Orange kesari recipe – Orange suji halwa in 20 mins. Kesari is a South Indian sweet made with semolina, sugar, ghee and saffron. A North Indian variation of this kesari is the Suji hawla which is made without kesar/ saffron. It is also known as sheera in some parts of Karnataka and Andhra. Pineapple sheera, banana sheera, Mix fruit kesari are some of the fruit flavored kesari or suji halwa recipes.
This orange rava kesari is perfect to make on any occasion. It can be served with your breakfast or as a after meal dessert. It is light, full of orange flavor and tastes delicious. I used freshly extracted orange juice that was sour. So I had to use more sugar. Do adjust the quantity of sugar and orange juice. I used more juice and less water, you can even use both in equal quantities.
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Orange kesari recipe card
Orange kesari recipe | Orange rava kesari | Orange suji halwa
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
- 1 cup suji / rava/ Bombay rava
- 4 tbsps ghee
- 10 to 12 cashews
- 10 to 12 raisins
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups orange juice
- ¾ to 1 cup water
- ½ tsp orange zest
How to make the recipe
- Wash an orange with salt and wipe it dry. Grate the orange skin/ peel on a fine grater. Do not grate the white skin. Make sure the zest is very fine like paste. Juice the oranges as needed.
- Dry roast suji or rava on a medium flame until it turns crunchy. Do not over roast or brown the rava. Transfer this to a bowl.
- Add 2 tbsps ghee and fry cashews until light golden. Add raisins and fry them too until they turn pulp. Set these aside.
- To the same pan, add sugar, orange juice, water and orange zest.
- Mix well until the sugar dissolves. Taste the syrup and check for sweetness.
- Bring the orange juice to a rapid boil. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Slowly pour rava in a stream to the boiling syrup. While you pour the rava, keep stirring with another hand.
- Stir well and make sure there are no lumps. Cover and cook until all the juice is absorbed.
- Lower the flame. Add 2 tbsp ghee over the orange kesari.
- Mix well and cook covered for 2 to 3 mins. The orange kesari will begin to leave the sides of the pan.
- Turn off the stove. Add nuts and raisins. Mix and serve orange suji halwa warm. Keep the pan covered until served.
Recipe Video
How to make orange rava kesari
1. Wash the oranges well. Grate the orange skin on a fine grater. We need about 1/4 tsp. Extract the juice of fresh oranges. We need about 2 1/4 to 2 ½ cups liquid to cook the kesari. You can either make it all using only juice and no water or use half water and half juice. I used about 2 large oranges which yielded 2 cups juice. I used 1/4 cup water. But some kinds of rava absorb more water, so use accordingly. If using only juice make sure your oranges are not very sour in taste.
2. Dry roast rava on a medium flame stirring often until crunchy. Transfer this to a bowl and set aside.
3. Add 2 tbsps of ghee to the hot pan. Add cashews and fry until lightly roasted. Add raisins and fry until they turn plump. Set these aside.
4. To the same pan, add sugar.
5. Pour orange juice. I used 2 cups juice.
6. Pour water if using. I used 1/4 cup water.
7. Add orange zest.
8. Mix everything well and bring it to a boil.
9. When the orange syrup begins to boil, reduce the flame to medium. Pour rava in a slow stream stirring continuously to prevent lumps.
10. Stir well to ensure there are no lumps.
11. Cover and cook on a low heat until all the liquid is absorbed.
12. Add 2 tbsps of ghee & stir well.
13. Add the nuts and mix. You can also top them just before you serve.
Keep orange kesari covered until served.
Kavitha says
Hi Swasthi,
Adding orange juice to prepare kesari sounds very creative. My culinary skills are very basic, so I have a doubt.
Doesn’t boiling orange juice, for that matter any fruit juice, remove all the nutrients of that fruit? In case, if it is used for bringing essence to the kesari, can we just add ready-made essence instead, making the process little more simpler.
swasthi says
Hi Kavitha
Yes most nutrients are lost when any fruit or its juice is cooked or boiled. But still it is a good idea to use natural fruits to flavor the food instead of using essence. Any essence is a artificial flavor made using synthetic ingredients which are harmful to health.
Regarding the recipe yes it works with essence but i haven’t tried it personally since i don’t use them. Hope this helps