Mango Sheera Recipe. Mango Kesari or Halwa. Semolina Mango Pudding . Vegan Indian Dessert. 20 minute 1 pan dessert with canned Mango puree. Can be made oil-free and gluten-free. Pin this Recipe.
Holi, the festival of colors is on March 24th. Holi has so many memories associated with it. All of us kids, siblings, cousins, second cousins (I think we were more than 25 tweens and teenagers), getting together and playing with wet and dry colors. One big tank would be filled with colored water to suck into our pichkari (water guns), which would be used to spray each other from head to toe in color. Though as kids we would never really remember why the festival is really celebrated. Holi is a Spring festival that ushers in Spring and tropical heat, longer days, more time for fun and work. Happy Holi to everyone who is celebrating! Catch up on some Bollywood Holi songs today.
Holi festival has its set of food (desserts, snacks and savory appetizers) associated with it. This mango sheera is a thick pudding or spoon fudge made with semolina and mango puree. I use canned Kesar mango puree in the recipe. Often the canned mango puree has some sugar, so you might or might not need additional sweetener. Fresh juicy mangoes in India are what dreams are made of. You haven’t really enjoyed a mango unless you have tasted the fresh ripe tropical mango varieties. Use fresh very ripe mango pureed, or from a can to make this dessert. Sheera has slight variations and different names depending on the region called Mango Kesari, or Mango halwa. Use other fruit puree for variation like pineapple to make Pineapple kesari, banana, or other sweet fruits.
More Holi Recipes from the blog
- Kesar Pista Milk Shake – Saffron Pistachio milk shake
- Kesar Peda – Saffron almond fudge cookies
- Besan Burfi – Chickpea flour fudge
- Vermicelli Kheer Pudding
- Mango Burfi – Mango fudge bars
- Coconut Ladoo – Coconut cardamom balls
- Thandai – Almond Pistachio poppy seed Spiced milk beverage
- Mango Lassi – Mango Yogurt Smoothie
Serve the sheera pudding as is, or top with whipped coconut cream or ice cream or yogurt and a dusting of cardamom and saffron.
The pudding comes together really quickly! Add some fresh mango or other fruits for variation.
Mango Semolina Pudding Mango Sheera / Kesari / Halwa
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 tbsp nuts like chopped cashews or almond slivers
- 1/2 cup (83.5 g) fine semolina semolina flour
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) or more boiling water
- 6-8 (6 ) strands of saffron or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom or both
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) nutritional yeast optional , adds a bit of mava flavor
- 1 tbsp or more sugar ,I do not use any sugar with the sweetened canned mango puree
- 1 cup (255 ml) ripe mango puree ,I use canned Kesar or Alphonso Mango puree
- almond slivers for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the nuts and cook until they start to get golden. 2 mins.
- Add the semolina, mix and roast until fragrant. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. 3 to 6 mins.
- Meanwhile bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add saffron or cardamom to the water if using.
- Reduce the heat of the semolina pan to low. Add salt, nutritional yeast, sugar, 1/2 cup boiling water and mango puree. Whisk well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. If using coarse semolina (upma rava) or if you want a thinner consistency of the pudding, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more boiling water and mix in (within the 2 minutes when you add the mango puree). Carefully taste and adjust sweet. You can also mix in some chopped ripe mango at this point.
- Take off heat. Transfer to serving bowls, or press into bowls or other shapes, tap to release. Garnish with almond slivers or whipped coconut cream + pureed mango drizzle, and serve warm or chilled.
- You can also press the mixture into parchment lined or greased brownie pan. Chill, slice and serve as bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi Richa! Can you let me know how long these keep for? Thanks!
most halwas will keep for upto 4 days in the fridge
Hey mate, loving the blog!
Thought you might be interested: I couldn’t get my hands on canned mango so had an interesting crack at this with blended jackfruit in syrup – added extra water and half a can of coconut milk to replicate the mango’s richness, and a couple of handfuls of dried cranberries to add little punches of tartness. Came out well tasty! Thanks for the recipe!
Hello! i remember coming across a recipe for Cardamom cookies you posted once- cant find it. Do you where i can look?
There is a Cardamomm Cookie in my cookbook, or maybe you were talking baout one of these https://www.veganricha.com/2014/01/kesar-peda-saffron-infused-mithai-sweet.html or https://www.veganricha.com/2016/10/badam-burfi-5-minute-almond-fudge-with-cardamom.html
YUM I bet that tastes even better that it looks and it looks gorgeous! xx
Thanks!
Richa-
I have been using hydroponics to grow the herbs and vegetables for some of your recipes. I really enjoyed the value and idea this company was striving for. Thought I would share it for others. You can grow all year and in any climate since it can be used indoors or on the patio. You can grow vegetables, herbs or flowers.
I use it for herbs and vegetables and sometimes to extend the life of store bought produce. No soil, no mess, self-watering hydroponics made sense to me. It regenerates food faster than a traditional soil method than I was using since i only take what i need for each recipe. I use it to make your Crispy Cauliflower with celery ranch alot. The cauliflower and celery portion of the recipe. Have a great day! Just wanted to pass it along. I bought it at http://www.planetponics.com but i did see it on etsy, ebay and bonanza for far less.
Love your site!
Happy Holi! I still haven’t tasted kesari halwa. This looks delicious!
Happy holi to you too! Its a simple dessert. I make the plain version with just water every other week!
I can almost taste this!! It sounds so very good. Must save this for the next time I have really good mangos.
This looks so good! And I absolutely love the color. Another winner by you Richa! Thanks.
Thanks Sue!
Ooh this looks great Richa!
Thank you 🙂
Thanks Mia! you will love it!
Thanks to this small Indian restaurant in Los Angeles, I now am addicted to carrot halwa! This is such a clever and beautiful take on this dessert!
I love gajar halwa (carrot halwa). There is a recipe for it in my cookbook. It’s made differently and is so good!