Ingredient Ideology | AS SOBER AS SEMOLINA By: Dr. Kaviraj Khialani- Celebrity Master Chef.
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Semolina also called Rava or Sooji in local terms is a coarse flour made from Durum wheat, a hard variety of wheat when ground into a flour it is called as semolina & it has been used across the world in bread, pasta, porridge, cutlets and more.
To me it is always helpful in my kitchen since it makes life easy in many ways due to its easy to find place into various recipes and different forms and somehow it just blends in so well that many of my guests didn’t even realise that it was a part of some recipes. Some of my all-time favorites have been sooji ladoo, sooji ka cheela, rava paniyarams & baked semolina and coconut pudding.
It is usually yellow in color when made from the durum variety and when made from softer wheat types the color is a little whitish. Its shade is darker and more golden in color than all purpose flour with a mild earthy aroma and it available all through the year.
Semolina has found its way in a number of ways, forms and delicacies in global cuisines and is also easy to work with when it comes to mix-n-match fundamentals and fusion cooking as well.
Health Benefits of Semolina:
Semolina is a good source power pack vitamin.
Helps support our metabolism
Assists in building the immune system of our body.
It is rich in minerals which help in bone maintenance.
Semolina flour helps maintain nervous system.
Due to its potassium content it helps kidney functioning.
Semolina has been known to digest slowly in our system thus it makes us feel full for a longer duration of time.
It is a quick and nourishing source of energy in our foods, prevents overeating.
Semolina is an iron rich ingredient and should be consumed, it is also an immunity boosting ingredient.
Semolina used wisely also assists in weight management.
It has also been found supporting heart health and controls blood sugar levels in our body.
Usage of Semolina in Kitchen and Bakery:
Semolina has played a multi-faceted role in our kitchen and bakery in many ways over the years and can be well adapted into savoury and sweets as well.
One of the most common preparation we know is upma a popular breakfast dish we make with semolina in India. It is simple and easy, ready in minutes and can be variated with a lot of ingredients like adding veggies and nuts/seeds of your choice to make it more interesting.
Semolina has been used in covering most of our Indian recipes to form a preventive coating and also a crust forming agent in dishes like tikkis and cutlets, fish fry etc.
Commonly also found used in sooji ki kheer/ sooji phirni by cooking it in milk with a few sweetening agents, nuts etc served as a dessert.
While Italians have been found making gnocchi a homemade fresh pasta using semolina serving it with a nice sauce like pesto, marinara or the famous Arabiata.
I tried making gnocchi with our upma concept and served it with a nice cheesy pesto chutney with a tempering of curry leaves and bohri red chilies!
The south indian kitchens all-time favourite is the rava idli, rava dosa, rava uttappams, appams and many more to add to, not to forget the sooji ka sheera famous all over.
For some of my continental dishes specially baked varieties I often use corn, spinach, mushrooms as the body of the dish plus semolina in place of refined flour and I prefer using olive oil as compared to butter hence reducing a considerable amount of calories and yet coming out tasty with a dash of irrestible cheese!
Semolina cooked with soy keema in a mildly spiced indian masala turned out yum when I stuffed it into a multi-grain dough and made a paratha from it and served it with a tempered yoghurt-mayo schezuan raita- fusion it is!
A semolina pudding with chocolate and nuts can also be served with a topping of assorted fresh fruits and cream.
I also tried a sooji ka sheera with coconut and chocolate and set it in small moulds, upturned them and served them with a topping of flamed brandy with raisins and brown sugar along with a dash of praline for the crunch.
Here are a couple of recipes with the Sober Semolina for all to try!
Recipe-1] SNACK TIME SEMOLINA BITES
Ingredients
Semolina- 1/2 cup. lightly dry roasted.
Warm/hot water-1 cup
Oil- 1 tbsp. for cooking & little for shallow frying.
Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
Ginger-garlic-green chili paste- 1 tsp mix.
Boiled mashed corn- ½ cup
Boiled mashed potato-1/2 cup
Salt and pepper- to taste
Mixed herbs- ½ tsp
Chili flakes- 1 tsp
Grated cheese-2 tbsp.
