Rava Kesari Recipe | How to make Rava Kesari

• Rava / Sooji / Semolina – 1 Cup
• Water – 5 cup
• Food colour (orange) – 2 Pinch
• Salt – 1 pinch (optional)
• Sugar – 2 cups
• Ghee – 1/2 cup (minus 1 tblsp)
• Cardamom Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Cashews / Raisins – 10 each

1. First get ready with the ingredients.
2. In a pan heat little ghee, roast cashews – raisins and keep aside.
3. Add 1/4 cup of ghee and add rava / sooji. Roast rava for about 4 to 5 minutes in low flame, until it changes in colour slightly and nice aroma wafts. Don’t burn it, else the whole kesari taste bitter. Transfer it to a plate.
4. In the same pan, pour water and once it starts to boil, add food colour. Let it roll boil.
5. Now simmer the flame, add the rava little by little slowly and do continue to stir in the other hand vigorously, this step helps to avoid lumps. Then add a pinch of salt, if preferred.
6. Mix well till all the water is absorbed and cover it with a lid, as it splutters too much. Cook in low flame / temperature for about 5 to 7 minutes till the rava turns soft and gets cooked. The mixture would have thickened now. Now add sugar in a sprinkled way, this step also avoids lump formation. Sugar melts and the mixture starts to loosen. Keep mixing and once the mixture starts to thicken, add the remaining ghee.
7. Now add cardamom powder, cashews, raisins and mix well. Once all the ghee is absorbed and the kesari starts to leave the sides of the pan, switch off immediately. The kesari should be in the pouring consistency only and non-sticky. It thickens with time. If it’s sticky, transfer back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes.

Delicious rava kesari is ready. Serve it hot.

1. Roasting rava in ghee lends a wonderful flavour. It can be dry roasted also.
2. Also roast the rava in low flame and don’t burn it, as the whole kesari taste bitter.
3. The rava – water ratio used here is 1:5, It was perfect for me. You can reduce into 1: 4 also.
4. If you want to avoid synthetic food colour, soak few saffron strands in warm milk and then add it to the kesari. Saffron also gives nice aroma.
5. Add the sooji to the water when it starts roll boiling only. Also add it very slowly and stir vigorously in the other hand to avoid lumps.
6. The most important tip is rava should be cooked very well before adding sugar. Cooking time of the rava is usually 5 to 7 mins.
7. If sugar is added to the uncooked rava, then kesari becomes hard and it will be tough to cook the rava again.
8. Also add sugar slowly and in a sprinkled way which helps to avoid lumps.
9. Adjust sugar quantity as per preference for this rava kesari recipe.
10. The whole quantity of ghee can be added at the time of roasting rava itself, which is a simple secret to avoid lumps.
11. Use good quality ghee and use it generously for soft and glossy rava kesari recipe.
12. Cardamom powder can be replaced with 4 to 5 whole crushed cardamoms.
13. If worried about calories, use ghee and vegetable oil in equal proportion. But there will be a difference in taste.
14. The final consistency of the kesari should be slightly pouring and non – sticky. Switch off once it starts to leave the sides of the pan. It thickens with time.
15. Don’t over cook the kesari and roll it into a ball, else it becomes chewy and hard.
16. This kesari can be cooked in milk also, but it becomes milk kesari / paal kesari.
17. Addition of salt enhances the taste of the sweet, but its optional only.

Serving Suggestion
1. Grease a tray / plate with ghee and pour the kesari in the plate. Level it with a knife and cool it for about 15 minutes. When it is warm, slice it with a sharp knife. Then remove it slowly.
2. When it is hot, take a ladle full of kesari tighten it and tap it in a bowl. Drizzle little ghee on top.

How to make rava kesari