
For those of you who have not had semolina in desserts, this may come as a slight surprise. Yes people, semolina can be used to make sweet things!
Click here for recipe |
In South India, we make a semolina dessert called Kesari, which seems to be the origins of this Burmese dish.
A little unwanted history –
The British ruled India since the 1700s, and it wasn’t too long before they conquered Burma as well. Burma was made a province of India in 1886, and this resulted in a large migration of Indians to Burma (including my ancestors) who took on administrative roles in the newly established Government.
With this migration came the mingling of two large cultures, and you’ll find a lot of Indian influence in Burmese cuisine, even today.
This is one such example. The Shwe Gyi Mont / Sanwei Makhin /Sanwin Makhin is a Burmese Semolina cake that has clear Indian origins. This version uses eggs, but there is also a vegetarian version without eggs, which is pretty much the same as the Indian Kesari.
The addition of coconut milk adds the Burmese touch to this recipe. Also, this dessert is topped with poppy seeds, which I skipped here as it’s not a usual pantry staple in my home. But to be truly authentic, the Shwe Gyi Mont needs poppy seeds.
In honor of Upside Down Pineapple Cake day (Apr 20), I’ve also added pineapple here, purely as an alternate version. I just like the flavour combination of semolina and pineapple. Again, this is just me trying to tug on the Indian influence of this dish a little bit stronger. Feel free to skip the pineapple, as this dish is still perfect without any extra additions.
This is a twice-cooked cake – meaning that it is cooked on the stove before being baked in the oven, and here’s how it’s done.
First, you roast the semolina and combine with the rest of the ingredients till you get a watery, grainy batter.

You then let it soak, for the semolina to absorb some of the liquid.
After about 20 minutes, you cook it over stove until all the liquid is absorbed and the semolina begins to cook. At this point, you have a lump of a batter, completely unlike the regular cake batter we are so accustomed to.

You then divide this into ramekins (or into a small cake tin), smother it in butter and bake for 20 minutes.

You’ll notice that the butter is bubbling and spilling, but that’s ok. It’s all working towards creating a gorgeous golden crust for you.
Remove from oven, let cool and turn out while still a little warm.

Pineapple flowers!
As you see here, I’ve garnished them with pineapple flowers, as pineapple was used in the recipe. To make these flowers, slice pineapple very finely, blot out the moisture with paper towels and bake them at 225°F/100°C for an hour on a parchment paper lined baking tray, turning them over half-way through baking. Place inside muffin tins or small bowls to shape the flowers and let dry completely overnight.
Although it tastes extremely succulent when still warm from the oven, it reheats quite well, and tastes good cold too. Serve it with your evening cup of tea, maybe with a splash of cream, and you’ll find it quite a pleasurable experience and a nice change from the usual flour cakes.
Sharon says
How long will this last if I sealed in an airtight bag?
Tina Dawson says
It keeps well refrigerated in a closed container for about 3-5 days. But I’m not sure it’d do well stored at room temperature in a bag.
Sarah says
Real sanwinmakin contains more semolina than the butter without eggs but nowadays, people use eggs or butter than the semolina for the commercial production. According to the history, She Kyi Sanwinmakin originated from Mon State but the dessert is pretty similar to Indian Kesari. However, history is lost when the papers were burnt down during the war and no prove could be made. Anyway, foods are similar in one way or another. Just enjoy the food 😉
Revathi says
i have been searching with “sanna mukhi” one of my aunts told tat name for this dish like abt 15 yrs ago…. and i couldnot find results so I searched burmese dish+sooji+coconut mill n here it is. something very similar but I remembr she prepared without egg and prep ws same like kesari but added fresh coconut milk. But yeah this looks good… gotcha try!!!!
Tina Dawson says
That’s great Revathi! I bet an eggless version of this would be just as awesome! Good luck! 🙂
Tan says
Hi Tina! Love this recipe but mine turned out not as pretty! Two questions –
1. Should I have used coarse semolina?
2. When adding the prepared batter into the cake tin, how tightly packed should it be?
Tina Dawson says
Hey Tan, I’m so sorry to hear that! Yes, when in doubt, always use coarse semolina – lesser chance of it being ‘sticky’ and ‘clumpy’. I packed it in quite tight. Since the cake goes through twice cooking process, it won’
t really ‘melt down’ like a usual cake does in the oven. And the finished cake itself is meant to be crumbly, not spongy and soft and together like a regular cake. Hope it helps!
And in all seriousness, it really isn’t a good looking cake (hence the pineapple flower topping 🙂 ), just a really good tasting one! 🙂 So don’t be so hard on yourself!
swayampurna mishra says
I love semolina desserts!! We Indians do semolina quite often but this looks extremely new and gorgeous!
Tina Dawson says
Yeah, and to think this was inspired by our Indian Kesari! Amazing, huh?
Amanda | Chew Town says
I’m Italian, so I LOVE semolina desserts! Your pineapple flowers look absolutely gorgeous and I’m loving the combination of flavours here.
Tina Dawson says
Yes Amanda, pineapple and semolina are perfect together! You should try it sometime!
Jillian@FoodFolksandFun says
These semolina cakes look delicious and I absolutely LOVE the pineapple flowers!
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Jillian!
Ludmilla Barreto says
I love the history that you told us… That’s awesome!
Tina Dawson says
Aww thanks! Sometimes, it’s intriguing to know how it happened!
jacqueline | i sugar coat it! says
I don’t believe I’ve ever had semolina dessert, but I am sure tempted to try. This look so deliciously moist and I adore pineapple flowers.
Tina Dawson says
Then you must try this! It’s a nice change from the usual flour cakes. Very textured, yet comforting!