Semolina Fingers (Sooji Fingers): Crispy Tea Time Snack
This is the tea time snack I make when I want something crisp with my tea that has not been near a deep fryer. Semolina fingers, or sooji fingers, start as a soft steamed cake of semolina and yogurt, my twist on rava dhokla, a savory steamed cake from Gujarat in western India. I cut it into sticks and crisp them in a skillet with mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chilies. They worked the first time I made them.
Why This Recipe Works
- Steamed, then crisped. A light, spongy semolina cake gets a crackly crust in a skillet, with far less oil than deep frying.
- Everyday ingredients. Semolina, plain yogurt, ginger, green chili, lime and baking soda, plus mustard seeds and curry leaves sizzled in hot oil.
- About 40 minutes, mostly hands-off. Five minutes of mixing; the steamer and the skillet do the rest.
- A tea time snack that makes ahead. Steam and cut the day before, then crisp just before serving.
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- Semolina. You want coarse semolina. Supermarket semolina is usually the fine durum flour for pasta, which makes a denser cake; the coarse kind is sold as sooji or rava at Indian grocers such as Patel Brothers and online.
- Yogurt. Plain whole-milk, a little sour if you have it; the acid helps the soda lift the batter. Mine is homemade yogurt.
- Curry leaves. Small aromatic leaves with a savory, citrusy scent, not related to curry powder. They are an Indian grocer item, sold as fresh sprigs, and they freeze well. Leave them out rather than use dried.
- Asafoetida. A pungent spice powder, also sold as hing, that adds a savory onion-and-garlic note. It is an Indian grocer or online item; a pinch is enough, and you can leave it out.
- Baking soda. Fresh, and added last. I use It’s Just food-grade baking soda.
- Equipment. A steamer, or a lidded pot with a rack and a round pan inside, as in my photos. A Lodge cast iron skillet crisps evenly, and OXO locking tongs turn the fingers without breaking them.
How to Make Semolina Fingers
1. Mix the batter. Stir semolina and yogurt, then add salt, sugar, oil, ginger and green chili paste and a squeeze of lime. Start the steamer water now.
2. Thin it, then add the soda. Whisk in water a little at a time until the batter is thick but pourable. Stir in the baking soda last.
3. Pour and steam at once. Pour into an oiled round pan and set it in the steamer once the water is at a full boil. The soda’s bubbles are the sponge.
4. Steam, cool, then cut. Cover and steam until the cake rises and cracks on top and a knife comes out clean. Cool it fully, then cut into fingers.
5. Sizzle the spices. Heat the oil, add a pinch of asafoetida and the mustard seeds, then the curry leaves and halved dried red chilies once the seeds pop.
6. Crisp the fingers. Lay the fingers in the pan and turn them until they are golden and crisp on every side. Serve hot.
Rekha’s Note
Everything depends on the baking soda: stir it in last and steam at once, or the cake comes out dense.
Nutrition-wise, steaming does the cooking here, so the oil is only for crisping, about a tablespoon for the whole batch. Semolina is mostly carbohydrate, so I serve these with a yogurt dip or a few nuts for protein.
Rekha
Sooji Fingers – Semolina Fingers
Ingredients
- 200 grams Suji /Semolina
- ½ cup Curd
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Ginger-green chili paste
- Lime juice
- Water
- Baking Soda
(For Pan-fry)
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 pinch of Hing/ asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 Sprig of Curry Leaves
- 2-3 Red Chili Whole
Instructions
- Take a mixing bowl and add suji and curd in it. After that add salt to taste, sugar, and oil in it.
- After that add a green chili and ginger paste in the bowl. Now, squeeze some lime juice on it and mix well.
- Mix the ingredients well and slowly pour water to make a batter. Add water in small batches to make a batter of thick consistency.
- Now, grease some oil on a baking tray and pour the batter in it. Remember to be a multi-tasker and quickly add baking soda (the suji batter) prior to pouring the batter on the tray.
- Place a steamer on the stove and pour water in it. When the water reaches its boiling point, put the baking tray on top of it. Cover and steam-cook the suji fingers until they rise and break on the surface.
- When they are steamed, witch off the heat and carefully take the baking tray out of the steamer and place it on a flat surface.
- Allow it to cool, and then cut them vertically in shape of finger chips.
- Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough add hing, mustard seeds, a sprig of curry leaves in it.
- Break red chilies in half and add them in the pan too.
- After that take sooji fingers and carefully place them in the pan. Keep the heat medium-to-low and fry them from all side until they are crispy and golden brown. You can pan-fry them in batches if you like.
- When all the fingers are pan-fried, switch off the heat and serve them with your favorite chutney.
- Dense, flat cake? The soda sat in the batter too long, or the water was not boiling. Add it last and steam at once.
- Gummy in the center? It needs more time. Keep the lid on and steam until a knife comes out clean.
- Breaking as you cut? The cake is still warm. Let it cool completely; a chilled cake cuts cleanest.
- Soaking up oil instead of crisping? The pan was not hot enough. Wait until the mustard seeds pop, and leave each side alone until golden before turning.
- Bitter spiced oil? The seeds scorched. Add the curry leaves the moment the mustard seeds pop.
Semolina Fingers Variations
- Soft, not fried. Pour the hot spiced oil over the steamed squares instead of frying them and you have instant rava dhokla, the soft steamed cake this recipe starts from.
- With potato. Mash potato and vegetables into the semolina for my crispy potato semolina bites.
- Fruit salt instead of baking soda. Eno, an antacid fruit salt sold at Indian grocers, gives the same quick rise; add it last, the same way.
- Sesame finish. A spoonful of sesame seeds in the hot oil with the mustard seeds, as in my photos.
- Steamed rounds. A similar semolina batter steamed in small round molds makes rava idli, soft savory steamed cakes from South India.
Serve It With
- Cilantro and mint chutney, the green chutney in my photos, or plain yogurt stirred with a pinch of salt and roasted cumin.
- A cup of hot masala chai, spiced milk tea.
- Air fryer namkeen mix, a crunchy savory snack mix, and a little semolina halwa, a warm semolina pudding, for a full tea spread.
Meal Prep and Storage
These are made for making ahead. Steam and cut the fingers, then stop. Refrigerate them covered for up to 3 days, or freeze them in a single layer, then in a bag, for up to a month. Crisp them in the spiced oil straight from the refrigerator when you are ready; thaw frozen ones in the refrigerator first. Crisped fingers pack well in a lunch box, though they lose some crunch.
Common Questions
What are good snacks to have with tea?
Something savory and crisp balances a cup of sweet, milky tea, which is why semolina fingers, samosas, spiced nut mixes and chutney sandwiches are tea time classics. Snacks that are steamed and then pan-crisped, like these fingers, give the crunch with much less oil than deep-fried ones.
Are semolina fingers a healthy tea time snack?
They are steamed first and then crisped in about a tablespoon of oil for the whole batch, so they carry far less fat than deep-fried fritters. Semolina is refined wheat and mostly carbohydrate, so a yogurt dip or a few nuts on the side adds protein.
What is sooji?
Sooji, also called rava, is the Hindi name for coarse semolina ground from wheat. It is used for savory porridges, puddings and steamed cakes, and it is sold at Indian grocers and online.
