Pineapple Kesari (Pineapple Sheera)
Updated: May 12, 2024, By Swasthi
Pineapple Kesari also known as Pineapple Sheera is a delicious sweet made with semolina, pineapple, sugar, ghee and nuts. This is a very popular dessert from Karnataka, a South Indian state. This super delicious dish has a natural sweet fragrance of the ripe pineapple combined with a nutty aroma of desi Ghee and cardamoms. With its smooth melt-in-the-mouth texture & tiny chunks of pineapples in every bite, this Pineapple Sheera is most likely to impress everyone.
Pineapple Sheera
Pineapple Kesari is a South Indian sweet pudding where roasted semolina is cooked with ripe pineapple, sugar and ghee. An artificial color or saffron is added to impart an yellow or orange color. You can always find pineapple kesari on most restaurants and Tiffin center Menus all over Karnataka. This classic sweet dish is made in the same lines as the traditional Sheera, an Indian semolina pudding.
It is known by different names across India such as, suji halwa, sajjige, kesari, kesari bath & rava kesari. In Hindi, Kesari is the word for saffron or orange color. Since these puddings are made with artificial saffron color they are named after the color “kesari”. A lot of health conscious home cooks have replaced artificial color with saffron strands in these recipes. So my recipe does not call for any color. Instead you can use saffron or totally omit it.
Here the quality of pineapple is the key. It has to be ripe and sweet so it gives the pineapple kesari a nice color and flavor. If you do not have pineapple, you can also use banana, mango, apple or mixed fruits. Pineapple sheera makes for a great refreshing after meal dessert. It can also be served as a breakfast with poori.
Or Serve this as a part of chow chow bath, khara bath and kesari bath served together in a plate with a chutney and other accompaniments.
There are a few different ways pineapple kesari is made. I am sharing the easiest one here. If you do not like pineapple chunks and want the halwa to be more intensely flavored, you can also blend it to a puree and use.
More Halwa recipes
Carrot halwa
Badam halwa
Moong dal halwa
Lauki ka halwa
Dates halwa
You can also check Sweets Recipes here and Diwali Sweets here.
Photo Guide
How to Make Pineapple Kesari (Stepwise Photos)
Here are the ingredients
- 1 cup semolina (fine rava /suji)
- ¼ to ⅓ cup ghee (4 to 6 tbsps, read notes)
- 1 cup sweet pineapple chunks (half inch pieces)
- 2½ cups water
- ¾ to 1 cup organic sugar
Preparation
1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pot.
2. Fry 10 cashews (20 split) until light golden. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons sweet raisins and fry until they turn plump. Transfer them to a plate. Retain the ghee in the pot.
3. Add 1 cup semolina and roast on a medium flame, stirring continuously until it turns crunchy and begins to smell nutty/good. It takes about 5 to 6 mins. Do not discolor the rava. Transfer this to a plate and cool it.
4. Next pour 3 tablespoons ghee and add 1 cup pineapple chunks. Saute just for 2 to 3 mins. This helps to bring out a nice flavor from pineapple. If using pineapple puree, add it and then cook for 3 to 4 minutes. It will splash, so keep covered.
5. Pour 2½ cups water, ¾ to 1 cup organic sugar and then a generous pinch of saffron or food color if you like. Bring it to a rolling boil on a high heat. (Alternately you can also add sugar once the semolina is cooked at step 8).
Make Pineapple Sheera
6. When the water begins to boil, reduce the flame to medium. With one hand pour the semolina in a slow stream and keep stirring with the other hand to incorporate the semolina into the water. This prevent lumps. (Check my video below)
7. Lower the flame completely and break down any lumps. Stir in ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder.
8. The mixture turns very hot and may splash. Cover the pot and lower the flame.
9. Cook until the water is absorbed. Take a little kesari from the pot, cool down and taste test for sweetness and ghee.
10. To adjust the sweetness, if you want you can stir in more fine sugar at this stage, sooner the better else the sugar won’t dissolve fast. Avoid using granulated sugar at this stage. Add little more ghee, about 1 to 2 tablespoons if you want.
