Sheera Recipe | Suji Halwa

Updated: June 20, 2022, By Swasthi

Sheera also known as suji halwa is a traditional Indian pudding made with semolina, ghee, sugar, cashews and raisins. This simple delicious dessert has a fluffy & soft texture with delicate flavors of cardamom & ghee. Suji halwa is made in many regions of India with more or less the same ingredients & similar method.

Sheera recipe with rawa

Recipe Comments

Sheera

It is known as Sheera in Maharashtra, Karnataka and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. The same is known as Suji halwa in North India. South Indian rava kesari or kesari bath is a variation of this which is made much the same way but with an addition of kesari color.

Sheera is most commonly offered to the deities/Gods as Prasad or Naivedya during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Varalakshmi Pooja & Navratri. Some people even prepare this for their special weekly Pooja. Sheera is also distributed in temples as Prasad.

Most people make this often at home as it is very quick to prepare. It is eaten for breakfast, snack or as a dessert in a meal.

At home we usually make this for Pooja and then it is shared with friends & family. Sheera or suji halwa is the richer version of rava kesari.

Sheera recipe made with rava

For more halwa recipes, you may check
Carrot halwa
Moong dal halwa
Pineapple sheera

Photo Guide

How to Make Sheera (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Heat ghee in a kadai. I used half cup ghee. You can also reduce it to 6 tbsps if you prefer less ghee.

ghee to make sheera

2. When the ghee melts, add 15 cashews (30 split) and fry until light golden. Add 15 raisins and fry all of them together until the raisins turn plump. I didn’t have raisins in stock so I used chopped apricots.

frying cashews raisins for sheera

3. Remove them to a plate immediately.

roasted nuts

4. Meanwhile pour two and half cups water to a pot and begin to heat.

water for sheera

5. Add 1 cup fine rava to the hot ghee.

suji for sheera recipe

6. On a medium flame fry the rava stirring constantly.

adding suji to ghee

7. If you stop stirring even for a few seconds the rava can get burnt. So be cautious and fry until the rava turns golden in color. Some people like to deep roast it. If you like you can roast it further for 1 to 2 mins. But do this on a low flame.

frying sooji to make sheera

8. Meanwhile the water should come to a rolling boil.

boiling water

Make Sheera

9. Just be careful as the water splashes. Pour the hot water to the hot rava pan & keep stirring continuously until the water is absorbed completely.

pouring water to rava to make sheera

10. Suji absorbs water and turns thick. Make sure there are no lumps of rava.

cooked suji

11. Lower the flame and cook covered for 1 to 2 mins.

cooking sheera on a low flame

12. You will see the rava is cooked to fluffy texture. Give a good stir and then add 1 cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cardamom powder.

adding sugar and cardamom powder

13. Sheera turns gooey as the sugar dissolves. Continue stirring until the sheera leaves the sides of the pan.

sugar dissolves and sheers turns gooey

14. Turn off and keep covered. Add the ghee fried dry fruits and nuts before serving.

adding nuts to sheera

When it cools down fluff up with a spatula or fork and transfer sheera to serving bowls.

sheera suji halwa

Pro Tips

Ratio: The ratio of rava:ghee:water is very important to get fluffy and non-sticky sheera. For every cup of rava or suji we use half cup of ghee and 2 ½ cups water. If the sooji is not very fine then we increase the water to 2 ¾ to 3 cups.

Rava or Suji: There are different kinds of semolina or suji available in the stores. To get fluffy and soft sheera use fine rava.

Roasting suji is the key step to make non sticky sheera. Roast the suji on a medium flame stirring continuously until it reaches a light golden color. If you like your halwa to have a deep golden color, you can roast it further for 1 to 2 mins. This deep roasting will bring a nutty aroma to the suji halwa.

Ghee: Using good quality ghee is very important as it completely elevates the flavor of sheera. Traditionally desi cow ghee was used especially if made for naivedya or prashad.

Half cup ghee to 1 cup rava is the ratio we use for festive occasions. You can reduce the ghee to 5 to 6 tbsps.

Water or Milk: Sheera can be made even with milk for a richer taste. You can also use half milk & half water.

Sweetener: Sugar is the most common sweetener used to make this. But some temples use jaggery along with edible camphor (pacha karpuram).

