It’s been some time since I have done the guest post series. This year, so far, I had featured a few guest posts which came to me as requests. Slowly, I may reintroduce this segment in full scale though I am still undecided about it. I have loved each and every guest post that has graced this little space of mine and I really wouldn’t want it to be laid to rest. I would rather keep it alive with a staggered presence as much as I can.
Having said that, you must be wondering why I am here on a fourth Saturday when it was supposed to be on a third Saturday. 😉 While working on this post, I forgot that this month has five weekends for us (here, weekends are Friday and Saturday) – in fact it started with one, and ends with one! 😀 But I was too excited to delay the post to next month so here it is! I don’t think Shireen needs an introduction. Hers was one of the blogs I landed up on the initial days of blogging. Since then, I have been an ardent follower. It excites me that how Mangalorean cuisine is so similar to Kerala cooking while I go through her recipes. My bestie colleague P (you would’ve read about her here and here) once stated that she refers to Shireen’s blog when she has doubts about Mangalore food. That shows how much her blog has become like an encyclopedia for Mangalore food.
Moreover, she is really witty, not only through her blog but in real life too! Last year, we met up and by the time we were done, I had a churned stomach thanks to all the laughing! 😀 Recently, her blog got a total uplift, but earlier, she used to have this next to her comment box, “By the way, my name is Shireen and not Ruchik!” and that used to have me in splits each time I comment on her posts. Later I realized that during the initial days, most of them used to address her as “Ruchik” so she had to put that statement! Hehe… So what has she got for me? My favorite sheera! She comes up with this twist of citrusy flavors and my favorite spice, saffron too! Not spoiling anything for you… do go ahead and hop onto her post and the recipe…
Incidentally Rafeeda lives here too and it was a real pleasure to meet her last year when she arranged for a little blogger’s meetup. She is a super down to earth and pleasant person and it was an absolute pleasure to say ‘yes’ when she requested me for a guest post. So here I am today sharing this lovely, ‘citrusy’ take on beloved ‘sheera’. Thank you Rafee for giving me an opportunity to share about myself, my blog and the food that I love on your lovely blog!
Sheera is nothing but a pudding made out of semolina, milk and/or water. Nuts, raisins and other flavouring essences are often added. There are a myriad ways to sparkle a simple sheera by adding fruits of your choice. I have major sheera fans in my house and so I love trying out new versions of the same dish every now & then. This time I decided to incorporate oranges as we tend to buy them often and sometimes eating them plain becomes a little boring. This dish is so simple & satisfying that it also doubles up as a quick dessert! Easy to make and can be an absolute crowd pleaser! Do give this orange & saffron sheer a try!
ORANGE & SAFFRON SHEERA (SEMOLINA PUDDING)
Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup semolina (fine rava)
- 1 cup orange segments
- 1 tbsp raisins, cleaned
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped cashew nuts, cleaned
- 1 cup sugar (increase it upto 1-1/4 cups if you prefer it really sweet) * see notes
- 1 cup water * see notes
- 1 cup orange juice (freshly extracted or unsweetened packaged juice) * see notes
- 1 cup milk
- A few saffron strands dissolved in 2 tablespoon warm milk or 2-3 drops of orange food colour
- 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water * optional
- 3 cardamoms powdered
- 1/4 cup ghee * see notes
- pinch of salt
Method:
- Deseed and remove the membrane of the orange segments. Chop roughly and set aside.
- Heat ghee in a wide based pan/kadai and toss in the cashew nuts and fry them on a low heat till they then turn light golden. Remove them and fry the raisins just until they puff up
- Add the semolina and roast on a low heat for 2- 3 minutes taking care to see that it doesn’t burn. If you fry the semolina on a low heat it will get partially cooked and help fluff up quickly. While the semolina is frying, bring the water and milk to a boil in a separate pan. Do not add the orange juice to this mixture yet.
- When the semolina has roasted, add the boiling milk and water mixture to it. Be careful as the mixture can splutter! Add the sugar, salt and stir. If you are using food colour or saffron add it now. Add the orange blossom water too. Mix well and cook for a minute. Then add the orange juice.
- Keep stirring the mixture on a low heat so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. When the ghee starts to separate the sheera is almost done. Reserve a few roasted nuts for decoration and add the rest. Toss in the orange pieces too and give everything a good mix. Cover the pan and turn down the heat to very low. Allow to cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve hot garnished with the reserved nuts and raisins!
Notes:
- To make soft and mushy sheera the semolina : liquid ratio to be used is 1:3, you may use only water (3 cups) or 1 cup water and 2 cups milk if you like it a little rich. I prefer it light, so I used 2 cups water and 1 cup milk. If possible and to add more flavour use a combination of orange juice and water but don’t add this mixture to the milk or it will curdle.
- The best tasting sheera is usually made of a lot of ghee. So use the required quantity according to taste.
- You may use any other fruit of your choice to make this sheera. Pineapples, mango and chikku (sapota) work best. The amount of sugar to be added will depend on the sweetness of the fruit but 1 cup of sugar for 1 cup of rava and 1 cup of chopped fruit should be good to go.
Thank you so much Shireen darling for coming up with this post on a short notice. I can’t stop drooling at that deliciously orange looking bowl of sheera!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead… 🙂
Wow..first time hearing about it. Before i started blogging i had no idea there were so many Indian dishes. All i knew was there was the north and south dishes lol. Maybe should do a food tour to India someday Insha allah
Hehe…. you will die eating, Nammi! Thanks a lot dear…
Thank you so much for having me over for a guest post Rafee! It was a pleasure being here…thanks for the kind words!
It’s my pleasure too dear… thank you so much for coming by…
I often visit her blog for Mangalore recipes too!
And I have seen that note on her name:)
I love sheera. I have not tried it with anything else other than the pineapples! This sounds quite interesting.
Thank you so much Ria… 🙂
delicious dessert the colour looks beautiful, it must be aromatic
Thank you so much dear…
love the beautiful color of sheera..yummy !!
Shireen, had always been one of my good old friends in blogosphere..loved the guest post dear !!
I know that dear! All you long time bloggers are literal sweethearts! Thanks a lot Julie…
Thanks Shireen aka Ruchik and Rafeeda for this wonderful recipe! I’ve always loved the Tajmahal hotel sheera with pineapple! Will definitely try this one with the oranges!
San D
Thank you so much for coming by Sandeep…
Wow! my fav go-to blog for Mangalore dishes. Have tried quite a few recipes. I got introduced to Mangalore food while in Bangalore where my friend’s mom was from Udupi. My fav is Kori roti and chicken roast! Yum. I never heard of sheera until after I saw it on your blog when F asked me to make it! And it seemed to me like the kesari bath I used to make.. so I tell him it is Kesari bath 😛 Is there a difference?
There is not much difference between sheera and kesari… all recipes seem quite similar, and with some variation in the usage of ghee… hehe… Thank you so much dear Fami… 🙂
This post features a tasty Indian dessert with beautiful colors, and the author expresses gratitude towards the guest author.