Rava Kesari is an Indian sweet which is very easy to prepare and is generally celebratory fare, whether served as prasadham (blessed food offerings) for minor ritual pujas or at grander affairs. For Palakkad Iyer weddings, rava kesari is always served as the sweet dish for wedding breakfasts.
This sweet is also made as “naivedhyam” (ritualistic offering of food to God before partaking of it) for Satyanarayana puja, in particular, except it is made without the saffron. In south Indian homes, this sweet is also made on non-festive days as an ordinary everyday kind of sweet dish as well, as the ingredients are all commonly available in most kitchens.
Rava kesari is a soft halwa or pudding made from semolina (rava), milk (or water) and lots of ghee. It is traditionally served slightly warm, but tastes equally good chilled. When served warm, the kesari has a soft, almost melt in the mouth texture though it becomes slightly more solid and sets a bit if refrigerated.
Kesar or saffron, which gives the kesari its name, is added to this pudding to give it a lovely flavour and beautiful golden orange hue. Since saffron is very expensive and wasn’t easily available in the olden days, many people used to, and still do, add an orange powdered colouring for the same effect.
In our homes, I have seen rava kesari made without the saffron. This version, cream coloured from the semolina, also tastes as good because most of the flavour of this sweet preparation comes from the ghee and the cardamom in it. Rava kesari is also known as Kesari Bhath, Sooji Halwa, Sojji, Sajjige, Sheera in different parts of India. Please note, as pointed out by a reader in the comments following this post, that sajjige contains banana unlike this kesari which doesn’t contain any fruit other than raisins.
In my opinion, the perfect rava kesari should be soft in texture yet hold its shape, should be just so that it softens further and almost melts in your mouth before you swallow it, and be fragrant with ghee without drowning in it.
While unbelievably simple to make, it is funny how very few people can actually make this kesari very well. I have come across very few people who do, and its quite possible that I have been keeping company with the wrong sort where it comes to making kesari. Most of the time, I have found the kesari to be dry and solid enough to be sliced, which is not good. Else it is so greasy that it leaves your fingers heavily coated with ghee! Oh yes, the best way to eat kesari (and most Indian food) is with your fingers and definitely not with a cold metal spoon.
Since kesari is traditionally made with a lot of ghee, it is not a sweet one can eat in large quantities and a few tablespoons can be filling. This is possibly why it is not served as dessert but as a sweet preparation in smaller quantities along with a meal.
Many years ago, this day was the start of a new chapter in our lives. Today’s anniversary isn’t quite the celebration we would have liked it to be, as my husband is away on work. So we will postpone celebrating it when he gets back this weekend.
In the meanwhile, I just couldn’t let this day pass without marking it in some way. After a lot of thought I decided on this semolina pudding since it’s a favourite here but been a while since I last made it.
A little while back, Asha celebrated her blog birthday and the wishes I sent her won me a little hamper of some Iranian saffron and saffron salt. As it happens, this gift was very apt since my stash of saffron had just got over. I still haven’t figured out what to do with the salt, and would welcome suggestions. As for the saffron, I can think of a hundred ways to use it including this rava kesari.
As with most traditional recipes, each household has its own way of making it, though the main ingredients remain the same. Here is my way of making it. Many people do not add milk to this sweet, but I prefer to as I feel the milk adds to the taste and rich feel allowing me to cut down on the ghee that I use.
One secret to a good kesari is to add enough liquid (but not too much) to ensure that the rava (semolina) cooks very well before adding the sugar. The other thing is not to skimp on the ghee. One can be careful with the amount of ghee that goes into this sweet, but too little of it will result in a dry and somewhat pasty texture which is not desirable.
Rava Kesari - Indian Semolina And Saffron Halva or Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup rava (semolina)
- 1 cup sugar granulated (more if preferred)
- a few strands saffron
- 1 1/2 cups milk , warm
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 4 to 5 tbsps ghee
- 2 tbsps cashewnuts broken
- 2 tbsps golden raisins
- 3 to 4 pods cardamom , powdered
Instructions
- Put the saffron strands in the warm milk and keep aside for about 20 to 30 minutes to bring out the flavour and colour.
- Heat about 1 tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottomed or nonstick pan. Add the rava (semolina and sautxe9, over medium heat, till it starts turning pinkish/ golden brown and giving off an aroma. Do not brown the semolina even slightly. Empty it onto a plate and keep aside.
- Put another 1/2 tbsp of ghee in the pan and fry the raisins in it till they turn whitish/ golden brown and puff up. Remove them and keep aside. To the same little bit of residual ghee, add the broken cashewnuts and fry till golden brown. Remove them and add to the raisins.
- Into the same pan, pour the milk with the saffron threads in it and water and bring the whole thing to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium and add the rava (semolina) while stirring constantly to ensure there are no lumps.
- Keep stirring, frequently, and cook till the rava (semolina) absorbs all the liquid and is cooked well. It will start bunching up in to a ball when stirred and look soft and slightly puffy. Ensure it is well cooked, as once the sugar is added the kesari (pudding) will not soften anymore.
