For the March Daring Cooks’ challenge, Ruth from Makey Cakey invited us to start the day with something filling, warm and nutritious. We got to experiment with different techniques and flavorings to create our own perfect personal porridge.
Porridge? Mmmm… I have a confession to make. I have never ever eaten (or made) porridge in my whole life. I know, it must sound so weird to many of you… but it’s just not something Italians have for breakfast. We are more croissant (we call it brioche) and cappuccino kind of people… So, my experience in making porridge was ZERO. The great thing about this challenge was that we could make any kind of porridge we wanted (actually, we had to make 2 versions of porridge – so come back tomorrow for my next post) and I immediately knew I wanted to make the Indian version of it, made with semolina (sooji). The problem was, I did not know the correct name for it, so I asked for help! I have recently joined a great community on Facebook, which is mainly about Indian food and the people there are simply amazing! They are so helpful and kind and I immediately got the answer I needed: Sooji Kheer (also known as Rava Payasam) is what I was looking for. This porridge is made with semolina roasted in ghee, cardamom and toasted nuts and raisins… it is delicious. It will give you all the energy you need to start off the day, yet it is very easy to digest. You should definitely try it!
Sooji Kheer – Rava Payasam
Sooji Kheer – also known as Rava Payasam - is an Indian porridge made with semolina roasted in ghee, cardamom, toasted nuts and raisins.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tbsp sooji – fine semolina
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 50 gms – ¼ cup sugar
- 500 ml – 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts
- 1 tbsp raisins
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions
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Heat the ghee in a pan. Add the cashew nuts and raisins and roast till light golden and puffy. Remove them and keep aside.
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In the same ghee, add the sooji (semolina) and roast it, while stirring, for about 8-10 minutes, on a low to medium flame. Remove it from the heat and allow to cool a bit.
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Bring the milk, water, cardamom powder and sugar to a boil.
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Reduce the flame and slowly add the roasted semolina to the milk mixture, stirring continuously. The milk will begin to thicken.
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Remove the kheer and put it into a serving bowl. Garnish with the roasted cashew nuts and raisins. It can be eaten warm or chilled.
Recipe Notes
The consistency depends on how long you cook the kheer for. You can adjust it to your liking, but remember that when cold, it will thicken further, so keep it more runny than what you want.
I love semolina porridge, but it would usually be made with 1/3 c of cream of wheat in 2 cups of milk. In the end it would be as thick as yours. Is this recipe cooked until it reduces? How long did it simmer for you? I would love to make it but need some clarification.
Hi Mary!
Actually, mine ended up a little too thick by the time I finished taking pictures… and had to add more milk before eating it! I didn’t even have to cook it much… the milk got absorbed by the semolina quite quickly. It may be because of the roasting and the ghee used?
I, on the other hand, love porridge and am super excited to try this Indian version, which sounds absolutely delicious!!