Few things conjure up the greatness of the traditions observed while making cuisines involving the semolina. Yet, as I savour a plate of soft, round Ledikeni sweet balls, fried to a perfect brown, at a heritage sweet shop of Mishti Hub’s located in New Town, Kolkata, I am cognisant of the fact that the tradition of cooking with semolina has stood the test of time.
Ledikeni sweet
A cheery middle-aged employee of Mishti Hub speaks about the time when the Ledikenisweet was prepared in honour of Lady Canning, the wife of the Governor-General Charles Canning during the British Raj in Kolkata, and explains: “Even today, while re-creating the traditional round or oblong-shaped Ledikeni sweet, as per the tradition of the British Raj era, the addition of suji to the chhena(crumbled paneer), sugar and gheedough, is quite important. In fact, the suji(semolina) added helps bring a smooth texture to the chhena dough balls – which are then fried to a perfect brown colour”.
In yet another fascinating instance, Lord Krishna’s cherished thick, moist-textured cardamom-flavoured halwa, garnished with slivered cashews, the mohon bhog, was distributed along with plates of luchis (deep-fried flatbreads) last Janmashtami at Swami Narayan Mandir located near IIM Joka, Kolkata. The temple kitchen has maintained the tradition of slow-simmering and stirring the suji, ghee-roasted to a slight brown, colour, in cardamom-infused milk in a metal cauldron set over a gentle flame, until a thick mixture is formed.
In recent times, tradition-inspired dishes cooked with semolina, over gentle flames, have gradually become popular in kitchens across India.
Faloodas
Take, for instance, the case of the falooda, the rose-scented dessert of vermicelli mixed with sweet sabja (basil seeds) in cold milk, which was popular during the time of the Mughals. According to historical records, dating back to about the 16th Century, in the city of Shiraz, Persia, the frozen reshteh, thin, long strands of rice vermicelli noodles, were used for making the dessert.
In North India, at the lavish Mughal courts the royal cooks replaced the rice vermicelli with seviyan (short, thin strands of vermicelli made of semolina).
In more recent times, a heritage sweet shop located near Red Fort, Old Delhi, still adheres to the tradition of boiling the seviyan until they have a silky, soft texture and then, assembled as the falooda in a tall glass – first boiled seviyan is added; then, sweet basil seeds; followed by rose-flavoured syrup; cold milk; and finally, ice cream.
Basbousa
The baked baath cake of Goa, a semolina and coconut cake, flavoured with a strong almond essence bears a striking resemblance to the orange blossom-scented Moorish basbousa, which has a crumbly texture because of the coarse semolina. When the Moors introduced their beloved basbousa toPortugal, in 711 AD, it had certain unique Portuguese adaptations – a fine semolina gave a smooth texture to the cake; while with the addition of traditional Portuguese ingredients like the ground almonds, the cake turned moist and nutty.
When the Portuguese arrived in Goa in the 15th Century, the basbousa with Portuguese touches, was known as baath cake, and local bakers maintain the tradition of using fine semolina combined with a ground almond mixture for making a smooth-textured, moist cake.
Now, in Goa, the dough of roasted semolina is mixed with the grated coconut, coconut milk, ground almonds, crushed cardamoms, sugar and baking powder, then spread evenly on a greased rectangular cake tin and baked until the baath cake is moist and golden brown. At the end, as per tradition, the traditional Portuguese sweet almond essence is drizzled on the cake; followed by a cashew garnish. It is served as a classic sweet wedding cake or a festive Christmas treat.
The Parsi community savours semolina snacks like the thick bhakra patty-like rounds, along with cups of ginger and mint tea. Nahoums, a heritage Parsi bakery located at New Market, Kolkata, even today, maintains the tradition of frying thick patty-like dough rounds of fine suji and maida mixed with nutmeg powder and sugar, to a golden brown colour.
Upma
Then, for nutty-flavoured, slightly sweet breakfast cuisines made of semolina like the upma with significant southern touches dating back to the late 18th Century, dry-roasted suji, is sautéed with urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves along with vegetables like chopped carrots, beans and green peas, until a dry mixture is formed.
Semolina’s uses across the globe
It’s not just India – in the recent times, traditional semolina cuisines have been re-created in different parts of the world. For instance, for the breakfast cuisine of Guryevskaya Kasha – popular during the time of the Tsars in Russia in the 15th Century – semolina is slow-simmered and stirred in sweetened milk until a thick, creamy porridge is formed and then, baked. Traditional Sicilian crusty-textured, pale yellow breads like the Pane Sicilano, feature fine semolina as an essential ingredient.
Published - August 27, 2024 08:57 am IST
