Apple Sheera is a classic and delicious Indian dessert prepared in less than 30 minutes. It is a perfect way to enjoy apples and satisfy your sweet cravings. One of the best Indian sweets to make during Navratri and Diwali.
You can check my traditional sheera or suji halwa recipe and halwa recipes without flour that you can make for Navratri fasting.
About Apple Sooji Halwa
Sheera means Indian pudding dessert or halwa sweet made by roasting semolina (suji) in ghee and flavored with cardamom and saffron, sweetened with sugar. It is also called sooji ka halwa in North India and rava kesari in South India.
Sheera is also popularly made prasadam and naivedyam recipes at temples and at home during festivals like Navratri, Diwali, and puja like Sai Guruvar. Halwa Puri Chana is a must prasadam for Durgastami and Navratri.
You can use fruits like mango, pineapple, apple, banana, peach, chikku to make fruit sheera of your choice or make the traditional plain sheera.
Apple Sheera
Since apples are in season, this is one of the best and easiest desserts to celebrate fall or for upcoming Navratri, Diwali, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
You can check the best and must-try list of Indian desserts, popular Diwali sweets and traditional Navratri recipes.
Ingredients
Apple: Any variety of apples will work.
Ghee: Gives a nutty flavor and glossy look. You can use butter instead.
Nuts: For the crunchiness.
Suji: also called suji rava, semolina or durum wheat.
Sugar: sweetener used to make halwa.
Cardamom powder: for flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step Instructions
- Bring water to boil in a pot.
- In another pan, add ghee on medium flame. To this, add almonds and cashews and saute until it starts turning light in color. Next, add raisins and chopped apples and continue to saute on a medium flame for 6 to 8 minutes or until the apples turn tender.
- To this, add sooji (semolina or durum wheat) and roast on medium flame until aromatic. Roasting suji generally takes less than 3 minutes. The color of the final product changes based on the way you roast. Keep stirring. Otherwise, it will burn from the bottom.
- To the sauteed sooji/semolina, add boiling water and mix continuously on medium to low flame for 2 to 3 minutes so that there are no lumps. For better results, you can use a whisk while adding water. Semolina can spill out easily, so make sure the flame is low while adding hot boiling water.
- Once the water is absorbed, add sugar, mix well. The mixture may look gooey, but it will become thick again. Cook apple sheera until ghee leaves the side of the pan.
- Add cardamom powder, mix well, and switch off the flame.
Tips
- To make it healthier, you can reduce fat (ghee or butter). Note that the taste and texture will vary accordingly.
- Based on how sour or sweet apples are, you can adjust the sugar.
- If you like the apple chunks in the recipe just like we do, make sure not to overcook the apples. Else, it will begin to fall apart and become an apple puree instead.
- If you are using butter instead of ghee, to get an authentic taste, melt the butter on medium heat and continue cooking till it becomes aromatic and turns golden brown in color (i.e., brown butter or ghee).
- You can also prepare fudge or halwa using the same recipe. Just pour the pudding as soon as it is done into a greased plate and allow it to cool down before you slice it into pieces.
- For a cozy fall flavor, add teaspoon of cinnamon powder or saffron threads along with cardamom if desired.
- Add the sugar only after semolina or sooji has absorbed all the water. Otherwise, the final texture of the dessert will alter.
Temple and Hotel Style Sheera (Rava Kesari)
- For a perfect temple-style sheera or rava kesari, the traditional ratio of ghee:semolina (suji, rava):sugar is 1: 1: 1 and 1.5 cups of water. To make it healthier, reduce ghee in the recipe, also note that the amount of water needed will vary on the type of semolina used.
More Sheera (Sooji Halwa) Recipes
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Recipe card
Apple Sheera | Apple Sooji Halwa | Apple Kesari
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups Apples , peeled and finely chopped
- ½ cup Ghee Butter, check tips
- 2 tablespoon Cashews chopped
- 2 tbsp Almonds chopped
- 1 tablespoon Raisins
- 1 cup Semolina or Sooji or Durum Wheat
- 2 ½ to 3 cups Boiling water
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in a pot.2 ½ to 3 cups Boiling water
- In another pan, add ghee on medium flame. To this, add almonds and cashews and saute until it starts turning light in color.½ cup Ghee, 2 tablespoon Cashews, 2 tablespoon Almonds
- Next, add raisins and chopped apples and continue to saute on a medium flame for 6 to 8 minutes or until the apples turn tender.1 ¼ cups Apples, 1 tablespoon Raisins
- To this, add sooji (semolina or durum wheat) and roast on medium flame until aromatic. Roasting suji generally takes less than 3 minutes. The color of the final product changes based on the way you roast. Keep stirring. Otherwise, it will burn from the bottom.1 cup Semolina
- To the sauteed sooji/semolina, add boiling water and mix continuously on medium to low flame for 2 to 3 minutes so that there are no lumps. For better results, you can use a whisk while adding water. Semolina can spill out easily, so make sure the flame is low while adding hot boiling water.
- Once the water is absorbed, add sugar, mix well. The mixture may look gooey, but it will become thick again. Cook apple sheera until ghee leaves the side of the pan.1 cup Sugar
- Add cardamom powder, mix well, and switch off the flame.½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Video
Notes
- To make it healthier, you can reduce fat (ghee or butter). Note that the taste and texture will vary accordingly.
- Based on how sour or sweet apples are, you can adjust the sugar.
- If you like the apple chunks in the recipe just like we do, make sure not to overcook the apples. Else, it will begin to fall apart and become an apple puree instead.
- If you are using butter instead of ghee, to get an authentic taste, melt the butter on medium heat and continue cooking till it becomes aromatic and turns golden brown in color (i.e., brown butter or ghee).
- You can also prepare fudge or halwa using the same recipe. Just pour the pudding as soon as it is done into a greased plate and allow it to cool down before you slice it into pieces.
- For a cozy fall flavor, add teaspoon of cinnamon powder or saffron threads along with cardamom if desired.
- Add the sugar only after semolina or sooji has absorbed all the water. Otherwise, the final texture of the dessert will alter.
- For a perfect temple-style sheera or rava kesari, the traditional ratio of ghee:semolina (suji, rava):sugar is 1: 1: 1 and 1.5 cups of water. To make it healthier, reduce ghee in the recipe, also note that the amount of water needed will vary on the type of semolina used.
Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this chickpea tikka masala recipe in Nov 2016. It has now been modified in Sep 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Nicoletta Sugarlovespices
Never had anything like that, but love the ingredients and the ease of preparation. The texture is beautiful and the taste must be so delicious!
Jessica
I love this kind of desserts that you can eat with the spoon but still have a consistency and crunch from the fruits and nuts. Looks delicious!
Linda
I've only had sheera once years ago when my friend's mom served it. I remember loving the texture. Yours looks delicious!