While in our part of the world Diwali is not a five-day celebration, we can pretend it is so as to have a little more sweetness by making this absolutely delicious Semolina Parsad.
Here’s the thing: I could have shared the recipe with you last week so that you could have made it in time for Diwali on Thursday, but I needed to get additional taste testers, those who know about Parsad. You know what I mean? (LOL)
Whenever certain religious holidays and festivals come around (particularly those that we celebrate in Guyana), I go out of my way to make at least one dish that ties me to home and my roots, to keep me connected. With this pandemic, it has become even more significant since travelling is not as easy as it was before.
Semolina is the flour or purified wheat middlings of durum wheat; it is what is used to make pasta and couscous. Check the package the next time you pick up a packet or box of dried pasta and you’ll see it is made from durum wheat. It is heartier than regular wheat flour and comes in a variety of grinds from coarse to fine. It works well for both sweet and savoury dishes, and bread too. Semolina also goes by the following names – rava, sooji/suji. Sooji Halwa is a popular Indian sweet dish, a pudding that is prepared very much like the way we make Parsad. Flavoured just like Parsad, with cardamom (elaichi), this pudding mixture also has dried fruits and nuts. It is made regularly for dessert and on special occasions and festivals.
Traditional Sooji Halwa comes together in minutes, but I, being me, wanted to do things a little differently. I wanted to make this Parsad exactly like my family’s recipe, the difference being that I would switch out the wheat flour (white all purpose) for fine semolina flour. The only thing I adjusted in the Parsad recipe was to increase liquid because semolina is a firmer grain and absorbs more moisture. The Semolina Parsad turned out perfectly. There is a creaminess to it, tender and fluffy. My family’s recipe calls for the mixture to be stirred and cooked over low heat until it comes away cleanly from the sides of the pan to form a ball. The low-slow cooking does it every time. I can tell when Parsad has been cooked low and slow or when it has been cooked on higher heat in minutes, shortly after the liquid has been added to the flour mixture. There is no right or wrong, everyone has their way of making things. The only time I would say it is wrong is when you eat the Parsad and the roof of your mouth is covered in a film of grease, that means the ghee did not cook long enough with the flour in the initial stage of cooking.
When some friends came over to drop off Diwali treats, I shared the Semolina Parsad with them. First, they weren’t sure it was Parsad because of the colour (lol) but as they took the first bite, the familiar flavour was there. They commented on how smooth the Parsad was, like melting in the mouth and I just kept nodding. One of them said that it was like “Special parsad for special occasions”. It’s true, it felt and tasted that way, but hey, every day that we are alive is special right? I gave them some to take home and to also share with their extended family, which is where I believed the true test of taste lay.
Later in the evening, one of my friends who had stopped by called to ask for the recipe – she made the Parsad last night and told me all was eaten by her family in one go. Another friend called to tell me that his grandfather preferred my Parsad to the one that was made at his home. Other taste testers not familiar with Parsad liked it, and were introduced to the flavour of Cardamom.
Semolina in pudding form is not new, it’s been eaten across Europe for centuries, however, it is made like a very thick porridge with milk, boiled or sometimes baked. It is served with sugar, cinnamon, dried fruits, and syrup. In some ways it is prepared like Sweet Rice (rice pudding).
So what do you say? Ready to give this Semolina Parsad a try?
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
Semolina Parsad
INGREDIENTS
½ cup ghee
1¾ cups fine semolina flour
1 cup sugar
¼ cup raisins, washed and pat dry
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
(elaichi)
1½ cups whole milk
3½ cups boiling water, divided
(First usage: 1¼ cup to dissolve sugar)
(Second usage: 2¼ cups to cook mixture)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat ghee in karahi until melted very hot but not smoking.
2. Add semolina to hot ghee and keep whisking until all the ghee is absorbed.
3. Turn the heat to low and continue to stir the mixture; the mixture will start to get wet (as if liquid has been added to it) as it continues to cook. This process takes 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Stir in the raisins.
5. Dissolve sugar in 1 ¼ cups of boiling water and add immediately to the mixture; be careful and watch out for the steam which can burn.
6. Keep stirring, this time with a wooden spoon; at this stage you will notice the mixture coming together.
7. Add milk, the remaining 2½ cups of boiling water and cardamom and stir well to mix.
8. Keep stirring until all the liquid is incorporated and there are no lumps (the heat should still be on low; this is important so that the parsad does not scorch.
9. Stir until the mixture comes away cleanly from the pan and attempts to form a ball; this can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature.
NOTES
• At direction # 8, I found that it was not necessary to stand in front of the stove stirring all the time. Once the heat is properly regulated so that the mixture does not scorch, you can check on it and give it a proper stir at 4-minute intervals.
• You can top the Parsad when serving with some lightly fried nuts and fruits.
