Ramazan sweetness.
My most endearing memories of my late Nani Mummy (maternal grandmother) was the excitement with which she created a meal, her entire day would be meaningful from just that act of cooking. Ramazan was always a time for abstinence but food meant more to us than any other time of the month. It was the lack of it that lead us to appreciate it - the making of it more than just the eating of it. She’d be in the kitchen from the afternoon, in preparation for opening breaking fast. I’d watch in wonder, as to how she knew everything tasted right without being able to test it.
Ramazan meant reflection, it also meant slowing down and observing a time to think inwardly. As a child to me it also meant the sweet aroma of semolina fried gently in ghee and cardamom. We didn’t eat many desserts in our home, not as much as many Pakistanis, but Ramazan also meant sweet treats at the end of a long day of fasting. One of the simplest desserts Nani Mummy made was semolina halva. Most of the time it would just be a sweet nutty spoonful served in a delicate bone china plate but when I began to make it I started to created small ladies (balls) and I enjoyed wrapping them in pretty coloured foil and tissue paper, pretending they were truffles as we couldn’t find such western sweets in Karachi when I was young.
I’m sharing my recipe for my semolina laddo (a round shaped sweet) - made with pistachios, semolina, coconut and Arabic gum - this edible gum is found in most Asian food stores and my mother always adds this, it is meant to give bones strength - based on a old family recipe. It is said that edible gum meant to especially offer strength to women after pregnancy, as well and helps during Ramadan, adding a bonus of strength to the body and mind.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Makes about 10 pieces, depending on size
Ingredients:
150 - 200 g semolina
80 g desiccated coconut, keep a little aside for rolling
115 g caster sugar1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp freshly ground cardamom
3 tbsp of chopped pistachios
1 tbsp chopped almonds
1 tbsp Arabic gum – pre-fried in ghee and puffed up (optional)
1 tbsp golden raisins
½ cup whole milk
2 - 3 tbsp ghee
Method:
Heat a wok style pan and add ghee on medium heat. Add all the dry fruit and let them change colour slightly. . Add puffed gum at this point if using.
Now add the coconut and then semolina, cook on very low heat stirring constantly and not letting the mixture burn and allow to cook evenly
Add sugar and keep mixing the semolina. Add milk to bind and now switch off the heat.
Add cardamom powder and mix well. Place in a flat dish and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Once slightly cool, take a small amount of the semolina and make tiny ladoos, round balls the size of golf-balls. Place on a dish and allow to cool for 1-2 hours.
These keep in the fridge for 1 week and outside in a covered container for 2-3 days – best eaten at room temperature.
