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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Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup| Shankarpali Recipe

Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried biscuits. It's usually made with all purpose flour/ wheat flour and sugar, but today let me show how to make this yummy treat with the leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup/ any sugar syrup.

Mostly after deepavali/diwali festival, many wonder what to make with the leftover sugar syrup from the gulab jamun. If you ever wonder like that, here is the solution for using that sugar syrup. 

Though, there are many options available to use that sugar syrup, making Shakarpara is one of the easiest and delicious options that would be ready in minutes. 

Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup

Gulab Jamun soaked sugar syrup is thick and has wonderful flavor, so without much effort, we can make flavorful shakarpara using this syrup. 

Depending on how thick your sugar syrup is, you may need less/more  sugar syrup to make the dough. So keep this recipe as reference and add as you need.

My sugar syrup has a cardamom flavor(since i used that for flavoring in  gulab jamun) so it gives such a nice cardamom and milk flavor(from the jamun) to the shakarpara. But you can use any flavored sugar syrup, just remember that the shakarpara also would have the same flavor.

Also you can make this shankarpali using the same method for any leftover sugar syrup. 

Tips to make delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/Shakarpara

Though it's such an easy recipe, here are a few things to take care of for making delicious shankarpali.

1. Make sure the dough is stiff like the poori dough. If your dough is too soft, then it absorbs a lot of oil.
2. Cook the shankarpali in low-medium heat. If you have the number system in your stove, keep it in between 3 and 4 once the oil is heated.
3. It takes time to cook and get that golden brown, so be patient while frying. If you increase the heat, the outside turns brown easily but the inside would be raw.
4. Finally, once it's out of oil, it's soft in the middle. Let them cool completely for that crunchy bite.

That's it. Now let's check out on how to make this delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/ Shakarpara.

Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Shakarpara,Shankarpali,leftover jamun syrup,leftover gulab jamun syrup recipe, Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried snack.

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

Ingredients

Wheat Flour/ Aatta -1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup- 1/2 cup(approx)
Baking soda - a pinch
Oil - for frying

Procedure

First in a bowl, add the flour, baking soda and ghee, mix it all together well with your hand until the ghee is incorporated into the flour. Then add the sugar syrup as needed.

Mix it well and make a dough. The dough should be like  poori dough. Divide the dough into four equal parts.

Next roll each portion into a thick disc using a rolling pin and then cut the dough into small squares. Do the same for all the dough. Heat the oil for frying and then add the squared dough in batches.

Cook it on low-medium flame until it's golden brown. Drain the shankarpali from the oil and place it on the paper towel. Do the same for the remaining. 

Cool it completely and then store it in an air-tight container. Delicious and crunchy Shakarpara/Shankarpali is ready.

Related: How to make Traditional Shakarpara

Notes:

• No need to knead the dough for long time. Stop kneading once it all comes together.
• It stays well for upto 10 mins in room temperature.
• Use dry hands every time so that it stays crunchy.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries, an easy to make sweet treat with just 2 ingredients. If you love chocolate and strawberries then you must try this to know how delicious they are !

To be honest, it's not a recipe, just a simple DIY treat. Even kids can make these treats on their own. But they are a few things that you should take care of ! So that' what i'm going to explain in this post.

Strawberries 

First thing first ! Let's talk about the strawberries. Make sure the strawberries are fresh, brightly colored and sweet.  

Make sure to wash and pat dry them well before melting the chocolate. Also don't trim the green part of the strawberries because that will be helpful to hold the strawberries while dipping in the melted chocolate. 

Chocolate

You can  make this with any type of chocolates like milk chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. I had tried this before with milk chocolate and i felt it was too sweet. So my personal favorite is dark chocolate. It nicely compliment the sweetness and the freshness of the strawberries.

In today's post, i have used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate but you can melt the chocolate in the microwave too.

Finally let's answer the FAQ while making this Chocolate Covered Strawberries

How do you get chocolate to stick to strawberries?

• Water and chocolate don't work together. So make sure that the strawberries are dry. After washing the strawberries, dry them well with the paper towel to absorb all the excess moisture
• Let the melted chocolate cool a bit so that it sticks to the strawberries well.

Now let's check out on how to make chocolate covered strawberries.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 5 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: American
Chocolate Covered Strawberries,Valentine day Dessert, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, an easy to make sweet treat with just a 2 ingredients.

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

Ingredients

Strawberries - 1 lb

Dark Chocolate - 1 bar

Procedure

First wash the strawberries and pat them dry well. Then break the chocolate into chunks and put it in the glass bowl/stainless steel bowl. 

Fill half of the sauce pan with water and bring into boil, place the chocolate bowl on the sauce pan. Stir it now and then until the chocolate melts completely. 

Remove from the heat and then start coating the strawberries with the melted chocolate. Arrange it on the parchment lined baking tray. Let it cool completely till the chocolate sets.

Delicious chocolate covered strawberries are ready to enjoy!