To coat with semolina/breadcrumbs/oat meal flour etc.
To serve with – green coriander chutney/ ketchup/ pesto-mayo sauce, dips of your choice.
Method:
1. Prepare all the ingredients for the recipe.
2. In a pan, heat some oil add in the cumin and ginger, garlic, chili paste- if you wish you can use freshly chopped as well.
3. Saute for a few seconds, add in the corn, seasonings and herbs, chili flakes.
4. Mix well on a low flame, add in the roasted semolina and mix well, add in 1 cup hot water and continue mixing it, simmer and cook for 4 to 5 mins.
5. Turn off the flame, add in the mashed potatoes, add fresh coriander, mint if desired.
6. Cool the mixture, apply oil on the fingers, divide the mixture into equal portions, shape each of them into round tikkis, stuff with little cheese and seal well.
7. Coat and shallow/deep fry as desired to a golden shade, serve hot as a snack/ also try using it as koftas, burger patties etc.
Recipe-2] CHICKEN SEMOLINA SHORBA
Ingredients
Semolina- ½ cup
Oil- 1 tbsp.
Garlic- 1 tsp chopped
Onion- ½ chopped
Tomato puree- 1 cup, fresh
Veg stock/water – 2 to 3 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves- 4 to 5 nos.
Chili flakes-1/2 tsp
Mix veggies- carrots/beans/peas/capsicum/sweet corn- ½ cup mix- cut into small pieces and blanched.
Boneless chicken boiled-1/2 cup shredded
Grated cheese- 1 tbsp. optional
Method:
1. Prepare all the ingredients for the soup.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan, add in the garlic, onions and saute for 10 seconds, add in the semolina and roast it for a few seconds until the color gets a little dense then tomato puree, salt, pepper, herbs and chili flakes.
3. Add in the veggies of your choice, add stock or water.
4. Bring to a boil, simmer the soup for 10 -15 mins.
5. Serve hot garnished with fresh basil/ grated cheese. Serve with bread/ garlic bread etc.
Recipe-3] SIMPLE SEMOLINA SWEET
Ingredients
Semolina -1 cup, lightly roasted
Oil-1 tsp
Ghee/butter-2 tsp
Green cardamom seeds- ¼ tsp
Brown sugar-2 tsp
White grain sugar-1/2 cup
Almonds-2 tsp, sliced
Raisins-2 tsp chopped
Cashews-2 tsp sliced
Saffron milk solution- 2-3 tsp
Milk- 750 ml
Orange segments- ½ cup
Chickoo-1/2 cup peeled & cubed
Banana-1 ripe, sliced
Honey-2-3 tbsp.
Choco-chips-2-3 tsp
Method:
1. Prepare all the ingredients for the sweet semolina recipe.
2. Using a thick bottomed pan, saute the fine semolina with green cardamom seeds in a little oil, butter/ghee for a few minutes, add in the brown and white grain sugar as per taste, add in boiled milk and give it a nice mix.
3. Reduce the flame and cover and simmer, allow to cook on a low flame for 8-10 mins, adjust the texture adding more milk if needed, add in the nuts and mix well.
4. In a separate pan, stew the fruits of your choice, add in honey and fruits, a stick of cinnamon if desired for taste, also choose between using rum or brandy to flavor the fruits, apples, pears, berries etc can also be used.
5. To assemble the sweet, grease small individual moulds/ baba moulds with a little butter, spoon in a little of the warm semolina mixture half way up and continue with a few stewed fruits in the center along with few chocolate chip and again top it up with the semolina mixture all the way up.
6. Refrigerate the sweet for couple of hours and de-mould it and serve with a topping sauce of your choice like a kiwi crush, or a berry compote etc.
