Jan 16 - Semolina Sheera

Look down.. 6 0'clock, focus on the strands of saffron, Not the big fat fried Arbol Chile in the glass bowl (I'll discuss that dish later in the year)

Sheera (or Ksheera - the 'K' is silent) is a comfort food dessert, served warm, redolent with the aroma of cardamom, Saffron and warm molten ghee, its hard to believe that the dish is actually so simple to make. TOast the semolina till golden brown, cook to a smooth consistency with milk and sugar. Condensed milk with a spot of regular milk accounts for the sugar and works as well, halfway through the process, add toasted cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom and saffron. Heap into a big bowl, stick a spoon into it, curl your toes under your legs in front of the TV and just savor the pudding.

There is a constant discussion that happens about what the term Semolina defines, The semolina flour from regular American groceries has practically no similarities to the Indian Rava although every Indian recipe happily uses the term. (to the point that its annoyingly misleading. Just like many refer to Ajwain / bishopsweed as thyme)
The first obvious difference is the color, The Indian 'Semolina' is white, and comes in a variety of consistencies from a gritty pebbly to sand. These don't come close to the buttery yellow semolina used in western cuisine that resembles coarse flour. Its most likely the wheat variety used to create the ingredient. Until then I'm sticking to Rava for the Indian & semolina for the western version.