Almonds and Semolina Dessert or Badaam Suji ki Barfi

A Delicate Delight

One of my recent posts about dry nuts treats gained so much attention. Why? Because it is vegan, it is sugar free, oil free and cooking free. And on top of that, my dear blogger friend Celeste of Honk if you are Vegan fame, reblogged it and it gained more attention there. Thanks Celeste :).

This recipe is just the opposite : with sugar, with oil and yes you have to cook it :).

It is my take on basic Semolina pudding or Suji ka halwa. It was the 8th day of festivals today and I resumed my regular eating, with fried breads, black grams and this delicious treat. After eating to my heart’s content..I thought and thought hard….the point of observing light eating for so many days….when I had to resume with so much fried food. Well, everything cannot have logic..and when it doesn’t sound logical..the cultural side kicks in ;)… Oh, it is is the way…it is something that I have seen my mom doing when I was a child, I observed my mother in law doing when I got married..so it runs in the family and the culture.. Honestly, who doesn’t like a little bit of fried food. I just broke my rule of eating and posting light today :).

Well this is a very delicate dessert or sweet which is prepared very simply and is often made as an offering to the Gods on auspicious days. I made it with almond meal more than the semolina and set it in squares rather than plain pudding form.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients :

Ghee : 1 tbsp
Semolina/Suji : 1 tbsp
Almonds : 1/4 cup dry roasted, unsalted, and ground like millet size grain in food processor.
Sugar : 3-4 tbsp or to taste. You may add sugar free substitute as well.
Cardamom powder : 1/4 tsp
Saffron : 7-8 strands soaked in 1 tbsp milk
Water : 1 cup

Note : My vegan friends can use coconut oil for cooking and almond or soy milk for soaking the saffron strands.

Method :

Heat ghee in pan over medium flame. Add semolina or suji to ghee and roast it till slightly pink on low flame. It will take 4-5 minutes on low flame. Please do not use medium or high flame for this purpose.

Now add ground almonds and cardamom to the suji. Roast it further for 2-3 minutes.

Add soaked saffron, water and sugar to the suji and almonds mix. It might be jumpy so keep your face back while doing it.

Bring the flame to high. Let it come to boiling point.

Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to low and let it cook till everything comes together. Keep stirring often.

Take it out. Garnish with chopped almonds.

You can either set it and make squares out of it or you can eat it like a pudding.