Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast. 

The pineapple gives such a nice aroma to this kesari and truly elevates the taste of the kesari to the next level. This recipe is so similar to the regular kesari recipe just with the addition of pineapple. So you can make this very quickly for any occasion. I'm sure that your family and friends go on praising you for making this yummy sweet.

Pineapple

Pineapple is the key to this kesari so make sure to use well ripened and sweet pineapple. Here in the recipe, i have used fresh pineapples. But you can also use canned pineapples. 

While using fresh pineapples, make sure to remove all the eyes of the pineapple(a tiny thorn in the pineapple which gives itchiness in the tongue)

If you're using canned pineapple, use only pineapples and leave out the juice.

My pineapples are very sweet so i used 3/4 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. If the pineapples are less sweet, you may need a couple of tbsp of more sugar.

Finally, don't use the sour pineapples, it won't taste good  and ruins the whole recipe.

Related: How to make Pineapple raita

Water

For any kesari recipe,  the water quantity is very important to get that perfect texture. In general, 2 to 2.5 cups of water is needed for 1 cup of rava to get that soft and well cooked kesari depending on the rava quality.

Adding too much water makes the kesari sticky and slimy. And too little water makes it undercooked.

Therefore, when boiling the water, don't let it boil for a long time because some of the water evaporates and it affects water and rava ratio . So turn off the heat when the water comes to vigorous boil and pour that immediately into the roasted rava. 

How to avoid lumps in the kesari ? 

This is one of the common questions from the beginners while preparing the kesari. Here is my tip that i learned from my Amma. 

Make sure that both the rava and water are hot when they are mixed together. That way, there won't be any lumps in the kesari.

Hence you have to roast the rava and boil the water side by side at the same time. So that when the rava is well roasted, the hot water would be ready to pour. 

If you haven't tried this way of making kesari, do give it a try and i'm sure that there won't be any lumps. I have been following this method ever since i started cooking and so far, i never had any lumps in my kesari :-)

Ok, now let's check out on how to make delicious pineapple kesari.

 

Pineapple Kesari | Pineapple Sheera

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pineapple Kesari, Pineapple sheera Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Ravai/ Rava / Semolina - 1/2 cup

Pineapple(finely chopped) - 1/2 cup(heaped)

Sugar - 3/4 cup*

Ghee - 2 & 1/2 tbsp

Cashew - 8 to 10 

Water - 2 & 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Yellow Food Color - a few drops(optional)

*For more sweetness, you can use up to 1 cup of sugar.

Procedure

First in a saucepan, add the pineapple, sugar & mix it well. Keep it aside for 10 mins.

After 10 mins, the sugar starts to melt a bit. Now add the water, mix it well and place the sauce pan in the heat and bring to boil.

In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp of ghee in another pan, add the cashews, roast the cashews for about 1 min.

Keep the heat in medium and then add the rava, roast the rava in the ghee until it's very aromatic.

By the time the rava is well roasted, the water should also come to a boil. Add a few drops of food color(if you're using)  to the water and then pour the hot water into the rava(keep the rava at the lowest possible heat.). It splatter a lot, so be careful. 

Once all the water is poured, give a gentle mix and then cover it with a lid for about 2 mins.

Now, the rava would be  well cooked , add the cardamom powder(if you're using) and the remaining 1/2 tbsp ghee on the top. Switch off the flame and keep it covered for 2 mins.

Delicious Pineapple Kesari is ready to serve. 

Related: How to make Paal Kesari / Milk Kesari 

Notes

• It tastes great after a few hours of making so that the pineapple flavor is well infused in the kesari and give such a nice flavor and taste.
• Adding more sugar gives the glossy texture to the kesari. You can add up to 1 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. However i find that 3/4 cup of sugar is just enough sweetness without overpowering.

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Paal Kesari | Milk Kesari | Milk Halwa | Sweet Recipe

Paal Kesari, a delicious and easy to make sweet pudding with semolina, milk and flavored with cardamom & ghee. Traditionally, for kesari, water is used to cook the semolina. But for this kesari, milk is fully used to cook the kesari. 

Using milk for cooking the semolina gives great flavor and is rich in taste. And also, here in this milk kesari, i have avoided using any food color like traditional kesari and want to keep that rich cream color as it is. But if you like bright colored kesari, you can add a pinch of orange or red food color in this kesari too.

In our home, kesari is one of the common sweets that we used to prepare for serving with breakfast or as an evening snack. We all loved it very much and this milk kesari is our recent favorite. 

Before moving on to the recipe, let's answer some of the FAQs about kesari. 

What is the proportion of semolina to milk in this kesari?

For all types of semolina / rava kesari, the proportion of rava to liquid ratio is 1:2. The liquid may be water,  milk or any puree like mango or pineapple.

What type of milk is best for this kesari ?

I have used full fat milk for richness. But you can also use 2% milk or even you can use 1/2 amount of milk and 1/2 amount of water for this kesari.

Any other tips for beginners ?

Here are a few tips to make perfect kesari 

• Make sure to roast the rava till it's aromatic without changing its color.
• Make sure that the milk is hot while pouring into the rava, it will avoid the lump formation.
• Add the sugar only when the rava is completely cooked and the milk is all absorbed.
• If you like to cut the kesari into pieces, pour the kesari onto the ghee creased plate and let it cool for about 30 mins. It would firm up nicely and you can cut into desired shapes.

Hope i have answered almost all the FAQs about kesari, now let's see how to make this delicious rava kesari.  