Related: How to make Strawberries Sorbet

Notes:

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries tastes best when they are fresh. 
• Once the chocolate are hardened, you can store them in the refrigerator and try to finish off with a day.  

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Mohanthal, a traditional Gujarathi sweet made from the besan / chickpeas flour. It's one of my favorite sweets made with besan. The flavor and the taste of Mohanthal is simply amazing. Trust me, it's so addictive and you can't stop it with just one piece of  Mohanthal. 

As a South Indian, i was never aware of this for a very long time, a couple of years ago only i came to know about this sweet. By looking at the ingredients and the process of making this sweet itself, i knew that would be delicious. 

As of now, i have made this sweet a lot of times on various occasions and it's always a big hit.  Since this was a new sweet to me initially, i have browsed through a lot of recipes and tried different ratios of ingredients every time when i make and eventually found the recipe that i like the most.

As of now, i have made this sweet a lot of times on various occasions and it's always a big hit.  Since this was a new sweet to me initially, i have browsed through a lot of recipes and tried different ratios of ingredients every time when i make and eventually found the recipe that i like the most.

Many recipes call for khoya/mawa for making mohanthal but in today's recipe that i'm sharing, i haven't used khoya but still the mohanthal has melt in your mouth texture. 

Roasting the besan/kadalai maavu

Roasting the besan properly is the key to make delicious mohanthal. Since my kitchen has yellow light, i have taken the picture of the besan in daylight for three main stages that you can see  in the pic below.

Make sure to keep the flame in low-medium and roast the besan well. It shouldn't be burned at any stage and at the same time it should be dark brown after roasting in the ghee. Then once you add the milk to the besan-ghee mixture, it instantly turns reddish brown in color (last pic in the collage below) and that's the time to remove from the heat. 

Sugar Syrup Consistency 

Once the besan is roasted well, half the work is already done. Next is the sugar syrup. Make sure to boil the sugar syrup till it reaches one string consistency. That's the key to setting the mohanthal. 

If the sugar syrup passes the one string consistency, then the mohanthal would be hard. Or if the sugar syrup doesn't reach the one string consistency, then the mohanthal wouldn't set and be like halwa. 

Take the sugar syrup with the spoon and add a few drops in a small bowl. After a few secs, it should be bearable hot, at that time, take the sugar syrup between your thumb and index finger, pull the fingers gently, a single thread should form. That's the correct stage for sugar syrup.

Beginners Tips 

• Don't leave the besan unattended while roasting. It easily gets burned at the bottom.
• If it's not set after a few hours, then place it on the refrigerator and it will set immediately.

Happy Deepavali to all ! Have a fun-filled day with your loved ones. Will see you all again in another post soon. 

Mohanthal | Gujarathi Mohanthal Recipe

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mohanthal, Mohanthal without Khoya , Mohanthal without mawa , Mohanthal sweet,Gujarathi Mohanthal Mohanthal, a traditional Gujarathi sweet made from the besan / chickpeas flour. It's one of my favorite sweets made with besan.

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

Ingredients

Kadalai Maavu / Besan - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp

Milk - 1/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Almonds(silvered) - a few (optional)

Procedure

First take the besan in a bowl, add 1 tbsp of ghee and 1.5 tbsp of milk into it. 

Mix it well with your hands and then sieve the mixture through the siever.

The besan looks like a fine beach sand, that's the perfect texture for mohanthal. Next heat a thick bottomed kadai, add the remaining 1/2 cup ghee.

When the ghee starts to warm up, add the besan mixture and mix it well. 

Roast the besan in the ghee till it turns into dark brown.It takes around 15-18 mins in the low medium flame. Stir the mixture continuously to avoid burning at the bottom. Initially the mixture would be thick, roasting continuously would make the mixture lighter and a little bit thinner.

Once the mixture is dark brown, add the remaining 1/4 cup of cup and mix it well. The mixture instantly turns into reddish brown. 

Colors of besan at each stages. Since my kitchen has yellow light, I have captured the  three stages of besan color alone in day light for easy understanding 

Once the mixture turns reddish brown, remove the besan mixture from the heat and keep it aside. Next let's make sugar syrup, add the sugar and water in a sauce pan and bring into boil.

 Keep the flame in medium and boil the syrup till it reaches one string consistency. Next add the sugar syrup and cardamom powder into the besan mixture and mix it well.

 Once it all comes together as a homogenous mixture. Put it in the flame and cook it for around 3-4 mins or until it leaves the sides of the pan.

Then transfer the mixture into the ghee applied pan(i used parchment paper also for safety) . Garnish the top with the almonds and let it cool completely. Once it completely cools down, cut into desired shape.

Delicious Mohanthal is ready to serve.

Related:How to make Milk Cake 

Notes

• You can garnish with any types of nuts or edible silver paper or leave it as it is also.
• I have used full fat milk and highly recommend to use that for rich taste.

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