Kesari - Sweet For Any Occasion

Kesari, made out of Semolina is a tasty dessert that is often served during gatherings, marriages or parties in Kerala. Usually family functions are made sweeter with this sweet that is very tasty and healthy too. I did not have any particular liking towards this sweet, until I met Vijayalakshmi Aunty, who was living next doors. She loved to make sweets and usually she gives us the pleasure of tasting her sweet delicacies more often. One of her favorite sweets was Rava Kesari or Semolina Kesari. Tasting her Semolina Kesari more often, I just fell in love with it. I also learned the technique of making the perfect Rava Kesari soon.

Kesari is ghee sweet and the ghee part is actually the tastemaker of the sweet. The semolina has to be cooked well while making Kesari. Care should also be taken not to cook it in an ordinary pan. Try using a non-stick pan to avoid semolina from sticking on to the pan while cooking. You can make use of jalebi color or light yellow color to make the kesari stand out with a yellow tint. If you do not wish to add color to the kesari, then you may avoid it. This will give you an off-white kesari.

Kesari is a diwali sweet that is often made at homes in India. This sweet is an easy to make one that can make your kids happy. Try it out to please your kiddos on a holiday so that they can enjoy a sweet moment at home with Kesari.

Ingredients

·         Rava or Semolina – 1 cup

·         Melted ghee – ¾ cup

·         Water (Boiled) – 2 cups

·         Milk – 1 ½ tbsp

·         Yellow color – a pinch

·         Sugar – 1 ½ cup

·         Cardamom essence (Optional) – 2 drops

·         Nuts for decoration (Optional)

Method

·         Take a non-stick pan, place it on a stove and heat

·         Pour Ghee to the pan and let it melt

·         When the ghee is heated, add semolina or Rava to it and stir continuously. Rava or Semolina should cook in ghee well

·         After 10 min, add sugar to the semolina and mix well

·         In a small cup, add milk. To the milk, mix the yellow color(if you prefer)

·         Add the colored milk to the Semolina or Rava along with Nuts (Optional) and mix well

·         You may add Cardamom essence or cardamom to the semolina if you prefer

·         Stir continuously till the sugar melts completely. This will take a few minutes

·         After sugar has melted completely, you may add the boiled water to the semolina and close the lid of the pan till the semolina cooks well to form a paste
Now you can switch off the stove

·         Pour the Sweet cooked semolina to a flat plate or tray and flatten it with the help of a spatula evenly

·         With the help of a knife, you may draw deep lines on the hot kesari that is flattened. Note that it is still pasty in form

·         After you make cuts on the kesari, decorate with nuts if you want to

·         Allow it to cool for 10-15 min

·         After 15 min, your Kesari will become thick and all set to sweeten your taste buds

·         Enjoy!!