• Dry roast the sooji in a pan for about 2 to 3 minutes (in low heat while stirring) until raw smell goes away.

  You can skip this step if you are using roasted sooji flour.
• Add ghee (or butter) and cardamom powder to the dry roasted sooji and once the ghee is melted, roast the sooji flour in melted ghee for another couple of minutes.

  Make sure to roast the sooji well for the best flavor but also watch not to burn the sooji flour.

  So always keep the heat low and keep stirring while you roast the sooji flour.
• Add water to the sooji, stir well and cook the mixture in medium heat.

  Once the sooji is cooked and almost all the water is evaporated, add the sugar to the pan and stir well until the sugar is almost dissolved which takes about a minute. 
• Continue to stir and cook in low heat until the halwa starts separating from the sides of the pan. This step will take around 2 to 3 minutes of total time. 

  If you are not frying cashews and raisins for the halwa, just add the extra one tablespoon of ghee also to the same pan and once the ghee melts, continue to stir and cook the halwa in the ghee for another couple of minutes in low heat for a nice flavor.
• Transfer the sooji halwa to another serving dish. You may garnish the sooji halwa with any nuts of your choice like sliced pistachios or almonds for a quick and easy garnish.

  If you want to add the fried cashews and raising, follow the below step.

To add fried cashews and raisins (optional)

• If you want to add the fried cashews and raisins, heat the extra one tablespoon of ghee in another pan, lightly fry the cashews and raisins until golden brown.
• Add the fried cashews and raisins (along with the ghee) to the sooji halwa and gently mix in, you may also keep a few fried cashews and raisins separately to garnish the halwa. 

  Continue to stir & cook the halwa in for another couple of minutes in low heat until the flavors blend very well.
• Serve the sooji halwa while it is still warm for the best results!

  You can serve it alone for a quick & easy dessert or serve it with for dessert after dinner or serve it with poori or luchi puri & chana masla for a halwa puri breakfast or dinner.