Seeroh is one of those desserts that brings out the greedy little kid in me. Sweet semolina tossed with spices and so buttery it melts as soon as it hits your tongue. Flippin’ gorgeous. And before you ask, it’s nothing like ‘school dinner’ semolina. Not even close.

Years ago we’d make special trips to the mandir (temple) during Navratri and Diwali to pray for the year ahead, see family and have an amazing, spiritual evening. Of course, I was there for all of these reasons, plus for the reason that there would be prashad – sweets like Seeroh offered to the gods that evening. After putting my hands together in prayer, I’d open them up and wait patiently for my Seeroh.

I believe glace cherries have three purposes in life; to garnish cocktails, top cherry bakewells and stud this delicious addictive treat. If you really don’t like them, replace with candied lemon or orange pieces. They’ll add an incredible texture to contrast the soft texture of this dessert.

I love experimenting with different flavour combinations with this recipe. The basic Seeroh is so simple that’s it’s easy to get carried away with different flavourings. One of my favourites is this saffron and lemon version. The other is my mum’s orange and cardamom version. I could eat it all…. day… long.

There are two ways you can serve this dish; The first is to set and cool this in a square thali so you can cut it into pieces, and the second is to serve it loose as a hot pudding. Top with a scoop of ice cream and be blown away by the insane contrast of hot and cold.

You should always store Seeroh in the fridge because it can spoil quickly at room temperature. This should keep well for 2-4 days – whether it will last that long is another story.

Hot Saffron and Lemon Seeroh with Pistachio Ice Cream
Serves 8-10

Ingredients

700ml hot milk
140ml hot water
100g sugar
50g golden syrup
140g salted butter
260g coarse semolina
Zest of 2 large unwaxed lemons – I love those beautiful Amalfi lemons
A large pinch of saffron
2 tbsp glace cherries, halved

Homemade or shop-bought pistachio ice cream, to serve (I’ll give you my recipe in another post)
Slivered almonds and pistachios to decorate
Icing sugar to dust, optional

Method

1. Heat the butter in a large non-stick pan and add the semolina. Sauté on a low/medium heat for around 3 minutes or until golden and toasted.

2. Slowly add the hot milk and water, whisking all the time. The mixture should thicken as you whisk. Add the sugar and syrup.

3. Cook on a medium heat for around 15 minutes or until a buttery sheen becomes visible on the top and sides of the mixture. Keep stirring all the time and cook for as long as it takes for the mixture to become glossy.

4. Remove from the heat, add the lemon zest, saffron and glace cherries. Combine.

5. Serve hot with a big scoop of pistachio ice cream.

That’s it. Pistachio and Rose Bombay Halwa, Gujarati Mohanthal and Hot Saffron and Lemon Seeroh with Pistachio Ice Cream. Three Diwali desserts to keep you sweet all year long.

Happy Diwali!

Love Sanjana

The post Hot Saffron and Lemon Seeroh with Pistachio Ice Cream appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

I’m snowed in. There’s a party to get to and I’m snowed in. Thankfully the International Incident Colours Party hosted by Penny a.k.a Jeroxie is a kind of party immune to catastrophic weather.

The final month of 2010 should be filled with bright colours and big smiles – my recipe for Orange and Cardamom Scented Seeroh (pronounced how it’s spelt) guarantees to make that happen. It’s not too sweet, not too rich and is incredibly addictive. That’s not to say you can chuck a whole load of them in your mouth one after another.

Just in case you do decide you want to finish off the whole lot in one go, I thoughtfully substituted a significant amount of sugar in this recipe with friendly agave nectar. You can thank me later.

Seeroh is essentially sweetened semolina (don’t gag, it’s nothing like ‘school dinner’ semolina). It can be flavoured anything you like – I try to stick to a couple of complimentary flavours that won’t clash or overpower one another like orange and cardamom. You could also try lemon and saffron, rose and pistachio, or cinnamon and chocolate chip.

Note: It is with regret I believe one of the only times glace cherries are appropriate in cooking is during seeroh and burfi-making. If you disagree, please enlighten me.

Seeroh can be served loose, whilst warm or set in a tray and cut into cubes. It will set when cool anyway, so if you want to serve it loose at a later time you will need to reheat it and stir again. I prefer setting it straight away for the purpose of presentation but of course, this makes no difference to the taste.

You should always store seeroh in the fridge because it can spoil quickly at room temperature. This seeroh should keep well in the fridge for 2-4 days – whether it will last that long is another story.

These make gorgeous edible gifts (like my recipe for Eggless Christmas Cupcakes), especially when they’re wrapped up tightly in clear plastic bags and tied with festive ribbons. Pack the bite-sized cubes into a pretty box, present to loved ones and bask in the glory of doing a fine deed.

Orange and Cardamom Scented Seeroh

Ingredients

500ml hot milk
140ml hot water
150ml agave nectar
60g sugar
140g butter
260g coarse semolina
Zest of 1 medium orange
½ tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp glace cherries, quartered

Slivered almonds and pistachios to decorate
Sunflower oil to grease the tray for setting (if setting)

Method

1. Heat the butter in a large non-stick pan and add the semolina. Sauté on a low/medium heat for around 3 minutes or until golden and toasted.

2. Slowly add the hot milk and water, whisking all the time. The mixture should thicken as you whisk. Add the sugar and agave nectar.

3. Cook on a medium heat for around 8-10 minutes or until a buttery sheen becomes visible on the top and sides of the mixture. Keep stirring all the time.

4. Remove from the heat, add the orange zest, cardamom powder and glace cherries.

5. Grease a 6inchX8inch square tray with sunflower oil and pour in your seeroh mixture. Flatten the top, sprinkle with slivered nuts and allow to cool at room temperature. When cool, refrigerate for at least an hour, until you’re ready to cut into cubes. Store in the fridge.

Serve as it is or hot with a colossal scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

The post Orange and Cardamom Scented Seeroh appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.