Eggless Semolina Apple Pudding/ Apple cha Sheera

My grandmoms were exceptional chefs and I was often treated to various kinds of puddings when I was growing up. Some puddings were made using eggs & milk and some were made without them. The latter were generally made when they were fasting or when there was a festival at home.
For snacks or sometimes, even for breakfast, they made savoury versions of  semolina puddings! I will be covering those in the future. But for now, I am going to teach you a really simple version using an apple. It's delicious and not too sweet or overpowering if you follow my measures. Of course if you prefer sweeter, you can always add more sugar.

To make this delicacy, here's what you need -

1 glass coarse semolina (available at the Indian/Asian/ Eko stores)
1 apple cored, peeled and chopped into tiny blocks/ pieces.
Little less than 1/2 glass sugar (I use brown)
4 cashewnuts roughly chopped
4 strands of saffron soaked in 2 tablespoons hot water
2 small green cardamons opened, seeds extracted and ground
3 pistachios (for garnish)
2 strands saffron (for garnish)
3 glasses boiling water.
3 tablespoons Ghee/clarified butter (available at Eko stores/ Indian/Asian store)

Method -

Heat a big deep vessel on low and add 3 tablespoons ghee. Ghee is what makes this dessert rich and delicious so please don't reduce the quantity.

Once the ghee has melted, add the ground cardamon seeds and then the semolina.

Keep stir frying this semolina till the kitchen begins to smell nice. Takes about 10-12 minutes in total.

Make sure you don't over roast/burn the semolina. It shouldn't turn brown. It has to be stir fried on low at all times.

After 8 minutes of stir-frying, add the cashew pieces.

Keep stirring for 2 minutes.

Add the apple pieces and stir them in.

Add the soaked saffron strands and the water they've been soaking in.

Keep stirring this mix for 5 minutes.

Add the sugar and mix it once.

Add the boiling water next. You need to be quick here, as the semolina tends to sputter when you add hot water.  So, as soon as you add water, cover with a lid and allow the mix to cook.

After 20 minutes on low heat, take off the heat.

Let this rest for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, uncover and fold the mix well.

The water should be totally absorbed and you should be left with a firm mix.

If you still have some water, keep this mix on a low gas and stir till the water evaporates and you have a creamy firm mass.

Some people also prefer this pudding to be semi-solid as it tastes a little bit like Kheer ( yet another delicacy that I will cover in the future).

You can serve this pudding in bowls or put them in moulds and invert them on a plate. They keep their shape if they are firm enough.

Garnish with pistachio and saffron strands.

Serve hot or cold.

Hope you enjoy this!

Thank you.