Khas khas or poppy seeds are usually used in Indian cuisine in making gravies and because of its highly nutritive nature it is also used in breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, curries, sweets and confectionery.
Poppy seeds are like tiny hard grains. The Western type is slate blue; the Indian type, off-white. Both are kidney-shaped. They are similar in flavour and texture and their uses are interchangeable. The seeds mature in a capsule left after the flower fades. They are widely available in a dried form.It gives out a mild sweetish aroma when roasted or baked
And its flavour is Mild until heated, then it becomes nutty, with sweet-spicy under-tones.Source(epicentre)
This Indian sweet/dessert/pudding called Khas khas jo seero is made by my Ma-in-law on every Rakshabandhan (An Indian festival ,when sisters tie a sacred thread on wrists of their brother/s as the symbol of bonding between the siblings) Generally the trend is that Mithai or anything sweet is made for brothers on that day.Hence Ma makes this every year and not only her brothers but all the kids in family and elders too, wait for this occasion just to relish this sweet made by her.
The most awesome thing about this sweet is that it can be made without using any sugar and still taste as sweet as sweets are supposed to be.Kidding???NAAAAAAH
Actually the milk and khaskhas when cooked together imparts natural sweet taste to the seera and moreover chuhara and raisins serve as perfect sweet bites. So you wont miss the presence of any artificial sugar (no need to add sugar substitutes )Yes if you want it more sweet, you always have an option to add sugar.
This is for you Asha Chand Ji, in response to your sugar- free- sweets- suggestion
This recipe is of Ma and the above pic is of seera made by her.Hope you all will drool and enjoy!
Rating
- Khas khas (poppy seeds)150 gm
- Milk 800 -850 ml (less or more will just affect the final richness of the sweet so go ahead and experiment)
- Vegetable oil 3-4 tablespoons
- Green cardamon (choti elaichi) 6-7
- Mixed Dry fruits like Chuhara (dried dates), almonds, khishmish (raisins) and unsalted pistachios, all chopped into thick slices (except khishmish). Use as much quantity as you want, but at least 100 gm each
- Sugar (optional), around 200 gm or as much preferred.
- Soak khas khas in water for 5-6 hours.
- Later rinse it few times (you can use tea strainer) and let all the water drain out completely,through the strainer.
- Now grind this khas khas with some vegetable oil.Water or milk if added while grinding, could create lots of spluttering while cooking.So its better to use oil.
- Grind it till a coarse mixture is obtained.
- Now in a heavy bottom pan or kadai, add 2-3 tablespoons of oil.Let it heat properly, then carefully add the khaskhas paste. Beware of spluttering (you can immediately close the pan with a lid). Add elaichi now.
- Now roast the mixture on high flame, stirring continuously till a nice aroma of khas khas fills your kitchen.The paste should look pinkish in colour and the raw smell of khas khas should be gone.Don't over roast it, as that would give a bitter taste to the final halwa.
- Then carefully add about a cup of boiled milk,bit by bit and mix carefully.Add all the dry fruits now.
- Lower the flame, keep on adding some milk (about half cup) in intervals and let it be absorbed by the khaskhas,till khaskhas is cooked.You might need about 800 ml to 850 ml of milk to achieve this target 🙂
- The final seera could be of semisolid consistency,or as shown in picture--- a dry form, which could be obtained by cooking seera till oil separates out
- Garnish with some cashews /almonds/pistachios and serve with love.
Hi,
made this recipe today, awesome! perfect!
hi, i tried this recipe, and it was perfect…thnks for sharing.
I need to know famous sindhi mithai khorak recipie.
Wow this what I was looking for. I am going to try it.
Thanks
Parveen
i soaked khas khas in milk….
i loved it…
alka my mom makes a seera without grinding ;and using atta
I was searching for recipe of khas khas without sugar. Its great. I m going to try this.
Me too, I like the idea that it’s sugar free. My grandmother used to make a similar sweet, but I don’t have the recipe. Glad to find a similar one. I’m bookmarking it too.
I loved the idea of adding no sugar in the halwa.
you have a beautiful blog Alka.
Looks nice …tasted this halwa but never tried it…thanks for sharing the recipe…
Hi Alka,
This is the first time I got to see your blog. I liked your photos and recipes.They make food look very delicious. Wanted to let you know that you are doing a wonderful job with your creative recipes.I love the taste of Kas Kas. This one, says sugar less is very interesting to me and will bookmark to try soon. Thanks for sharing.
the halwa looks so delicious. Mouth-watering pic.
I am really impressed with a sweet that doesnt use sugar. Thanks a lot for sharing it with us. We can make this for people who are on sugar control. Bookmarked to try.
luv this halwa..have in my blog too,..:-)ur version is different…thnks for sharin…nd ya happy weekend…
thanks for sharing such a sweet! will surely try it out…..sure will be a hit among elders!
Very nice… never knew I could make anything with poppy seeds as the main ing.
I am glad some sweets are being made. Now I know what I want mama to make for me long time since I had this. Did u eat some.
hey new and nice one really nice without sugar
ah..that sounds wonderful and looks too..what a nice way to use poppy seeds..anything with these seeds are nice..so a dish out of this!!..:)
Hey that sounds wonderful! True I am drooling over the photo! bookmarking this!
Wow.. sweet with out any sugar. I am still drooling…. And this seera using poppy seeds is something new. Bookmarked.