Sooji squares make for little bites of heaven, when you are craving something sweet, but don’t have the time, energy or inclination to make something too involved.
Ingredients (makes approximately 30 medium sized squares):
- Fine sooji (cream of wheat) (1 cup)
- Ghee (clarified butter) (4 tbsp)
- Water (2 cups)
- Turbinado sugar (1/2 cup, slightly more if you want it sweeter)
- Cardamom (2 pods finely ground)
- Dried ginger powder (a pinch)
- Nuts (for garnishing) (charoli seeds, peeled almonds)
Method:
- In a pan on medium heat, add ghee.
- Add sooji and roast till slightly golden brown and fragrant.
- Add hot water, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the nuts/seeds, sugar, cardamom and ginger powders.
- Grease a plate with some ghee.
- Empty the sooji mixture into the plate and flatten it to uniform thickness, using your hands or the back of a spoon/spatula.
- Garnish with coconut.
- When the mixture has cooled slightly, cut into squares using a knife.
Rasa (Tastes):
Sweet (sooji, sugar, ghee), sour (none), salty (none), bitter (none), pungent (cardamom, ginger), astringent (none).
Doshic Influence:
Desserts are kapha aggravating in general. Adding pungent spices like ginger and cardamom makes this dish suitable for kaphas in moderation.
Effects on the Mind (Gunas):
These sooji squares are sweet, nourishing and mildly flavored, making them a sattvic food when eaten fresh and in moderation.