiling, slowly add in roasted suji and keeping stirring continuously. Stir well till suji is completely soft. Now add in sugar, cardamom powder, mango pulp and mix well. When you add in sugar, it dilutes the mixture. Stirring continuously thickens the sheera.
Once it starts thickening, add the remaining ghee and mix well. Then add in the fried dried fruits and mix it well. The minute the mixture starts leaving the sides, turn off the flame. Mango Sheera is ready to eat. Enjoy Hot.
TIPS
Quantity of sugar depends on how sweet you want the sheera to be. I have added only 3/4 cup as Pritesh & myself prefer the sheera not to be on the sweeter side.
If fresh mango pulp is not available, then used canned mango pulp. Check the sweetness before you decide on the amount of sugar to be used.
You can add 3 cups of milk instead of water and milk combination.
KRAFT KOOK & KLICK 