{{Short description|Semolina halva}} {{Infobox prepared food | name = Suji ka halwa | image = File:সুজির হালুয়া.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Suji halwa to be eaten with roti and luchi, in Bangladesh | alternate_name = Rawa sheera, sooji halwa, mohanbhog, parsad, kesari bat, rava kesari | country = India, Pakistan, Bangladesh | region = South Asia | creator = | type = Dessert | served = | main_ingredient = Semolina, sweetener, fat (butter, ghee or oil), milk (optional), fruits and nuts (optional) | variations = | calories = | other = | similar_dish = Sanwin makin }}
'''Suji ka halwa''' ({{langx|bn|সুজির হালুয়া}}, {{langx|hi|सूजी का हलवा}}, {{langx|mr|रव्याचा शिरा}}, {{langx|ur|سوجی کا حلوہ}}) or '''mohan bhog''' ({{langx|hi|मोहन भोग}}, {{langx|sa|मोहन भोग}}) is a type of halva in South Asian cuisine made by toasting semolina (called suji, sooji, or rawa) in a fat such as ghee or oil, and adding a sweetener like sugar syrup, honey, or jaggery powder. It can be served for breakfast or as a dessert. The basic recipe is made with just semolina, sugar or honey, ghee, and sometimes milk. Variations on this include dried or fresh fruits, nuts, shredded coconut, and other toppings. Wheat flour is often used as a substitute if semolina is not available, but virtually any starch can be used to make suji ka halwa.
==History==
In Medieval Arabic cuisine, semolina halvah was made by roasting the milled wheat in butter and adding honey or sugar syrup to moisten the dessert.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldstein |first=Darra |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> One recipe for ''hulwa a'jamiyya'' is made by boiling honey to create the syrup (diluted with water if needed) and garnished with pistachio and poppyseed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rondinson|first=Maxime|title=Medieval Arab Cookery, essays and translations|publisher=Prospect Books|year=1998|pages=423–424|id={{ASIN|0907325912|country=uk}}|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Milk can be added, as well as toppings like almonds, pistachios and pine nuts. Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's 10th-century cookbook includes varieties made with carrots, apples and dates. Earlier, according to some scholars, this dish was introduced to India by the Mughals,<ref>{{cite book |last=Krondl |first=Michael |title=Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert |date=2011 |page=98 |isbn=9781569769546 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dt0RErSFvE8C&q=halvah}}</ref> but the theory was discredited as it was already listed as ''shali-anna'', present-day kesari bat, in Manasollasa, a 12th-century work by a South Indian Chalukyan king, Someshvara III.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full text of "Indian Food Tradition A Historical Companion Achaya K. T."|url=https://archive.org/stream/IndianFoodTraditionAHistoricalCompanionAchayaK.T./Indian%20Food%20Tradition%20A%20Historical%20Companion%20Achaya%20K.T._djvu.txt|access-date=2019-01-30|website=archive.org}}</ref>
alt=Cuisine of India|thumb|303x303px|right|Suji ka halwa
==Terminology== {{Wiktionary|halwa}}
In Marathi, the halwa made with semolina is called rawa sheera (रवा शीरा). When a similar halwa is prepared with wheat flour it's called ''gavhacya pithacha sheera'' (गव्हाच्या पीठाचा शीरा).<ref>{{cite news |title=गव्हाच्या पीठाचा शीरा |website=Maharashtra Times |url=https://maharashtratimes.com/food-recipes/wheat-sheera/articleshow/47546030.cms}}</ref>
In Hindi, it is ''sooji ka halwa'' (सूजी का हलवा).
In Bangladesh and Indian state of West Bengal, it is known as Shujir Halua.
In South India, the dish is currently called Kesari Bat.{{cn|date=March 2021}} It is called Sajjige in parts of Tulunadu.
In Telugu states Sooji ka halwa is made as a prashad on the occasion of fastings of Ekadashi and also made especially on the occasion of Satyanarayana Puja vratham to seek blessings from the lord.
In Myanmar (Burma), the dish is called ''sanwin makin''.
In the Caribbean, it is known by Indo-Caribbeans as ''Mohan bhog'' or simply just as '''parsad''', as it is a common sweet that Hindu Indo-Caribbeans ''charhaway'' or offer as prasad in pujas.{{cn|date=March 2021}}
==Regional varieties==
In India, suji ka halwa is made from semolina, ghee, and sugar; cardamom and milk, almonds and cashew nuts are added.<ref>{{cite book|last=Santanach|first=Joan|title=The Book of Sent Sovi: Medieval recipes from Catalonia|publisher=Tamesis Books|year=2008|isbn=978-1855661646}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Cuisine of India}}
Category:Vegetarian dishes of India Category:Indian desserts Category:South Indian cuisine Category:Halva Category:Indo-Caribbean cuisine