Rich and Creamy Soji (Semolina Pudding)
I gave my friend Rich Creamy Soji recipe because her family was craving some. Unfortunately, she wasn’t feeling well and never got around to making it, so I offered to make it for her instead. And let me tell you, they absolutely loved it!
I don’t make Rich Creamy Soji very often, but I do have a delicious recipe that I created and make from time to time when I feel like treating myself and the family.
What is Rich Creamy Soji or Soojee?
Soji, also known as Soojee, is a traditional Indian dessert made with semolina, butter, milk and sugar. And yes, there is a generous amount of butter involved!
So please don’t make this every day. Maybe once a year… Lol! 😂 I promise I don’t make it often because, as delicious as it is, I think I would have a heart attack if I ate this buttery deliciousness every other day.
These are the kinds of sweet treats I like to save for special occasions. I absolutely love comfort food and, yes, I love butter too. But unfortunately, we can’t indulge in everything we love all the time.
Rich Creamy Soji is traditionally served as a dessert at Indian weddings and religious functions, which is also why eggs are not usually added.
It is such a comforting dessert. Rich, creamy and wonderfully soft, with a texture that you can easily adjust depending on how you like your Soji.
If you prefer a thicker Soji, simply use less milk. If you love it soft and velvety, add a little more milk. Personally, I prefer the latter. There is something about that silky, creamy texture that makes this dessert extra special.
What is the Key Ingredient in Soji?
The main ingredient in Soji is semolina, which is a coarse flour made from durum wheat.
Here in South Africa, some of us use Taystee Wheat when making Soji. It is a breakfast porridge made from wheat semolina and has a slightly smoother texture, which works beautifully in this dessert.
Saffron or No Saffron?
I did add a pinch of saffron to this Soji, but I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of saffron in my Soji. That is purely a personal preference, though, so feel free to add it if you enjoy the flavour.
If you want that beautiful golden-yellow colour without using saffron, you can add a few drops of egg-yellow food colouring instead.
One thing I absolutely love in Soji is cardamom. If you have the time, I highly recommend roasting and grinding your own cardamom. There is nothing quite like the aroma and flavour of freshly ground spices.
Although saffron is included in the recipe, it is completely optional. You can leave it out and still have a delicious Soji.
How Sweet Should Soji Be?
I prefer my Soji on the less-sweet side, so I like to add the condensed milk gradually. I usually use a tablespoon to measure it because it gives me much more control over how much sweetness I add.
I really don’t enjoy anything that is overly sweet. I think I’m sweet enough already… hahaha! 😂
Start with about 6 tablespoons of condensed milk and taste as you go. You can always add more until it reaches the perfect level of sweetness for you.
Rich Creamy Soji
If you love Indian desserts, you may also want to try some of my other favourites:
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and let me know how you enjoyed it. I would love to hear from you!
Rich, Creamy Soji
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Taystee Wheat or Semolina
- 125 gram + 25 gram Butter
- 2 pieces cinnamon stick
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tspn elachie/cardamom powder
- 1 tspn almond powder
- few strands of saffron (optional)
- few drops egg yellow food colouring
- 6-8 tbsp condensed milk you can add more if you prefer
- fresh cream (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium size pot melt 125 grams butter on a low heat. Add a few drops of food colouring to the milk and set aside.
- Add the cinnamon sticks and taystee wheat to the butter and cook for about 5 minutes. It will turn slightly brown.
- Remove from heat and slowly add the milk, use a whisk and keep stirring. Return to the heat. It will splutter a little so be careful.
- Keep a close eye on it and keep mixing until it starts to thicken. It will leave the sides of the pan and you will see the butter floating around the edges.
