Sooji Halwa | Semolina Pudding

Sooji ka halwa is a classic traditional North Indian dessert made with three simple ingredients – semolina (rava), ghee & sugar. The addition of fragrant cardamom & crunchy nuts further enhances its taste, making it a perfect cosy-comforting dessert especially in winter season.

Suji halwa is know by various names like ‘Suji ka Sheera’, ‘Rava Halwa’ or ‘Rava Sheera’. It is so easy to make, takes barely 10-15 minutes & does not need any fancy ingredients. Perfect for festivals, special occasions, get together or can be enjoyed when you are craving for a homemade dessert.

This sooji halwa is especially made at my home during Navratri on ‘Ashtami’ as ‘prasad’ with Poori and Sookhe Kaale Chane. It is an absolute crowd pleaser as it is liked by people of all ages and can be served hot, warm or even at room temp in summers.

I made it for new year celebrations at home this year and did its quick re-shoot to update the recipe with better images. The sooji halwa recipe is:

• Vegetarian
• Easy & quick to make
• Made with just 3-4 ingredients

Ingredients you’ll need:

Semolina: It is off-white coloured coarse flour made from durum wheat and is also known as sooji, suji or rava in hindi. Use fine rava (baarik sooji) to make halwa. Apart from halwa, sooji is used in various other sweet or savoury recipes like idli, upma or laddo etc.

Ghee: It is one of the most common types of fat used in Indian cooking and is basically clarified butter. It gives a nice warm-sweet aroma to the halwa while making it moist & soft. Its quantity can be adjusted little bit depending on how much richness you want in halwa.

Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is used as sweetener in sooji halwa. You can adjust its quantity as per you taste.

Dry fruits: Nuts like almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios add crunchy nutty texture. Adding raisin during the cooking make them plump and juicy which enhances the taste of halwa so much. My husband loves raisins in it, so I always add them but if you wish you can skip them also.

Green Cardamom: It adds sweet aroma to the halva and should be added towards the end of cooking. You can use store bought cardamom powder or peel whole cardamoms and grind its black seeds in mortar pestle to make fresh cardamom powder.

How to make Sooji Halwa:

The trick to make perfect tender moist sooji halwa is follow the correct ratio for sooji, ghee, water & to not cook it excessively. Instead of measuring cups, you can use regular food bowl (katori) but keep the proportions same as mentioned in the ingredients list.

To make halwa, we begin by roasting semolina in ghee. It is to be roasted just enough to turn it golden brown in colour. Keep stirring in between so that it gets evenly roasted. Then, add water & sugar to ghee roasted semolina and cook till the halwa attains thick consistency. Towards the end of cooking add cardamom powder, nuts or raisins and cook for 1-2 minutes more. 

Variations:

1. Instead of water, you can use milk or use (half water & half milk) to make it more moist & soft in texture.
2. To give a lovely aroma & golden yellow colour to halva, you can use saffron strands. Dissolve it in warm milk first to extract its colour & aroma. (This version is also referred to as Rava Kesari)

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• Sooji / Semolina / Fine Rava – 1/2 cup
• Ghee (clarified butter) – 1/3 to 1/2 cup
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Water – 2 cups
• Cashews (chopped) – 4 to 5
• Pistachios / Almonds (chopped) – 4 to 5
• Raisins – 8 to 10 (optional)
• Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Note:

1. For richer taste, you can use upto 1/2 cup ghee otherwise 1/3 cup is sufficient.
2. The above quantity yields 4 to 6 servings. Double or triple the recipe to make more servings.

Directions:

Step 1:
Add ghee to a pan or kadhai and heat it on medium heat till it melts completely. Add sooji to it and roast on medium-low flame while stirring in between till it becomes golden brown in colour & starts releasing its aroma.

Step 2:
Turn the flame low. Add sugar & water to the roasted sooji (be careful as the water can splatter due to heat from the pan). Mix well. Let the halwa cook on medium-low flame. Stir in between using a spatula or spoon.

Step 3:
Once the halwa begins to thicken up, add raisins, chopped nuts (save some for garnishing) and cardamom powder. Mix well & continue cooking for 1-2 minutes more. Taste the halwa at this step & if required add more sugar as per your liking.

Step 4:
Once you get the desired consistency, turn off the flame. Serve it hot. Garnish with more nuts before serving.

Tips:

1. The halwa tends to become thicker with time as semolina keeps on absorbing moisture. Avoid cooking it too much as otherwise it can turn out crumbly after cooling down completely.
2. Though sooji halwa tastes best when enjoyed fresh but if there is any leftover you can store it in fridge in an airtight container. To reheat, add a splash of water and microwave for 40-50 seconds.
3. You can roast nuts in ghee before adding to the halwa.
4. If you want to add saffron (kesar) flavour, dissolve its 8 to 10 strands in warm milk first and then add it to the step when we added water & sugar to the sooji.

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(P.S: This recipe was originally published on 1st Sep’2015 & has been updated with better images & additional tips on 2nd Jan’2026.)

If you try this sooji halwa recipe & share pics on social media, then don’t forget to tag on Facebook, Instagram or use #kuchpakrahahai.

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(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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