South African soji recipes (semolina pudding): make it light and fluffy

Dessert is one of the most loved meals; most people look forward to it. There are numerous dessert recipes in South Africa one can try out. Soji is an Indian delicacy that is loved by many Mzansi households. It is sweet, light, fluffy, and easy to make. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make it at home.

Are you looking for an easy and quick dessert recipe? Soji recipe is one of the easiest desserts to prepare. The Indian dessert is also called the Semolina dessert, and there are many ways to prepare it. You do not need any catering technical skills to prepare light, fluffy semolina. This article outlines the different ingenious recipes to make the soji dessert.

Soji recipe South Africa

There are different ways to prepare this dessert. A soji ball, a wedding soji, or an eggless soji cake recipe are some recipes you can make. No matter how you make it, all the methods are simple.

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How to make soji?

You will need about 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook. You can, therefore, make fluffy and light soji when you are in a hurry.

Ingredients

You will need the following items to serve at least four people before starting the preparation.

• 1 ½ cups semolina
• 3 cups of hot water
• 2 ½ serving spoons sugar
• ½ cup ghee
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¾ cup mixture of coarsely chopped cashews and whole raisins
• Coarsely chopped nuts or dried fruits for garnish
• Vanilla essence
• 5 pods of green cardamom split open

Preparation method

Follow the steps below to prepare.

1. Place a pot on the stove with medium heat and add ghee once it is hot. Ensure the ghee is melted, then add the semolina. Mix well by stirring.

2. Continue stirring the soji until it is slightly golden brown. You should feel a faint sweet aroma. Ensure the semolina has the texture of wet sand.

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3. Add the coarsely chopped cashews and whole raisins. Ensure they are mixed well.

4. Get another source of heat and place a pan at medium heat. Place the sugar, milk, water, and cardamom and then stir until the mixture reaches boiling. You can have someone to help you with this step.

5. Pour the milk mixture into the roasted semolina while stirring to avoid the formation of lumps. (You will have to be careful since there is a lot of bubbling and splashing during this process.)

6. If your soji makes lumps when stirring, break them with a stirring spoon.

7. Keep cooking until the semolina reaches your desired thickness and starts coming off the sides of the pot. (If you want thick semolina, add little milk. For a lighter texture, ensure you add more milk.)

8. Remove from the stove and allow it to cool.

9. Serve it when warm. You can garnish it with silvered almonds, nuts, or coarsely chopped dried fruit.

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Easy soji recipe without condensed milk

This easy whole recipe uses no milk, although it is not a dairy-free dessert. Instead of condensed milk, ghee is used instead. The recipe is easy, quick and straightforward to follow.

Ingredients

Below are all the ingredients needed to prepare your soji.

• ½ cup of soji flour
• ¼ cup of butter or ghee
• 1 ¼ cup of water
• ½ cup of sugar
• A pinch of cardamom powder for garnishing (optional)
• 1 tsp cashews or any other nuts chopped (may use a little more)
• 1 tsp of raisins as per your liking

Preparation method

Here are step-by-step guides you can follow for the preparation method.

1. Dry roast the soji in a pan for 3 minutes on low heat while stirring. No need for this step if you are using roasted flour.
2. Add cardamom powder and ghee to the dry roasted soji and cook for a few minutes.
3. Keep the heat low and keep stirring the soji flour.
4. Add water, stir well, and cook under medium heat until all water evaporates.
5. Add the sugar to the soji flour and stir well until the sugar dissolves.
6. Continue to stir and cook on low heat until it starts separating from the sides of the pan.
7. Fry the cashews and raisins in a separate pan until golden brown.
8. Add the fried cashews, raisins, and ghee to the soji and gently mix in.
9. Serve the soji while it is still warm.

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Eggless soji cake recipe

Making an eggless soji cake is among the quick and easy delicious Asian dish. Below are the steps to follow.

