I was thinking about what to make for Saraswati puja sweets. It is Saraswati puja, so thinking of making some yellow sweets. Then it clicked :), why not make Rava Kesari. It's easy and tasty, and the color is yellow :). As I thought, I started accordingly.
Rava Kesari is a South Indian version of Northindian Suji (Semolina) Halwa. It's semolina pudding. It has different names in different parts of India, like Suji in Bengal, Mohon Bhog in Maharastra, Rava in South-India, etc. Rava Kesari (Saffron) is yellow Suji Halwa because of saffron.
I wanted to make it a little healthier, so I cut down the Ghee and Sugar amount and added pineapple to it for natural sweetness and texture. I added finely chopped pineapple, as I like a little bit of crunch in my bite, but if you want, you may grate or grind the pineapple.
PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES SERVINGS: 6
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup Sugar (If you like more sweets or add more)
1 cup fine Rava / Suji / Semolina
2 cups of Milk
3 tablespoons cashews
2 tablespoon Raisins
1/2 cup Mawa powder (Dry Milk Powder)
1 cup finely chopped Pineapple
3 pinches saffron strands
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
Few drops of organic orange color (optional)
Methods:
First, warm the milk and add the saffron strands to it and keep it aside.
Then, in a medium frying pan, add the ghee and heat ghee on a medium-low flame till it melts completely.
Fry the raisins and cashew nuts for 2 mins, take out the raisins and Cashews, and keep them aside.
In the same ghee, add the Suji (semolina) and fry until golden brown.
Then add the Saffron Milk to the roasted suji and mix well.
Bring it to a boil and add the sugar and mix well.
At this point, you may add the food color and mix well.
Next, add the finely chopped pineapple and mix well.
Cook until all the liquid gets absorbed by the semolina, and the pineapple is softer and cooked.
Then add the mawa powder, fried raisins, and fried cashews and incorporate everything.
Let it sit for 15 mins and after 15 mins, serve the pineapple Rava Kesari.
Enjoy!
