Sheera (Rava Kesari), this word always rings a bell in my head. No matter what time it is, this is one such sweet treat that’ll make me stand on my toes. Believe you me; I used to battle while preparing rava kesari until sometime back. Well, that’s a long story of why I couldn’t get it right. :D Finally, I got to correct myself with the right proportions of ingredients and here are the pictures (You may not be able to taste them though ;)) A close friend of mine, Priyanka will be glad that I finally got it right.
Rava Kesari generally finds its space in the Naivedyam platter at my place. The simplicity of this sweet treat makes it very special. As I have and will always believe, the most delectable dishes in perpetuum have lesser number of ingredients.
This sweet dish is special for another reason. The day this favorite sweet of mine came out perfect, was my mother’s birthday. She too had a sweet tooth just like me. I just thought of giving it a try and it was magic. My 20 minutes of effort paid off! :P That was a happy day for me.
Its a mouth watering sight to see a light yellow colored sweet dish embellished with dry nuts gleaming at me. The crunch of the nuts that comes along with every bite makes life sweeter and I can ask for nothing more :)
Rava Kesari
Rava Kesari is an Indian halwa made by mixing semolina (Bombay rava), sugar, kesar and dry fruits bound with water. It is a quick sweet and can be prepared with very less amount of time in hand.
Ingredients:
- Semolina - 1/2 cup/88 grams (Roasted in a wok or microwave)
- Sugar - 1/2 cup/100 grams
- Saffron Strands - 1/2 tsp
- Milk - 1 tsp (warm, optional)
- Water - 1.25 Cups
- Ghee - 3 tbsp
- Raisins - Around 10-15 (Roasted)
- Cashew Nuts - Around 10-15 (Roasted)
Instructions:
Step 1: In a wok, boil water. Once, the water begins to boil, lower the flame and add 6-7 saffron strands to the boiling water.
Step 2: In a mortar and pestle, squish the remaining saffron with a tsp of warm milk and add it to the boiling water. (This is an optional step. You may skip this step and add the saffron strands directly to the boiling water without milk.)
Step 3: Lower the flame and add the roasted rava into the boiling mixture. Start stirring the mixture immediately. The mixture might form lumps. Do not fret. Stir gently on a low flame. The lumps vanish when you add the sugar in the next step.
Step 4: Add the sugar and mix until the sugar melts down and binds well with the mixture.
Step 5: Add 3 tbsp of ghee. You can add 1 tbsp more if you would like to. Add the roasted nuts and raisins.
Step 6: Turn off the heat and fold in the mixture gently.
Step 7: You can either scoop out directly and serve or you can put it in a square mould as I have. Grease the mould with a bit of ghee and fill it with the preparation.
Step 8: After it stands for 15 minutes. Invert the mould upside down and let the sheera fall onto a base.
Step 9: Cut into squares. Decorate and serve. :)
Note: This recipe makes 9 pieces, each of size, 1.5"x1.5"x1.5".
I have a crazy tip on this. I add a pinch of salt to the cashews when they are roasted. The contrast is simply superb. Learned this tip from Masterchef Australia.
Great tip :) Thank you
from where i get the saffron-strands. Which brand is good
Hi Anu. Try Baby Saffron from babysaffron.com
how many days can we store this recipe?
It stores well until the next day.
love the colour…. looks so natural. happy that you use the natural kesar for the colour. i see others just pour in articficial colouring and spoil the look of this humble dessert. you made it look really very pretty….:)
Oh! I love your step by step pix of rava kesari. I make it slightly differently & hope to post the recipe sooon. thanks for a lovely post. charu
Thank you Charu.
you have worked on the pudding really well. i just serve it without any deco.. ill do it your way next time. such a simple and tasty sweet isnt it?
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Nice photos pratiba. Specially the last pic is really tempting.. wonderful dessert. I have a question. when I had been to a friend’s place for a pooja they gave a sweet named as shapatha. it was really tasty, made from rava. it is not rava kesari. i googled for the recipe but could not find. I wanted to know if you have any recipe for this.?
Thanks.
Hi Madhura. Thanks for your good words. What you tasted is called as Sapatha that is prepared for Sathyanarayana Puja as prasadam. Its made from semolina, milk, ghee, sugar and banana. Will post this recipe sometime down the line.
i agree with vatsala.. u have a beautiful method of writing. recipes photo also very nice.. sorry to read about ur mother. im sure she will be happy looking at u do so much good work in her memory. waiting for more recipes from you. my daughter also very happy looking at your website. god bless you and ur family with lot of happiness ans good health – Latha Jayaram
Latha and Vatsala : Thank you so much for your kind words. :)
These look gorgeous.. I make sheera the reverse way.. i.e. by putting rava first and then water. it comes out bad sometimes.. must try your method.. nice website too… i love your style of writing pratibha… nice to see young dynamic girls like you doing so well in life…
yum yum yum u have perfected the most delicious thing in our house hold. mom prepares it every saturday and wait for it all thorugh the week. also post how to prepare gulpavte (ask vini about it) it is also yummy.
bye take care. nice to see u also like mudde.
Thank you anna. I’m yet to learn gulpavte. Amma had prepared it once. Will post that too :)