Rava (Sooji) Halwa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rava (Sooji / Cream of Wheat)
• 2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbsp whole cashew nuts (optional)*
• 3 tbsp golden yellow raisins (optional)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 10 tbsp sugar
• 10 tbsp melted butter

Direction:

1. You can either boil milk or warm it for 2 minutes in microwave and keep it aside;
2. Boil water and keep aside;
3. Warm 4 tbsp butter on a pan and slightly roast cashew* on medium heat and keep it aside in a plate;
4. Now fry raisins till they bloat up and keep them aside in same plate with roasted cashew;
5. Warm the balance butter in a separate pan * on slow to medium heat and then add rava;
6. Slightly roast rava till it becomes slightly off-white;
7. Add cardamom powder and mix it with the rava for about 1/2 a minute;
8. Add sugar and stir the mixture till all the sugar is mixed up with the rava. If you find that the sugar is melting, lower the heat of the stove and go to the next step;
9. Add the roasted raisins and cashew and stir the mixture;
10. Now slowly add hot milk little by little in one hand while continuously stirring the mixture in the pan making sure no lumps are formed with the other hand. Do this till all the milk is poured in the pan;
11. Once the mixture becomes hot, add the water and continuously stir the mixture in the pan;
12. Keep stirring continuously till the mixture thickens to desired level*. Remove from fire and serve hot with chai.

Enjoy !

Tips:

• Instead of cashew nuts, you can add other nuts of your liking.
• Do not roast the cashew more than required otherwise it will give out burnt taste.
• Do not use the butter from the pan in which you roasted the nuts and raisin, otherwise the flavour and colour of the halwa will change.
• The desired level can range from liquid like consistency to thick consistency where the rava leaves the side of the pan. Liquid like consistency is given to small kids as young as 6 month onwards as baby food or for seniors who have difficulty having solid food.