Sujir Payesh Indian Semolina Pudding Playful Cooking

What is Sujir Payesh

Literary translating to semolina pudding, Sujir Payesh is a home style Bengali dessert, often prepared as a casual weekend treat. Semolina is flour made from durum wheat, and it’s either slightly fine or course. It is used to prepare pudding, sweet and even delicious cakes. Unlike Bengali Sujir Payesh, north Indian Sooji Halwa is popularly prepared during festive season; Navratri and Durga Puja as an offering to Goddess Durga. I love Sooji Halwa so much, that I can go for it any day, either plain or with poori. I do like to load it with raisins and cashew for the crunchy bites in between. For a long time I didn’t enjoy Sujir Payesh and I think mainly because my Mom never roasted the semolina to the very dark shade. It pairs very well with Masala Poori

Ingredients you need for Sujir Payesh

Semolina - You can use either fine semolina or a grainier texture. Both will make great taste of the halwa, but the texture will differ based on what variety of semolina you use. I like to toast semolina extra dark for the toasty flavor. Also toasting semolina, avoid the halwa from getting too muggy or mushy. Sugar - I used light brown sugar as I toasted the semolina, and the brown color add to the over all look. Traditionally, white sugar is used. Assorted Nuts and Raisins - Nuts and Raisins are totally optional, but I will highly recommend using for the sweetness and crunch you will get at every bite. Bay leaves and Green Cardamoms - North Indian Sooji Halwa uses only cardamom, some even uses the black cardamoms. The Bengali Sujir Payesh always uses couple bay leaves for the perfumy flavor. And I love that too. Ghee - All halwa is prepared in ghee as it not only adds creamy texture but also richness and flavor to the dish. You will not get the same flavor or taste by using oil. Milk - Traditionally, North Indian style sooji halwa doesn’t call for milk, but we use a little bit of milk in Bengali sooji payesh. I love how milk adds that creamy consistency to the halwa. The exact measurement is mentioned in recipe card below.

Toasting the Semolina/Sooji:

This step is extremely crucial as it not only adds flavor but also avoid the final texture of the halwa turning into muggy and at times even tasting raw. I prefer to dry toast the sooji in a medium hot pan until brown and then add it separately to the ghee. You could also just toast the semolina straight away in the ghee while preparing the halwa.

Steps to prepare

Add more ghee to the same pan and saute the bay leaves along with green cardamoms for few seconds.
Scatter the toasted semolina and make sure to keep the heat at medium low
I like to toast the semolina in ghee for a minute or two once again. You can skip step 1 and directly toast the raw semolina in ghee until golden.
Add enough water to cook the semolina. It will take roughly 5 minutes.
Pour milk if using and continue cooking the semolina by stirring occasionally.
Once the semolina is cooked, add the sugar. I used light brown sugar here, but you can use white sugar too.
Also scatter the toasted nuts and raisins that were kept aside and mix it around.
Taste for sweetness and add more if needed. The semolina will look very creamy and runny but as it cools down, it will thicken a bit more. As you can see from the steps I used here, it is a mix of North Indian Sooji Halwa and Bengali Sooji Payesh. It’s absolutely delicious and you must try!

Reheating Sujir Payesh

You can easily reheat in microwave, however if the halwa was stored in the fridge overnight, it will look little dry. So, add little milk or water while reheating and add a small about of ghee to bring the fresh flavor back. Keep in mind that based on the kind of semolina you are using; you might have to add more water to get the right consistency of the pudding. Also, as the pudding sets and cools down, it keeps absorbing moisture and the texture can get very thick. I always prefer to leave it a little runny so as it cools down, it still has enough moisture left in it.