I approach the eating of sojee, a sweet Indian dish made with semolina, as prandial bookends; first served as an appetizer to sweetly prep the palate and line the stomach, and again as a dessert or pre-dessert, if you have the guts for it.

This recipe for Pineapple and Coconut Sojee  is a departure from my wishy-washy attempts at eating low-fat, low-fun, low-GI. The only concessions here are in the form of a light coconut milk and fat-free milk. So eat up, take pleasure in the sweet summery flavours and fit in some extra cardio when you can.

  • 1 cup milk
  • 400ml light coconut milk
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 teaspoon crushed saffron strands
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 50g ghee
  • 250g semolina
  • 100g sugar
  • 432g can of crushed pineapple in syrup
  • 50g dried coconut flakes, slightly crushed (you could use desiccated coconut but I prefer the more substantial texture imparted by the flakes)

Mix the milk, coconut milk, egg, saffron and cardamom until blended. Set aside
On medium heat, melt the ghee in a pot and add the semolina, sautéing until it just begins to tinge with pink-brown colour.
Stir in the milk blend.
Once the mixture has combined and thickened, add the sugar, crushed pineapple along with its syrup and the coconut flakes. Keep stirring to prevent the sojee from scorching.
The sojee is ready once the semolina softens and the mixture starts to come together.