Try out this dry fruit Kesari recipe on the occasion of Onam!
Dry Fruit Kesari
Kesari or dry fruit kesari is known in different names in different parts of the country. One of the most inevitable delicacies served in the festivals and functions all over India, dry fruit kesari is a sweet dish made of semolina or Rava, sugar, ghee with dry fruits enhancing its taste. Considering the rich diversity of India, Kesari has lot of variations in the country, which is explicit in its colour change. Its colour varies from light orange to bright orange as it is said that the dish is the perfect blend of the energy that is associated with red and happiness which is related to yellow. The variations to the dish include replacing the water and sugar with coconut milk and palm sugar. In some places in India, even fruits like mangoes and bananas have a found their way in the Kesari recipe. While it is prepared during celebrations like Diwali in Northern India, it earned a significant place in southern part of India during festivals like Pongal and Onam. This extremely scrumptious dish is prepared in the same way 'Rawa Halwa' which is a dish in Northern India. Its taste is enhanced when it is served hot.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup - Dry fruits (chopped dates, raisins, cranberries and other nuts)
- 1/2 cup - Rava
- 3 tbsp - Sugar
- 2 tsp. - Ghee
- 1 pinch - Cardamom powder
- 6 no - Almonds
- 1 cup - Water
- 3-4 drops - Food color optional (yellow, orange or red)
Method:
- Stir-fry Rava with 1 tsp. ghee on low flame till the smell of raw grain goes.
- Set it aside for later use.
- Sauté dry fruits for 5-10 seconds in a pan with 1 tbsp ghee on low flame.
- Add water, sugar, cardamom powder and food color to them and increase heat to high flame.
- Add roasted Rava to boiling water slowly and smoothen out any lumps and mix well
- Reduce heat and keep stirring continuously till the mixture is cooked.
- One can know that the mixture is cooked when it starts coming off the pan easily.
- Grease a plate and pour 'kesari' into it. Let it cool and get set.
- Cut it into smaller pieces and garnish it with an almond.
- Your kesari is ready to serve.
Tips
- Adding ghee while frying rava reduces the chance of lump formation.
- Ensure to cook rava well. Otherwise, the rava may not turn soft textured and instead tend to be chewy and rubbery.
- Remember that once you add sugar, rava do not get cooked easily. So, ensure to cook rava well before you add sugar.