This recipe can be directly doubled or tripled. You need to be careful when making sheera in larger quantities as it can splatter a lot while pouring hot water.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

sheera suji halwa

Sheera Recipe | Suji Halwa

4.98 from 69 votes
Suji Halwa is a delicious Indian pudding made with semolina, ghee, cardamoms and nuts. It is made for most festive occasions and goes well as an after meal dessert.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time13 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Servings4 to 6
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup suji (fine rava / semolina)
  • 1 cup sugar (prefer organic)
  • ½ cup ghee (can reduce to 6 tbsps)
  • cup water (or milk)
  • ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
  • 15 cashew nuts (adjust as needed)
  • 15 raisins (adjust as needed)


Instructions

Preparation

  • Pour 2½ cups water to a pot & begin to heat it.
  • Meanwhile on another burner heat ghee in a pot. When the ghee turns hot, add cashews and fry until light golden.
  • Then add the raisins and fry until they swell. Remove to a plate.
  • Now add rava to the ghee and begin to fry on a medium heat stirring constantly.
  • Fry until the rava turns golden. If you prefer deep roasted suji halwa, then continue to fry for few more minutes.
  • Bring the water to a rolling boil.

How to Make Sheera

  • Pour the hot water to the hot rava pan stirring constantly. Be careful as it splatters.
  • Keep the flame to medium and keep stirring until all the water is absorbed. Sheera is thick at this stage.
  • Cover and cook on a low flame for 1 to 2 mins.
  • Next add the sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well to dissolve the sugar. It dissolves & makes the entire sheera gooey.
  • Within a minute the gooey sheera turns thick again. Keep stirring until it begins to leave the pan.
  • When it cools down fluff up with the spatula. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with cashews and raisins.
  • You can also press it down in a small bowl and invert on serving plates.


Video

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Sheera Recipe | Suji Halwa
Amount Per Serving
Calories 578 Calories from Fat 225
% Daily Value*
Fat 25g38%
Saturated Fat 14g88%
Cholesterol 58mg19%
Sodium 10mg0%
Potassium 130mg4%
Carbohydrates 84g28%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 50g56%
Protein 6g12%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

Sheera Recipe first published in August 2016. Updated and republished in August 2019.

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About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Recipe Rating




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5 stars
Best Recipe and understandable explanation with safety precautions. Good to have this website recipes .
i will try all the recipes in your site- Thank you 🙂

5 stars
I made a triple batch for a friends 91st birthday party. It was a huge hit!
I used jaggary and almond milk and it was perfect! Thank you! 🙏❤️

5 stars
Delicious! Thank you!

5 stars
I used the less ghee variation and replaced refined sugar with coconut blossom sugar. As this is less sweet, you might want to add more. The dish will turn brown from that but for me it had the perfect light sweetness!

5 stars
I made sheera with my sister and it came out delicious. We also added 1 cup fruit chunks. Tasting very good

5 stars
Love it??

5 stars
I tried this recipe at home today and the result was awesome
Thanks a lot!

5 stars
This is amazing, so sweet and pure tasting. I used jaggery for sugar and used a bit less. I did half milk/ half water. (I added a chopped banana, too.) Thank you!

5 stars
I am going to make the carrot halva and will post you as to how i faired.

Whats an alternative for cardamom powder

Hi Swasthi

I think your recipes are great and have tried a few as I didn’t have confidence in Asian/Indian cooking and your recipes have helped me a lot. Both me and my husband have enjoyed the dishes I have made so far so thank you very much for this website.

I don’t have ghee and not something I usually buy so can I use something else instead of Ghee in the recipes that you specify this has an ingredient? Thank you for your help.

I will repost with a recipe rating once I have made this beautiful looking dish.

I tried this recipe today for first time and it turned out to be yummmmm

5 stars
Tried it everyone loved it

4 stars
Tried it, everyone loved it

5 stars
What kind of cookware are you using here? I don’t want to use non stick for india sweets, n was looking for alternative

5 stars
Great recipe with detailed instructions. Thanks so much! (I did reduce the ghee and sugar and it was still quite tasty)

5 stars
I’ve tried this recipe twice. Once with water and the 2nd time with a mix of milk and water. Both results were perfect. So easy and quick to make. One of my favorite sweets recipes. Thank you Swasthi

5 stars
Very tasty recipe. I used coconut sugar instead of white sugar and still tasted great!

5 stars
Simple and yummy recipe. I follow a lot of your recipes all of them turn out really delicious. Thank you.

5 stars
Hi,
The halwa turned out fantastic, thank you.
I have a question… If I want to substitute jaggery for sugar, do I add the jaggery powder at the same time you have added the sugar? And do I use the same quantity too? I will be using the brown jaggery.

Thank you

Thanks for the recipe
I usually add sugar in water and boil and then add it to roasted suji, does it make any difference?