Add the other 25 grams of butter together with the cardamom and almond powder and mix well. Add the condensed milk and remove from heat- You can serve with a drizzle of fresh cream and a sprinkle of almonds if you prefer
Notes
- Some readers felt the milk was far too much whilst others thought it was perfect. To be safe please reduce the milk by half cup if you feel it is too much
- You can use Semolina or Taystee Wheat, they both work equally well
Lovely recipe!!! Thank you for sharing, so simple and easy to make, and it tastes DELISSSSHHHH!!! 🙂
Thank you so much Zulekha! I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and it turned out great. Yes it is a simple, delicious Soji. It’s why I too love it 🙂
Today is actually the third time I’ve made this recipe, the previous times I was late to the table so I didn’t even get to taste the outcome, apart from pinching from the pot before it was done…lol. It is absolutely delicious!!! It’s by far the easiest recipe and definitely the BIGGEST on FLAVOUR & RICHNESS. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us Lorraine. My family and I love it.
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Nina. I am so happy to hear that your family loved the recipe and you got to eat some yourself. Take Care:-)
Hi Lorraine, thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us, I have tried a few, the results were amazing, your recipes are simple and yet detailed, I enjoy using your recipes, you are beautiful and so humble, thank you once again
Hi Lorraine, I’m new in the kitchen and Soji was one of the first things I wanted to try. I stumbled on this recipe, got the ingredients and today I decided to give it a bash. It came out Amazing. Thank you.
Thank you Adiel. I am glad your first cooking experience was a pleasant one. Wishing you many more successful dishes 🙂
Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe. Just searched for a rich soji recipe and found this one. Just made it now and it came out really good. I tried making soji once before following a different recipe and it flopped so this is really a great recipe that I will continue to use in future.
Thank you so much Nissa. I myself have followed recipes that never worked so it was time I created one that worked. Really glad the recipe worked for you. Thank you so much for the rating:-)
Taystee wheat only… Does it spoil using semolina.
Thank you ❤ ur blog makes awesome reading. Just drew up a list of what I am gonna make from here. May u inspire to become bigger.
Hi Thasneem! Yes you can use Semolina, my apologies. I haven’t used it in a very long while so I forgot to mention it in my recipe. Will add it in my notes. Thank you for reading and for your kind words. Stay Safe:-)
Thanks Lorraine
Your recipe is perfect the family loved it!
We don’t like Semolina so this was a great alternative even the baby had some and he loved it! ❤️😘😋
Thank you Diksha. Glad your family enjoyed the recipe, we love it too. Stay Safe:-)
Wow after many previous failed attempts I finally found an easy and tasty recipe thank you dear
Glad to hear that Jenal. Thank you so much. Take Care:-)
Without a doubt the best soji recipe I have come across. After many failed attempts this one was the easiest and the best. My family loved it.
Thank you Candice. That’s great news. Took me a while to get it right too so I get you. Take Care:-)
Thank you. Soji was very delicious and it was first time making it. My daughter loved it.
Thank you:-)
I’ve used your recipe about 3 times so far and it’s simply perfection each time. It’s so easy and simple. Definitely the best soji recipe I’ve ever tried
Thank you so much Jackie! Don’t we all love it when a simple recipe can also taste delicious. Glad you finally found a recipe you love. Take Care:-)
Absolutely divine!
Thank you so much Kershnee:-)
Hi. Absolutely delicious soji recipe. Thank you for sharing. My daughter introduced me to it. It’s the first time I attempted soji and I made it often since I first tried your recipe.
Thank you so much Soms. I am happy to hear the recipe worked well for you and you most welcome:-)
I love Soji.. but don’t make it often and whenever I do, I usually google a new recipe.. it’s never been quite right and I’m sometimes disappointed with the outcome … Until now! I love your recipe, it easy to make , perfect texture and flavor. I will be saving this one as my go to recipe for the future. Thank you .Lezell
Thank you Lezell, so glad you enjoyed the Soji. Take Care:-)
I’ve made soji before but this recipe was not good. I think it’s because I increase the amount of servings. Things went wrong with the addition of the milk… I’m busy trying to salvage it, not sure if I should just stop before I waste my condensed milk as well.
Hi Sunny! When you add milk to the soji it usually does look a like it’s a lot of milk, however you have to keep stirring to reach the right consistency. It does dry up as you cook it. If you don’t want to waste your condensed milk I suggest you try another recipe, if you’re not confident this will work. I’m sorry that my recipe did not work for you. Have a great day!
