Suji/ Semolina Kheer

Sankranti- People celebrate this festival when the sun enters the constellation of Capricorn . Usually around  14th or 15th of January. I remember my mother every time mixing up - chopped jaggery, roasted sesame ,chana dal ( the one we use for making coconut chutney), chopped dried coconut and peanut without skin in a air tight container- call it ellu and that used to be our sweet snack after lunch! Supposedly keeps you warm without using those expensive dry fruits. My wedding also happened the very next day of Sankranti, so the festival kind of forces me to make something sweet. Well looking back, the whole marriage ceremony and the events related, I recall nothing but chaos. I had been planning to wear the sari -this way and I had to wear that way, my in laws wanted this way and my parents wanted it the completely other way and the relatives wanted this and finally, that happened- that is probably long and short of it. Amongst all this and that, my job was to just say "I do". Never the less me, my parents, my in laws and relatives, we had quite a memorable time. Remembering  those sweet this and that Tete-a-tete, I made some suji kheer for our Anniversary.

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Ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoons of Suji( Semolina)
• 1 litre of Milk ( about 4 cups)
• 1 bayleaf 
• 2 cardamoms
• some cashews/ raisins/ chopped almond (optional)
• 3 tablespoons of Sugar
• 1 tablespoon of clarified butter ( Ghee)

 Method:

• Boil the Milk in a deep pan reducing it to half the amount stirring occasionally
• In a different pan, preferably a flat one, heat the ghee add cardamon bayleaf and cashews raisins and almonds, fry briefly and take it out keeping it aside.
• In the same pan now add the suji/ semolina roast for a while and keep it aside.
• By now the Milk would have reduced to half, add the suji/ semolina to it along with bayleaf and cardamoms, continue boiling for 3 mins, add sugar, boil till dissolved and take it out in a dish
• add the dryfruits
• serve it hot or cold

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Read a quote- I am cultured but I am not yogurt -Made me smile!
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