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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Rava Kothu | Rava Munthiri Kothu | Sweet Recipe

Rava Kothu, a delicious deep fried sweet made from semolina balls. If you're hearing this name "Rava Kothu" for the first time, you might wondered what it is !!! Actually it's an another/easier version of the traditional sweet mundhiri kothu, a famous sweet from down south of Tamilnadu, made from green moong dal and jaggery. While we grew up, on every diwali days, either this rava kothu or mundhiri kothu would be one among the diwali sweet list. Compared to traditional mundhiri kothu, making of this rava kothu is bit easy and even beginners can try without any difficulties. 

As far as i remember, this kothu was mostly prepared on diwali time only and for the following days of diwali, we used to have this kothu and murukku as snacks for our evening tea time after school. So to recreate the same combo, i made some pottukadalai murukku on the same day i had prepared this rava kothu. Indeed, it is a awesome combo to have on with some hot tea. Glad that i have prepared this combo after such a long time and nowadays no one prepare this kind of sweet in our family or close circle as far as i knew and it almost become extinct now!!!

Rava Munthiri Kothu

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 15-18 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Rava - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/3 cup
Oil - for frying
For Batter
Maida - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - as needed

Rava Kothu, Sooji Kothu, Munthiri Kothu Rava Kothu, a delicious deep fried sweet made from semolina balls.

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

Procedure

Heat a pan with ghee, add the rava and grated coconut and roast till it becomes aromatic and slightly change its color. Remove from heat and transfer into a plate.

In the same pan, add the  sugar and water, let the sugar dissolve completely, then add the roasted rava and coconut.

Mix it well, switch off the flame and cover it with lid for 5 mins. Then open the lid and add the cardamom powder and mix it well.

Let it comes to hand bearable temperature and then start making balls from the rava mixture. Heat the oil in a kadai for frying.

For the outer outing, take the maida & salt in a bowl, mix it well and then slowly add the water and make it as thick and flowing batter.

Take a sooji ball, dip it in the maida batter and make sure that the batter coats well on all sides and drop it gently in the oil. Let it fry for few secs.

Then gently flip on the other sides and cook till both sides has light golden brown color, drain the rava kothu from the oil and place it on tissue paper.

Tada, Yummy Rava kothu is ready.

Related: How to make Kasi Halwa

Notes:

• In our home, amma sometimes pulse the rava and coconut mixture once in a mixie for fine texture.
• Instead of making sugar syrup, in some places after roasting the rava and coconut mixture, they put everything(rava, coconut,sugar and cardamom) in the mixie jar and pulse until it smooth. Later to make balls either hot milk or water is used as needed. So it's such a versatile recipe, you can make changes as per your liking.
• If you want, you can add nuts and raisins into it.
• No need to check for any sugar consistency, once the sugar is dissolved, you can add the rava and coconut mixture.
• Here i have used raw sugar,so the color of the sugar is little brown, but you can use the ordinary white sugar too.
• It stays well for days in room temperature.
• Make sure that the maida batter coats well on the rava balls. 
  

 

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Mofo Gasy | Malagasy Bread | Madagascar Breakfast

Mofo Gasy means "Malagasy bread" , is a traditional breakfast from Madagascar ,the large island off the southeast coast of Africa. It's also a common street food served as breakfast along with coffee/tea. 

Lightly sweetened yeasted batter is poured into circular molds(like our paniyaram pan) and cooked on medium flame until it becomes crispy on both sides.It has quite different variations in the making across the Madagascar region based on the usage of coconut milk & flavoring agents.

Actually while going through the recipe ingredients, it reminded me of rava paniyaram that we used to make them as snacks and i was expecting the same taste, but i was totally wrong, adding yeast changes its texture and taste totally. 

The outer surface is slightly crispy when it's hot and on the inside it's chewy and soft. Overall it's so delicious with the cup of black coffee/tea. Here in the recipe i have used my paniyaram pan to fry the mofo gasy and it's quite delicate to turn on the other side while cooking, so i couldn't get the perfect round shape, but i'm quite satisfied with both taste and texture for the first timer :-)

 Before check out the recipe, if you like to know what i have shared on the past 2 days under International Breakfast, here they are

Day 1 - Mysore Masala Dosa from India
Day 2 - Mani pittu from Srilanka

Mofo Gasy

Preparation Time : 3 hrs | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mofo Gasy, Malagasy Bread, Madagascar Breakfast Mofo Gasy means "Malagasy bread" , is a traditional breakfast from Madagascar ,the large island off the southeast coast of Africa.

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

Ingredients
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Semolina - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Condensed Milk - 3 tbsp
Luke warm water - 1/2 cup +1 tbsp
Instant Yeast - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Cooking oil - for greasing the pan

Procedure

Take the flour, semolina, sugar,salt & yeast in a bowl, mix it well and then add the lukewarm water.

Mix it all well together. Cover the bowl with the cling wrap and let it rest for 3-4 hrs. After 4 hrs, the batter should have bubbles all over and risen a bit.

Now remove the cling wrap and mix the batter with the ladle, add the condensed milk. 

Mix it all well together. Heat the paniyaram pan, add few drop of oil in each hole and let it heat, then pour the batter into each hole. Let it cook for 2-3 mins in medium flame.

Gently flip them with the wooden stick and cook on the other side also for 2-3 mins and then remove it from the pan.