Recipe-4] DATE AND NUT SEMOLINA & WHEAT SWEET
Ingredients
Semolina-1/2 cup
Whole-wheat flour-1/2 cup
Ghee-3 tsp
Oil-1 tsp
White grain sugar-3/4 cup
Brown sugar-2 tsp
Milk- 400 ml
Hot water-250 ml
Green cardamom powder-1/2 tsp
Almonds-1 tbsp. chopped
Raisins-2 tsp chopped
Cashews-2 tbsp. chopped
Banana-1 ripe, mashed
Dates- 4-6 no chopped/ puree
Choco chips-2-3 tsp/chocolate sauce-2 -3 tsp
Method:
1. Heat oil along with ghee/butter in a pan add in the semolina and whole wheat flour and green cardamom powder and saute on a low flame for 4-5 mins.
2. Add in the sugar both white and brown and mix, add in hot water first followed by warm milk a little at a time, also add in the mashed banana and dates.
3. Cook the mixture on a low flame for 3-5 mins, mix well, add more milk if needed, check for sweetness add in the assorted nuts and mix well.
4. Cover and simmer for another 3-4 mins and then dish out and serve this dessert warm. We can also add more flavor into this recipe by adding fresh fruits into it by layering it in dessert cups.
Recipe-5] SAVOURY SEMOLINA VEGGIE DELIGHT
Ingredients
Semolina- 1 cup, fine and lightly roasted.
Oil-1 tsp
Ghee/butter-2 tsp
Curry leaves- 6-8 no
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Green chilies-1 tsp chopped
Red chilies-1 slit
Ginger-1 tsp chopped
Onion-1 small chopped
Tomato-1 small chopped
Salt to taste
Red chili powder-1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Assorted veggies- carrots/ beans/ peas and cauliflower slightly blanched/boiled- ½ cup
Lime juice-2 tsp
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp. chopped
Flax seeds/ melon seeds/ chia seeds-2 tsp
Roasted crushed peanuts- 2-3 tsp
Method:
1. Pre-prep all the ingredients for the savory semolina recipe.
2. Heat oil, butter/ghee in a pan add in the ingredients for the tempering starting from curry leaves, to mustard, cumin seeds, green chilies, ginger, onions and saute them for 1-2 mins.
3. Add in the tomatoes, salt, all powdered spices to taste and mix well, add in the roasted semolina and bhunao/saute for a couple of minutes.
4. Add a double quantity of warm water into the mixture and cover, simmer and cook for 6-8 mins. Add in the nuts, seeds of your choice, cook for 2-3 mins.
5. Finally add in the lime juice, peanuts, coriander leaves and serve hot.
Recipe-6] FRUITY SEMOLINA PUDDING
Ingredients:
Semolina- 1 cup, fine- lightly roasted
Oil-1 tsp
Ghee/butter-2 tsp
Cinnamon stick -1-inch piece
Soy milk- 250 ml
Warm water-150 ml
Almond paste-2 tsp
Raisins-2 tsp chopped
Sweet yogurt-1 cup
Lychee pulp/ custard apple pulp-1/2 cup
Pistachios-2-3 tsp chopped
Rose water-2-3 tsp
Condensed milk-2-3 tbsp.
Method:
1. Prepare all the ingredients for the pudding.
2. Heat up the oil, ghee/butter in a thick bottomed pan and lightly roast the semolina in it for a couple of minutes with a piece of cinnamon.
3. Reduce the flame further and add in sugar to taste and little condensed milk, mix and add warm water first and then little soy milk and mix, cover and simmer for 10-12 mins.
4. Add in the nuts and mix well. Cook for another 3-4 mins and turn off the flame, cool slightly.
5. Mix in the sweetened yogurt with a little lychee pulp or custard apple pulp and chill.
6. To assemble the dessert, use tall dessert cups or glasses and place a little of the prepared semolina pudding at the base, top with the fruity yogurt and garnish with pistachios and other nuts, chill the dessert for 1-2 hours and serve.
Brief About The Writer:
Dr. Kaviraj Khialani- Celebrity Master Chef, is a Mumbai based Author, Writer, Healthy Eating - Lifestyle Specialist, Food Designer, Academician & having mastered over 33 International Cuisines, is also a Food & Beverage Consultant. He has worked with esteemed properties like the Taj Group of Hotels, Kuwait Airways to name a few, he has been awarded several Global and National Awards for his outstanding performance in his chosen field he loves to share his knowledge and experience of over 2 decades with the Food & Hospitality Industry.