Ingredients

For the ingredients, you will need the following:

• 1 cup of semolina
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• A drop of rose essence
• 250g butter
• Coconut and almond to sprinkle

Preparation method

Preparing this eggless soji cake recipe is easy and fast. Follow the steps below.

1. Mix all dry ingredients well in a large bowl.
2. Melt butter and add vanilla essence, milk and rose essence.
3. Keep stirring until you bring it to a boil.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour into a well-greased baking pan and sprinkle some almonds.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C until golden brown.
7. Sprinkle coconut over it and let it cool.
8. Enjoy with a cup of tea.

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Wedding Soji recipe

Wedding soji, or Semolina Halwa, is a rich, creamy dessert primarily served at traditional Indian weddings. Here is how to prepare this popular recipe.

Ingredients

This Indian dessert holds great cultural significance, particularly at weddings and festive occasions. Here are the required ingredients you should use.

• 250g of semolina
• 250g of butter
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 500ml of milk
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 4 cardamom or 1/2 teaspoon of elaichi powder
• 1 tsp of rose essence
• 1/2 cup of condensed milk
• 290g of cooking cream
• Pinch of egg yellow powder
• Plain or coloured almonds

Preparation method

The above ingredients contribute to the rich, aromatic flavours and textures of the dessert. To prepare, here are simple steps you can follow.

1. Fry the semolina and cinnamon sticks together on low heat until the semolina turns colour. This takes about 10 minutes.
2. Add butter to the mixture and let it melt.
3. Now add the cardamom/elachi and rose essence.
4. Mix the egg yellow powder into the milk
5. Pour into the pot and add the cooking cream and the condensed milk.
6. Continue to stir continuously until the soji starts lifting off the pot's sides.
7. Add a bit of cream and almonds to garnish.

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Soji ball recipe

Soji balls are the simplest sweet meats popularly known for their creamy taste and nutty texture. This dessert recipe is mostly used during the Indian Diwali celebrations.

Ingredients

For the ingredients, you will require the following:

• 165g of semolina
• 110g of nibbed almonds
• 80g of desiccated coconut
• 200g of milk powder
• 2tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 100g ghee
• 1 can of condensed milk
• Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• Toasted desiccated coconut (optional)

Preparation method

The preparation of the Soji ball is fast and easy as long as you have the right ingredients at hand. Follow the steps below to make one.

1. Toast the semolina, almonds and desiccated coconut for 10 minutes.
2. Add the mixture to a bowl.
3. Add the milk powder, melted ghee, condensed milk and spices to the mixture.
4. Stir well and allow the mixture to cool completely
5. Scoop it into tablespoon-sized mounds balls.
6. Roll in desiccated coconut or sesame seeds (optional).
7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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What is Soji?

Soji is grainy wheat flour. It is made from hard wheat called durum wheat. The flour has a darker colour compared to all-purpose flour. A mild earthy scent also characterizes it. You can use it in porridge, bread, pasta, and other soji recipes. Soji has various nutritional benefits.

What is Soji called in English?

Soji is known as Semolina in English.

How is Soji made?

The process of making some flour depends on the range of granulation required. This simple procedure shows you how semolina is made.

1. Clean the durum wheat to remove the sand, small stones, discoloured kernels, foreign seeds, and other impurities. You will need wheat separators and optical sorters for this process.
2. You have to condition the wheat by peeling and pearling to remove the hard endosperm on the wheat. This step is crucial to shorten the milling time, reduce the amount of ash and bran, and lower the level of microbiological contamination.
3. The wheat is now ready for grinding. Depending on the number of available breaks and sizing passages, you can get different granulation.
4. You will then take the coarse semolina for purification. In this process, you can use a sifter or purifier. The sieves used should be brushed regularly to get high-quality semolina.
5. The semolina is ready for packaging.

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Soji is one of the best Indian desserts you can enjoy with loved ones. Learning to prepare Soji at home is a good practice. The soji recipe is easy, simple and quick. The above are the various ways you can make and enjoy this Indian delicacy.

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Source: Briefly News