My mother use to make banana semolina(rava )sheera  as Satyanarayan MahaPrasad and panchamrutham each year at the time of ganpati days as we use to perform this Satyanarayan vrath pooja on one of the 11 days during ganpati  festival…this Mahaprasad has nice flavor of basil (tulsi) which is consider to be very auspicious ….we use to serve this Prasad in the form of modak to the people who come for darshan of both satyanarayan and ganpati….this modak doesn’t take much time to make ….banana, basil(tulsi ) and cardamom gives very nice flavor to this Prasad modak…the aroma is so good that  you could smell it down the street ..This is the food that add pleasant aroma of festival in your house….

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

1 cup semolina(sooji/rava)

¾ cup whole milk

¾ cup water

¾ cup ghee

1 ripe banana

3/4cup sugar or sugarfree natura

1 teaspoon cardamom

20 – 25 raisins

1 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts

Few strands of saffron(kesar)

1 tablespoon Charoli/chironji

10-15 Tulsi or basil leaves

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Mix water an milk in a container and bring to boil….
2. In a microwave safe bowl first roast the cashewnut pieces and charoli or chironji  for 1 minute with a teaspoon of ghee in it ..then add raisins to it and again microwave it for 20 seconds ….if your not using microwave roas it a pan with little ghee …
3. Roast the semolina in a heavy bottom pan until it becomes very light….(basically the moisture should evaporate and each particle should get roasted nicely) remove it from the pan….
4. Add ½ cup ghee in the same pan add basil leaves in the ghee  ….add the roasted semolina in it… roast it again  until the semolina get light pink in colorand the basil leaves becomes crispy…add finely chopped banana to it …roast it again with banana stirring  it continuously…banana will start melting ….make the heat low and Add the boiling water milk mixture to this roasted mixture and mix it properly
5.  Add sugar or sugarfree natura in the mixture …mix it properly and cover the lid and let it cook for 3-4 minutes…
6.  Open the lid ….add cardamom powder , saffron(kesar)   and the remaining ghee in it …now remove it from the heat …cool it slightly…your halwa or sheera or you can say Mahaprasad is now ready for modak preperation…
7.  As it becomes cool it will become little dense…this is the time when you have to fill up the modak mold with this halwa(sheera) .If you have modak mold take it and all you have to do is stuff it with this  halwa(sheera)by pressing it nicely with your index finger and demold ……for first modak you have to  grease the modak mould after that its not necessary to grease it again as this modak contains already lots of ghee in it ,if u dont have modak shape it with the help of finger and palm….serve this nicely flavored modak to our lord ganesha …..

   

   

[/directions]

Notes

• Roast the semolina nicely otherwise your modak will taste sticky….
• Some people add pinch of edible camphor to this halwa(sheera) especially in south India  it taste really good
• If your using fine semolina (rava or sooji) this quantity of water milk is ok. But if your using coarse semolina add extra ½ cup milk in the water milk mixture , otherwise it will become very dry ….
• When you r seving this modak microwave it for 10 – 15 seconds it taste good when its warm…

Also check How to Make Satyanarayan Vrat (vratham ) Pooja Prasad and Panchamrut