Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery

As we are getting closer to the Holiday season, it's time to start preparing the holiday delights for the family. I like to kickstart the holiday season with some healthy yet delicious dessert to keep our health in check. Here's one of the most favorite dessert/ meetha of my family - Wheat (Atta) Sheera during the auspicious festival of Navratri. Wheat (atta) sheera is a famous dessert or side in Western and North India. I have prepared this decadent dessert numerous times before and it has been loved by one and all. The Gujarati style wheat (atta) Sheera is one of the easiest dessert to prepare.  

This Sheera is made with just 7 simple ingredients that are easily available in Indian household. You just need whole wheat flour, jaggery, homemade ghee, milk, cardamom pods/powder, nuts and few saffron strands. While saffron strands are optional in the recipe but they give a distinct flavor and color to the Sheera. 

Traditionally, sugar is added to this Sheera as sweetener but to avoid decking up on all the unhealthy calories, I have prepared it by using jaggery instead. Though jaggery and sugar provide almost the same amount of calories, jaggery is considered more nutritious than refined sugar. In fact according some sources, jaggery benefits our bodies in numerous ways.

I have also used milk in preparing the Sheera instead of water to make it richer  and creamier in taste. Adding milk is optional but I have always added milk to it and I absolutely love the texture and the taste of the Sheera that is prepared using milk vs water. 

So without further ado, let's look at some important notes and then the recipe. 

Important Notes/ Tips

• It is important to use thick bottom kadhai/pan to prepare the Sheera, it will help avoid burning of ghee and wheat flour (atta).
• It is important to roast the wheat flour (atta) correctly. Do not over roast wheat flour, else it will get burnt and under roasting will give a raw taste.
• Jaggery need to be shaved or powdered in order for it to melt quickly when mixed with wheat flour (atta) and ghee. Adjust the quantity of jaggery as per your liking. 
• I have used ghee prepared at home for the recipe, you can always use store bought ghee. Here is my recipe for Homemade ghee if you like to see it. You can add little more ghee if you like but do not reduce ghee quantity else the Sheera will turn sticky.
• I have added milk to prepare Sheera, however you can use water instead, in the equal quantity, if you like to keep this recipe vegan. Also, know that adding water will give darker color to Sheera. 
• Be sure to use room temperature or lukewarm milk for the recipe. Cold milk will act against the hot kadhai/ pan and the Sheera mixture. 
• You can store the Sheera in a container in the fridge for up to a week. Always warm it up before serving.

Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery

Prepare time - 5 minutes

Cook time - 20 minutes

Yields - 2 1/2 Cup Sheera

Ingredients

1 Cup Wheat flour (Atta)

3/4 Cup Melted ghee

3/4 Cup Shaved/powdered jaggery (adjust the quantity per your liking of sweetness)  

1 1/2 Cup Milk 

2-3 Pods of Cardamom (Elaichi) / 1 Tsp cardamom powder

Handful of cashew halves, silvered almonds and raisins

Few strands of saffron (optional)

Instructions

Heat up a kadhai/ pan on a medium flame. Add homemade ghee to the kadhai and heat it up for 1 minute. While ghee is heating up, take saffron strands in a small bowl and add a tablespoon of milk. Let it soak. 

Now add wheat flour (atta) to the heated ghee and combine it well. Keep stirring the mixture continuously with spatula or spoon to avoid any lumps in the mixture. 

Roast the mixture for about 5 minutes until it becomes aromatic and the wheat flour (atta) changes color. Be careful of wheat flour getting burnt at the bottom if roasted for too long. 

Now turn the flame to low and let the mixture simmer for about 2 minutes until you see the ghee starts separating from wheat flour (atta) mixture.

Further add shaved/powdered jaggery and 1 1/4 cup milk (at room temperature) to the mixture. Give it a quick mix to ensure the milk doesn't burn at the bottom of the kadhai/ pan. Then add the soaked saffron to the kadhai/ pan. Combine everything well. 

Turn up the heat to medium and keep stirring the Sheera mixture to avoid any burning or sticking at the bottom of kadhai/ pan. After couple minutes milk will be completely absorbed in the Sheera mixture. 

Now pop the cardamom (Elaichi) pods and add them to the Sheera. Let the Sheera mixture cook for couple more minutes to ensure jaggery is completely melted and mixed up well with the rest of the mixture. 

Next add the remaining 1/4 cup milk to the mixture and combine well. This will allow the Sheera to loosen up. 

Finally add the nuts and raisins to the Sheera and mix it well. Cook the Sheera for another 3-5 minutes. At this point, turn off the flame and transfer the Sheera to a bowl and garnish with some more nuts. Our scrumptious and healthy Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery is ready to relish! Serve this Sheera hot or store it in a container in the fridge for up to a week.