Paal Kesari | Milk Kesari | Milk Halwa

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Paal Kesari, Paal Halwa, Milk Kesari, Milk Halwa Paal Kesari, a delicious and easy to make sweet pudding with semolina, milk and flavored with cardamom & ghee.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Rava /Semolina - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Cashews - 5 
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

Heat the pan with 1 tbsp of ghee and then add the broken cashews and roast till they are golden brown.

Keep the flame in medium and add the rava and roast until they are aromatic.

By the side, heat the milk in a sauce pan and bring into boil. Then pour the milk into the roasted rava slowly with one hand and mix it with another hand. 

With a min, the milk would be absorbed by the rava and it's all well cooked, then add the sugar. 

The rava mixture starts to loosen a bit because of sugar and then start thicken again. Once it became like a thick mass, add a tbsp of ghee at a time and mix it well.

Finally add the cardamom powder, mix it well and switch off the flame.

Tasty Paal Kesari is ready to serve.

Related : How to make Mango Kesari

Notes:

• When you pour milk in to the rava, be careful, it splatter a lot, use long handle spoon helps to mix easily.
• Both the milk and rava should be hot, so that no lumps will be formed.
• Here i have used whole milk, but you can 2% milk also or you can use 1/2 quantity of  milk & 1/2 water.
  

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Mango Kesari, a quick to make sweet from semolina and mango pulp. Kesari is the most favorite sweet in our home, often made for evening tea along with some savory snacks. 

To me, Amma makes the best kesari in the world, her kesari literally melts in the mouth like butter. I still clearly remember  that in my school days, whenever there was a small function in any one of our close relative's houses, they would ask Amma to make kesari. 

Yep, her kesari was/is so famous in our family circle. Seeing her making this often at home makes it easier for me to perfect it very easily.

Ever since I heard about this mango kesari, I would like to  give it a try, but when it comes to fresh mango, I hardly have any self control to not eat the mangoes. Many times, I had bought the mangoes for trying out some sweet/dessert, but ended up eating as it is :-) 

So this time, I thought of making the mango kesari using mango pulp that's available in the can. To my surprise, the kesari turned out  so good and kept on licking the spoon :-) . Moreover, to make this kesari, you no need to wait for mango season, the readymade mango pulp works as good as fresh ones for this kesari.

Related : How to make Mango Kulfi

Mango Kesari | Mango Sheera | Mambazham Kesari

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mango Kesari, Mango Sheera, Mambazham kesari Mango Kesari, a quick to make sweet from semolina and mango pulp.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Rava/Semolina - 1/4 cup
Mango pulp - 1/4 cup*
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cardamom - 1

* Fresh and CAN Mango pulp can be used in this recipe

Procedure

Heat a pan with ghee, add the rava and start roasting in low flame.

In the mean time, heat 1/4 cup of water in a sauce pan and add the mango pulp into it. Let it comes to boil.

Once the rava is aromatic, add the mango pulp + water into the rava and mix it vigorously, with a min, the liquid would be all absorbed and became a thick mass.

Next add the sugar and mix, let the sugar melts completely. 

Cook till the mixture become thick.Powder the cardamom seeds and add into the kesari. Mix it well and switch off the flame.

If you like, add some chopped pistachios on the top.

Finger licking kesari is ready to serve. 

Related : How to make Mango Kiwi Popsicle

Related : How to make Mango Kiwi Popsicle

Notes:

• You can easily double or triple this recipe.
• Rava : liquid ratio is 1:2, you can add more or less of mango pulp as per you liking and adjust the water as required.
• If you're using fresh mango, make sure to use the mango variety which is sweet and has less fibre.
• Instead of pistachios, you can use the roasted cashews too.
• The liquid and the rava both should be hot while mixing together, that way it wont be any lumps.
• While adding liquid into the rava, it sizzle and splatter a lot, keep safe distance from the stove and use long spatula to avoid the splattering on hands.
• The given quantity make 2 small servings.
• If you're using fresh mangoes, depends on the mango sugar, add more or less of sugar.

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Semiya Kesari | Vermicelli Kesari | Seviyan Kesari

Semiya Kesari, an easy to make sweet recipe that you can prepare in a jiffy when you have an unexpected guests  or it's a quick fix for your sudden sweet craving.I had this semiya kesari zillion times as evening snack during my schooldays. I had seen my mom made this in minutes and in those days i even prefer this kesari over rava kesari.The preparation of this keasri is almost similar to rava kesari,but here you no need to worry about lumps formation,even beginers can make this kesari prefectly at first time without any fuss.And the other thing i like about this kesari is it doesn't need much sugar & ghee like rava kesari.Even with little sugar and ghee, it taste absolutely delicious.

Semiya Kesari

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Semiya/Vermicelli - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Cardamom - 2 
Ghee - 3 tsp
Cashews(broken) - 1 tsp

Procedure

Heat the pan with half of ghee , add the cashews and roast till it becomes golden brown.Add the vermicelli/Semiya and roast it for 1 mins, then add the water and mix it well.Cover the pan with lid and cook the semiya till it becomes soft,then open the lid , add a pinch of food color and mix it well.Add sugar and mix it well, keep in medium and cook it becomes thicken.Once it becomes thick, add the crushed cardamom & the remaining ghee,mix it well & switch off the flame.That's it Quick & Tasty Semiya Kesari is ready.

Notes:

• I like my semiya to cook as soft yet retain its shape, if you want mushy semiya,add extra 1/4 cup of water and cook little more.
• In addition to cardamom, you can use few strand of saffron to enhance the flavor.
• I used MTR variety of semiya.
• If you're using any other variety of semiya, add water as per the package instructions.

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