Mofo Gasy/ Malagsasy Bread is ready. Serve it with coffee or tea.

Notes:

• The batter is so soft, so  it's really tricky to flip the pancake on to the other side. Highly recommend to use non sticky pan and grease it generously.
• This Pancake is mildly sweetened and it's taste great with a cup of black coffee/tea
• Instead of condensed milk, you can use whole sugar itself, it may need  5 tbsp of sugar.
• Condensed milk gives richness to the dish.
• I haven't used any flavoring agent, but if you want add 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
• Cook in low flame, otherwise it would get darken very quickly.
• If you don't have enough time in the morning,make the batter on previous night and keep it in the refrigerator for overnight, so the batter will be all fermented and ready for morning breakfast.
  

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Rava Upma | Semolina Upma | Breakfast Recipe

Rava Upma, a simple & tasty breakfast/dinner dish that can be prepared in a jiffy for busy days. There were times that i hate upma like anything and don't even want to touch even when i was ravenously hungry. All those things were changed when i started cooking and i guess that i really started to appreciate the simple dishes when i cook on my own. That's when i realized even with simple ingredients, some dishes (like upma, kanji ) are extremely delicious compared to all the restaurant style fancy dishes where the ingredients list itself go for a page.
Now coming to today's recipe, as simple as this recipe sounds, they are high chances that this upma can easily turned to glue(personal experience) like texture!!! Roasting the rava  & the water quantity is very important to get the non sticky upma and also while adding the rava, stir it continuously to avoid lumps. If these things are taken care of , then your upma would be delicious. This is the basic recipe, if you want to add more veggies, go for it and make it as you per your liking. 

Rava Upma

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Rava/Semolina - 1/2 cup
Pearl onion - 5
Green Chili -1
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Grated Coconut - 1 & 1/2 tbsp
Water - 1 cup
Coconut Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard & urad dal-1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Salt- to taste

Procedure

First let's roast the rava, heat the pan and add the rava, roast it till it becomes aromatic and remove it on the plate.Peel & chop the onions into small pieces, slit the chili and chop the ginger into small pieces. Heat the pan with oil, add the mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter.Add the onions, curry leaves, ginger & green chili, saute till the onions becomes translucent,then add the water into the pan.Add salt and let it bring into boil,then add the roasted rava slowly & stir simultaneously. Once all the water is absorbed, add the grated coconut , mix it well and cover it with lid and keep the flame in low for 2 more mins & switch off the flame.Finally add few coriander leaves on top and it's ready to serve.

Notes:

• Coconut oil gives great flavor to the upma, so highly recommend to use it.
• Using non stick helps to avoid sticking at the bottom.
• While adding the rava into boiling water, keep stir continuously to avoid lumps.
• Some time, i have added 1 tsp of chana dal while tempering for extra crunchiness.
• For extra richness, add a tsp of ghee on top while serving.
• I personally like the ginger flavor in the upma, but that's pure optional
  

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Rava Puttu | Semolina Puttu | Sooji Puttu

Rava Puttu, a delicious breakfast or evening snack made with semolina and grated coconut.I never heard about this puttu until i had it in my friend's home.

Two years back, I wasn't able to attend my close friend's marriage, so later we planned to visit her in her MIL's place at a village nearby Mayiladuthurai. Her MIL prepared a delicious and wide spread of food for our dinner. In that menu, this rava puttu was also included.

My friend knew that I like puttu a lot and I might casually mention it  to her during our hostel stay. So she insisted her MIL to prepare some puttu along with the menu.

Her MIL was so sweet & kind enough to prepare this puttu for my sake.The puttu was so soft and she served it with some ghee and sugar. It was so flavorful and delicious in each mouthful.

Later when we were talking over the phone, I got the recipe from my friend and prepared it very often with  various combinations like with kadala curry, appalam & banana.

Though it tastes good with other combinations, my all time favorite is with simple ghee & sugar. If you have tried this recipe before, do give it a try! 

Rava/Sooji Puttu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
rava puttu,semolina puttu,sooji puttu,puttu recipe,steamed cake,steamed semolina cake,rava coconut puttu Rava Puttu, a delicious breakfast/ evening time snack made with semolina and grated coconut.

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

Ingredients
Semolina/Sooji/Rava - 1 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - as need
Grated Coconut - 1/3 cup

Procedure

Heat a pan, add rava and dry roast it till the nice aroma comes from it , by the time it slightly changes its color too. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Add salt into the rava & mix it well. Then add little by little water into rava and mix it with your hands until the rava is moist well.

Take a handful of rava and press it with your fist, it should hold the shape,then press it with your thumb,it should crumble, that's the correct stage of rava.

Take the puttu maker and add the grated coconut and then add rava, repeat the same and finish off with coconut.

Steam it in the pressure cooker or puttu steamer for 12-15 mins.

That's it, Yummy Rava Puttu is ready.

Related: How to make Ragi Puttu 

Related: More Puttu and idiyappam varieties 

Notes:

• For me, it takes around 8 mins to dry roast the rava in medium flame.
• The flavor of the puttu comes from the dry roasting of rava,so roast till the nice aroma comes from it.
• This puttu takes little longer time to cook than the rice flour puttu.
• If you don't have puttu maker, you can use any steamer pot also.

Sprinkle some ghee & sugar,it's time to dig in

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