- Add the sugar and mix well. The sugar will melt causing the kesari (pudding) to loosen up a bit. Cook for about 5 minutes , stirring occasionally, making sure the kesari does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Now add the remaining ghee and cook till the ghee gets absorbed and the kesari looks shiny and starts coming away from the sides of the pan to the middle. This should take another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Finally add the powdered cardmom, the fried raisins and cashewnuts. Mix well and serve warm. Else refrigerate the kesari and serve cold, or warm slightly once again before serving. This will keep for about 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes] says
Happy Anniversary A!!! The halva looks perfect. You’re right, even though it’s such an easy thing to make, so many people screw it up!
Anonymous says
Hi there,Rava Kesari and Sajjige are not the same! Sajjige is prepared sans the saffron, but instead, mashed ripe bananas are added for that wonderful hint of flavour from the bananas.Also, rava kesari sometimes has pineapple added to it, whereas sajjige uses bananas. Rava Kesari is def not the same as the neivedyam for Satyanarayana Puja. Just thought you should know since many people will be reading what you write, and what you write should be right!-Sudha Raghunathan
Aparna says
Sudha, thank you for pointing out that bit about sajjige. I was indeed mistaken and shall make the correction.As for rava kesari containing pineapple, that is usually made in Tamilnadu whereas fruit (other than raisins) is never added to kesari in Palakkad Iyer cooking.I have seen, and been offered this type of rava kesari as prasadham at Satyanarayana pujas. The only difference is that sometimes this kesari does not contain saffron. So I am not sure which type of kesari you say is made for Sathyanarayana puja.
Torviewtoronto says
beautiful colour looks delicious
Santosh Bangar says
hillooking vry yummy though it is perpared by every one but colour is very nice.1 think first time here .very nice space and wonderful recipes. do visit my blog and enjoy the pujabi flavoursantoshbangar.blogspot.com
lata raja says
Hi Aparna, wish you a very happy anniversary and many many more to come by. Agree totally with you, making kesari itself is an art, I think..getting the texture right largely depends also on the rawa we use. I have had disastrously fat granular rawa kesari and what not.I loved the chilled, fitted and tilted kesari picture as much as the warm one in that glass bowl:)
Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal says
I love the color and beautiful presentation 🙂
Divya Kudua says
You can include me too among those who can’t get the very simple Kesari right!I can count the number of times it has come out right for me in one hand,yeah!!I think it might[just a thought] be the ghee.Let me try it with this recipe now,yes-we call it sheera too!!
Aparna says
Yes, Santhosh. It is indeed a halwa that everyone prepares. :)Thanks for visiting my virtual kitchen.Lata, the right kind of rawa is also very important. I am able to make better kesari and uppuma with the rava I get back in Cochin. :)Divya, I used to try and cut down on the ghee too as the thought of so much fat was frightening. :)But that ghee makes all the difference, I’ve found, as does the quality of the rava.
Nags says
this was amma’s quick fix dessert when we have guests over. because of that, it was never “special” during my childhood. now, i crave for it now and then.. sigh.
Happy Cook says
I have neve rmade kesari at home, ilove the shapes you have done with itlooks more elegant than piling it up.
Prathibha says
I also do it in d similar way just that I add half condensed milk and some sugar,it makes the kesari still richer..
pigpigscorner says
Not very familiar with Indian sweets but the ingredients sound good!
Lav says
hi aparna,First time here…kesari looks yumm, nice to find some real good recipes here…will visit often…do visit my space :)Lavanyawww.lavsblog.com
Priya Suresh says
Irresistible kesari, mouthwatering here..
akilandeswari says
That was delicious one and happy anniversary dear… CID – 2010 Event Round up http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com Regards,Akila.
Curry Leaf says
Happy Aniversary Aparna.IT looks great.For satynanarayan puja we make it with broken wheat.Love the kesari but avaoid it thanks to ghee.BTW,I made your coffee choc chunk shrtbrd.Will be posting it today.OMG,its EXCELLENT & SCRUMPTIOUS AND WHATNOT 😛 😛 😛 😛
Mallugirl says
Happy Onam Aparna! I just got introduced to kesari by a friend’s mom and have been loving it since. U sure 4-5 tbsp is enough ghee? :)) by the way, the north india sooji halwa has no milk in it.. its all water and sugar and ghee.
jayasree says
I loved those moulded kesari…And as with any Indian sweet, there is some art needed to make this simple sweet too.
PJ says
Happy Anniversary Aparna :).Kesari is ‘fast food’ in my grandmoms dictionary,and she makes it for guests who arrive unannounced and like you said it has the melt in the mouth texture.Your post reminds me of grandmoms kesari..Yum yum…Fantastic clicks Aparna…
Sharmilee! :) says
Yummy looking kesari
Sweet Artichoke says
Semolina halwa looks delicious! I love its golden colour! A yummy click!
Miri says
Belated wishes and hope you had a great weekend with hubby back. This is my favourite Indian sweet but always wait for MIL to make it for me since I am never sure I can get it right – I think I will try your recipe since it looks so right.
suma says
Wish you many many happy returns of the day Aparna!!(I am really late in here). Very true, some seemingly simple dishes are very hard to perfect. Rawa kesari is a classic example. I have hardly made this once or twice(not with great results) aeons ago, yours looks perfect!! Must garner some courage and try this again:-)