Rawa Kesari - Tamil Nadu Style

Kesari:

Semolina Halwa. Semolina Halva. Semolina Haluva. Rawa Kesari. Rava Kesari. Rawa Halwa. Sooji Ki Halwa. Sooji Halva. Sooji Halwa.

Kesari, name comes from the word 'kesar'/saffron...as it is traditional way to make this simple pheasant dessert. But later, saffron is replaced by food colors(especially orange). Only I could only associate 'Kesari' as lovely orange colored Halwa.

Pari, my brother loves this so much. So, I made this when I visited home.

Ingredients:

Semolina 1 cup
Sugar ¾ cup
Milk 3-4 cups
Cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Orange food color less than ¼ spoon
Cashew nuts 20 - halved
Golden raisins 1 fistful (dry grapes)
Ghee ½ + ½ cup.

Method:

Heat a non-stick skillet. Dry toast ‘semolina’ for few minutes…..till fragrant. Transfer it to a bowl. Set aside.

In the same skillet, heat ½ cup of ghee. Add cashew nuts and fry them till they turn to golden color. Set aside.

In the same oil, fry raisins till they pop. Set this aside too.

Now add sugar, cardamom seeds and kesar color. Add ½ cup of water and continue to boil

When it comes to boiling point. Add ‘semolina’ without forming any lumps. Use wooden spatula (greased with oil or ghee).

Further add 3-4 cups of milk + cashew nuts + raisins + ghee. Continue cooking.

When semolina is done…sucking up all the milk and moisture & oil shows up on side. Remove it from the stove and transfer it to display bowl.

Serve warm or cold as a dessert.

Simple and easy to fix dessert. I like it warm than cold. As it gets hard…when served cold.