My Sooji Recipe

Sooji is the Indian equivalent of potato although most times it is served as a dessert instead (sooji ka halwa). The way it is prepared is uniquely Indian and it took some trial and error before I came up with this savory recipe. So proud of myself, gonna share it with everyone as my gift to you.

Soak 1 packet of sooji (500gm) with 250ml chicken stock and 2 cans of tomatoes (around 800ml), Add in milk until the sooji grains cannot absorb any more liquids, then add in a little more. Roughly chop 3 large onions, removing the husk and roots before adding into the soaking mixture. At this point you can also add in chaat masala or salt & pepper if you don't like Indian spices.

Get a large pan, the paella pans or even woks are perfect for this. Stir fry the mixture until it turns into a dough. The edges need to be burnt a little, that's how you know its done. You can freeze this dough-like mixture for another time and stir fry it again to warm it up and the general rule is the more you cook it, the softer the sooji grains get.

This dough-like mixture is now ready to be shaped into palm sized balls, roll the palm sized balls in flour then deep fry until golden brown. Again, these deep fried snacks can be kept in the fridge and taken out throughout the week to be pan-fried again for meals.

One 500gm packet of sooji will give you 5 platters of food or 5 family-sized meals. To make it truly vegetarian, you can use water or vegetable stock in place of milk and chicken stock. If you are planning to go heavy on the spices, plain water is your best option.

Indian food outside is quite different from what Indians actually eat at home in their everyday meals. I have been indulging in more Indian food outside especially mutton.