This recipe was so delicious and easy to make!!😍 I used 2 tablespoons of sugar dissolved in the milk instead of condensed milk and it was great! Was so impressed with the texture and taste! Thanks so much for sharing 😊
Thank you so much Deshni. I appreciate the comment and star rating. Glad the recipe worked for you even with the substitution. Take care:-)
Recipe was so easy and soji was delicious. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’ve tried lots of other recipes but this one was definitely the easiest and best.
Thank you so much Shantell! I am so happy to hear that the recipe worked for you. Take Care:-)
Truly a winning recipe, had the crowd asking for more!
Thank you so much Prabashni! That’s wonderful to hear:-)
I love all your recipes, but this is a winner! Being newly married and moving to the UK I quickly had to learn all our comfort food cooking. Thank you so much for sharing your delicious and easy to follow recipes. I love your instagram posts. well done!!
Hi Thameshni! Thank you so much. So happy to hear that you’re enjoying the recipes. I appreciate your support:-)
Lovely recipe and very easy to make 🙂 Thank you …
Thank you so much Nishara:-)
Just amazing, i love it
Thank you so much Ayesha:-)
Hi Lorraine,
I tried this recipe before and loved it, but I would like to use sugar instead of Condensed milk as a sweetener, how do I go about doing that(when do I add the sugar, how much sugar do I use?). Please help… Thanks in advance.
Thank you Annie. You can use sugar and you will have to mix it with the milk and add it to the soji. Unfortunately I cannot tell you the exact amount as I have never used sugar. Maybe start with a quarter cup and see how that goes.
DIVINE! I have NEVER made sujee ever and always loved it so much. I tried this recipe the 1st time and it is divine, yes i used 1 less portion of milk. It was easy to follow, quick to make and i needed a little extra condensed milk for the sweetness. thank you so much! This is a keeper of a recipe and method. PS I used Semolina.
Thank you so much for trying it Tanya. Glad you loved it:-)
Hi there… This recipe looks amazing.. Thank you… Please could you tell me how long this will keep in the fridge.. If I make it in advance? Thank you so much
Easy, delicious recipe, perfect every time. Doesn’t last long, everyone wants seconds 🙂
Thanks Lorraine
Thank you Alicia. I am happy to hear that:-)
Absolutely loved this recipe, i tried it out and it was perfect, came out delicious and creamy.
Thank you so much Aneesa. So happy to heat that it turned out perfect:-)
Hi is it 3 to 4 cups of semolina.. ThNks
Hi Catherine. No, it is 3 quarters of a cup of semolina
Why do you call it Soji?
To be honest I have no idea. It’s what everyone before me called it and it’s what my followers would search for so I used the name it’s referred to here in SA. Our forefathers were brought to work on sugar cane fields as labourers but treated more like slaves. They had to cut ties with their roots, India and a lot of our South African Indian dishes have “made up” names. I assume because they didn’t have the knowledge and they were ignorant due to circumstances. It’s only after I started my blog and I have been doing research myself I have been able to refer to dishes by their correct names.
Love this recipe, I made it for the first time for my Family in Durban, everyone enjoyed it. Thank You for sharing this beautiful recipe with us.
Thank you Linda and you’re most welcome:-)
Hi I just found this recipe and would like to try this. However. It does not specify what the red little pieces are in the photo. Are they pomegranate Ariel’s?
The little pieces is almond that’s been coloured. It’s just there for decorative purpose:-)
Simple and easy…
Used 2 cups of milk instead of 3 and tastes absolutely devine
Thank you for all the lovely recipes…🌺🌺🌺
Best tasting sojee by far..nothing compared to others.Thank you for sharing.
I made it… wow it’s soft n the smell of butter made us all hungry
This is the first time i made my own soji and i must commend you on this wonderful recipe..The soji came out perfect.Thank you so much.I will surely treasure your recipe.
Made this recipe 2nd time absolutely delicious thank u
Absolutely love this simple recipe. Thank you for sharing.My family loved it !!
Love it thanks for sharing, don’t have to go out and buy anymore
This recipe made me the star of our family function in 2019! I have been using is ever since 🙂
This marks 5 years of amazing soji 🙂
Too much milk & butter to the ratio of semolina. Thanks for sharing though.