Sweet and Tangy Guava Sheera

Makes 8 servings

Hello everyone!

I was all set with a post for today (or so I thought) when I went to bed last night. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking “Oh but tomorrow is Dassera! I should have thought of something sweet to make and post”  Dassera is a big Indian festival and the celebrations commence with prayers and offerings of sweets to the Gods and then eating those sweets, of course!

Talk about having the blogging fever! I got up this morning praying to the Gods for some creative ideas that could be implemented with ingredients I had at home and for something that could be made quickly.

I found the guava paste I had got at the groceries a few weeks ago when I was thinking about making a Peruvian style pastry that my daughter loves. But today I decided to experiment with the guava paste to make Sheera, an Indian sweet/ dessert made with cream of wheat. The name Sheera invokes the visual of lots and lots of ghee (yum!) but mine is low fat and if you love the taste of guava like I do, you will not miss the loads of extra ghee at all.

I know you can relate to me when I say this! When we make up a recipe as we go along, we also learn what we can change the next time we make it. I want to share my thoughts with all of you as I experimented with this recipe today. I used the Predilecta brand of guava paste which is great in the Peruvian style pastry when paired with cream cheese. I love the taste of the guava in it but has a tad more citric acid than I would have liked for the Sheera recipe. I did not want to dilute the exquisite taste of the guava by adding more cream of wheat. So the next time, I want to try this recipe with another brand of guava paste, like Goya. I would  love to hear if you have any recommendations about a different brand of guava paste. I promise to update the recipe if I get the one that is best for the Sheera recipe:)

But for today, topping the Sheera with angel flake sweetened coconut worked out fabulously! The sweetness and texture of the coconut flakes juxtaposed with the Sweet and Tangy Sheera, spelled ‘Happy Dassera’ at our home!

So here is my quick and easy recipe-

Ingredients-

• 1/2 cup rawa or cream of wheat
• 1 tablespoon sweet cream butter or ghee
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 (300 gram) slab of guava paste, chopped in pieces and blended smooth in the blender with 1/2 cup hot water. It makes 1 cup of guava ‘pulp’
• a tiny pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)
• 2 tablespoons angel flake coconut, such as Bakers angel flake coconut

To make the Sheera-

1. In a microwave safe bowl, add the rawa and ‘roast’ it on high for one minute. Stir and roast again for another minute. 2 minutes total.
2. In a saucepan ( I used a non stick one),add the butter or ghee and roast the rawa on it for another minute or so on low heat.

   

   3.Stirring the rawa mixture,add the 1/2 cup hot water, mix well and let it cook covered, for   about 2 minutes.The rawa will fluff up when cooked.4.Add the guava pulp,the tiny pinch of salt and the cardamom powder (if using). 5.Stir very well to get rid of any lumps in the mixture. Cover and cook until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and comes together in a cohesive mass,about 5 to 7 minutes.5. Remove from heat and let cool. The Sheera thickens slightly more as it cools.

   6. Top with the sweetened angel flake coconut and serve!

Variation-

• You can also add pistachio or almond nuts to this Guava Sheera.

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Love,

Sandhya