How to make Rava Kesari / Sooji ka Halwa / Semolina Pudding | Sweet Recipes

Kesari / Rava Kesari - the name itself makes my mouth watery. More than me, my husband is a die hard fan of this Rava Kesari. He just loves it. Though it is a simple recipe and used to cook, I dont know why I have not posted it till now. The reason is i usually make it in the night and give hot to my husband and never had the chance to click the pictures.

Yesterday was my third blog anniversary and woke up early to prepare this and post. But could not edit and post yesterday itself, so posting it today. Now to the Rava Kesari Recipe....

How to make Rava Kesari

Preparation time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Serves:3
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
Ingredients
Rava / Semolina / Sooji - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cashews - 10 to 15
Raisins - 10 to 15
Cardamom / Elaichi - 3 (crushed)

Method
1. Take 1 cup of rava and 1 tsp of ghee and fry it. When the rava becomes light golden colour as shown below, remove from the stove and keep aside. Mix a pinch of orange colour with 2 tsp of water and keep it ready to mix later. Fry the cashews and raisins with 1 tsp ghee till golden brown and keep ready.
2. Take another pan and add water and let it boil. When the water starts bubbling,   reduce the heat and star adding the rawa slowly. Take care that bubbles may splash. So keep in low flame and do the mixing. The rawa gets to thicken. Add the sugar now and leaves some more water.
3. Add the kesari colour (orange or any colour) now and mix thoroughly. Add in the crushed cardamon and mix.
4. Add the ghee and the fried cashews and raisins and mix.
5. Hot Rava Kesari is now ready to be served.

If you want you can cool it down, make into desired shapes and save it.

Notes:

1. Add the ghee fully as it gives good taste. 

2. Add the sugar only after the rava is cooked well else, you may get a crunchy taste and final product wont taste good.

3. You can refrigerate the kesari for 2 days and it would not be spoiled.

 Enjoy your kesari..........

Kalakhand | Milk Sweet

This post is in my draft for a very long time back. Now only giving the new look for it. My hubby took my Camera and coz of that, digging  my draft for posting the recipe. This Kalakhand is one of my favorite recipe. Never have the patience to try it. But one fine day, finally tried and came out very good. The final product was bit sticky n watery, but when it cools, it became thick and taste is awesome. I cut down the time, by using condensed milk.

Ingredients

For making paneer

• Milk - 1 litre + 1/2 litre
• Lemon juice - 3 tsp

For Kalakhand

• Condensed milk - 1 can
• Saffron - few strands
• Cardamom - a pinch
• Sugar - if necessary
• Pistachios - few crushed
• Almonds - few crushed

Method

• Bring milk to boil and add lemon juice.

                        

• Milk curdles.
• Strain the curdled milk using a muslin cloth or cheese cloth with running water so as to remove the lemon smell and leave it for 1 to 2 hrs.

                       

• Crumble this paneer and keep aside.

• In a heavy bottomed non stick pan, add the 1/2 litre milk and condensed milk and bring to boil.

  

• When the milk slightly thickens, add the crumbled paneer to it and keep stirring in medium flame, as it may stick to the bottom. (At this stage, if sugar is needed, add sugar)

• When the mixture thickens a bit  more, add the cardamom and stir again, till slight golden colour texture forms.

• Now grease a plate and transfer the mixture and flatten it.

• Add the crushed nuts and saffron and press bit.

• Leave it for 20 to 30 minutes and cut into squares and serve.
• Delicious kalakhand is ready. 

Shrikhand

This Shrikhand is prepared long before but did not find time to edit and post. Since this is my 250th post, I thought this will be apt time to post this. Due to time constraint, could not do a special recipe this moment.

Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients

• Thick Curd - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup (can increase according to taste)
• Saffron - a pinch
• Milk - 2 tsp
• Pistachios - few

Method

• Filter the thick curd in a muslin cloth.

• Hung it for 3 to 4 hrs. Overnight would be better.
• Soak saffron in milk for 1/2 hour.

• Now add the hung curd and mix with sugar and grind well.
• Now add the saffron added milk, and again grind to a smooth paste.

• Transfer to a bowl and garnish with pistachios and saffron and serve. 

Chhena Poda (Paneer Cake) - For my 2nd blog anniversary

Today is my blog's 2nd year anniversary and I am so happy about it. I want to thank all the blogger/non-blogger friends and followers, without whom, I would have not continued this blog. Also a special thanks to my Mom, who takes care of my 2 little kids, when i sit in blog. (Though she shouts at me sometimes, when I say plz.... she leaves me and take care of my kids.... Mom is always Mom).

For this blog anniversary, I thought of doing something special...(what-else nothing but a sweet... but not a regular one... ) Saw many our blogger friends doing Chenna Poda last month for the ICC challenge. It was a very new recipe for me and finally decided to make this and it came out good.

Ingredients

• Milk - 2 litres ( I used full cream milk)
• Lemon juice/Vinegar - 2 tsp
• Semolina/Rawai/sooji - 1/4 cup
• Raisins - 3 tsp
• Cashews and Pistachios - 2 tsp
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Ghee - 4 tsp
• Sugar - 1 cup + 1/4 cup
• Water - 2 tsp

Method

• Boil the milk and when it is boiling, add the lemon juice/vinegar.
• The milk gets curdled and strain the curdled milk in a muslin cloth and add plenty of water to remove the sourness of the lemon.
• Allow the water to drain from the chhena/paneer for 1 hr. or keep a heavy bottomed pan on this cloth for 30 min or till most of the water drains from the chhena (paneer) (its nothing but preparing paneer - crumbled paneer).

• To the chhena, add the rawa/semolina/sooji, sugar and 2 tsp of ghee and mix well.

• Meanwhile, in a small pan, add 1 tsp of ghee and fry the cashews, pistachios and raisins till golden brown colour and pour to the chenna mixture.
• Add the milk and mix well, to form a dough.

• In order to prepare the caramel, 2 ways can be choosen (this is a bit tricky part)

                  1. In a pan, add 1/4 sugar and water and bring to single thread consistency and pour immediately to the greased (with 1 tsp ghee) baking pan and spread it.

                  2. Add the 1 tsp ghee, water and sugar to the baking pan itself and show on the stove stop/keep in oven, till the sugar melts and spread it.

(I chose the 2nd method and since it has to be done quickly, cannot able to take the picture)

• After making the caramelized sugar, transfer the chenna mixture to this baking pan and bake it for 50 to 60 min. 
• By inserting a toothpick, check if it comes out clean without any dough sticking on it. 

• Allow the cake to cool, invert it, cut into slices and serve the delicious dessert. 
• Can be refrigerated and used within a week. (Thought of doing so, but got over within a hour)

Sandesh

Ingredients

• Crumbled Paneer  - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom(crushed) - 2 to 3
• Pistachios - few (for garnishing)
• Saffron - few (for garnishing)

Method
Check here to make the crumbled paneer.

• To the crumbled paneer, add the sugar, cardamom and knead to a soft dough.
• Sugar will get dissolved by kneading.
• Now transfer this to a pan (non-stick would be better), and cook, till the raw smell of paneer goes off.
• Take care that the colour does not change at this time.
• When the paneer mixture, turns dry, transfer it to another bowl and again knead it to dough consistency.
• Now take small portion of the paneer and make into desired shapes.
• Garnish with pistachios and saffron.
• Sandesh is ready to be served.