11. Keep covered and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on the lowest heat. Turn off and let rest for 5 mins.
Lastly garnish pineapple sheera with nuts and raisins. To serve, you may grease a small bowl and press down the pineapple sheera into it. Invert it on a plate gently, shake off. Garnish with nuts and raisins.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Pineapple Kesari (Pineapple Sheera)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup semolina (fine rava /suji)
- ¼ to ⅓ cup ghee (read notes)
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (sweet, half inch pieces)
- 2½ cups water
- ¾ to 1 cup organic sugar (adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi)
- 1 pinch saffron ( kesari or orange food color) (optional)
- 10 whole cashews (split or use more if preferred)
- 2 tablespoons raisins (use to preference)
Instructions
Preparation
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pot. Fry cashews until light golden and stir in the raisins. Fry them until they turn plump. Remove to a plate and keep aside to garnish later.
- Add rava/ semolina and fry on a medium heat until it turns aromatic & crunchy. Do not brown the rava, this step may take about 5 to 6 mins. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- To the same pot, add rest of the ghee and pineapple. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes & add sugar and saffron followed by water.
How to Make Pineapple Sheera
- Bring to a rolling boil and reduce the flame to medium. With one hand, pour semolina to the pot in a slow stream, stir constantly with the other hand to incorporate semolina into the water. This avoids formation of lumps.
- Lower the flame completely, break lumps if you find any. Cook covered until all the water is absorbed. Meanwhile cool down a little in a spoon and taste test. If you feel the need add more sugar and ghee.
- Stir in the cardamom powder, turn off the heat & let rest for at least 5 mins before serving.
- Garnish pineapple sheera with nuts and raisins. It is best served hot or warm.
Notes
- Restaurants use ¾ to 1 cup ghee per 1 cup of rava and that turns out too greasy. I find ⅓ cup appropriate if you are making it for the family. ½ cup if you are making for guests and ¼ if you want to eat lesser fats. Use ¾ cup if you are going to serve 1 to 2 tablespoons only per serving as prasada.
- It is important to use seasonal ripe sweet pineapple else your kesari will turn too sour and it will require more sugar. However you need to adjust the sugar based on your pineapple and your sugar preference.
- If you are using canned pineapples from the syrup, start with only half cup sugar and adjust later.
- You can also puree the same amount of pineapple and use in this recipe.
- You can use granulated sugar for the recipe but avoid that at the last adjusting stage, it takes longer to dissolve.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Delicious pineapple kesari. Made it a couple of times with canned pineapple and loved it
Turned out very well. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
So glad Suneetha!
Hi madam..if I make a Puree it will taste sour? Also please help with the measurements for 1cup rava how much pineapple Puree I should use…bcoz my kids will not eat chunks
Hi Srivani,
Use a sweet pineapple. If it tastes sour add more sugar while cooking. For 1 cup rava use 6 tbsps ghee, 1 cup chopped pineapple (measure first and then puree). If your kids are picky then make sure you blend the pineapple well so no fiber is left. Or pass it through a filter and use. Also do not use the core for this recipe. Hope this helps
Tried your recipe Swasthi. It turned out delicious. Thank you!
The pineapple that I have has a nice yellow color but has a kind of sweet sour taste. What can I do with it. Can I use it for this recipe?
Hi. The pineapple tht I have has a nice yellow color but has a kind of sweet sour taste. What can I do with it. Can I use it for this recipe?
Hi Ashin
If it is slightly sour it’s fine to use. Add more sugar at the end if you feel it is too sour. Thanks for rating the recipe
Cannot hear your video
I think it has no audio. I will check it. Thank you
Just awesome ! I allways thought I may need to add more ghee . It came out so well with 4/5 spoons of ghee.
Glad to know Shanthi!
Tried this recipe….it was surprisingly easy and yummmyyy.. thank you for the wonderful recipe.?
Welcome Shilpa
Glad to know!
Thank you
Friend and I got pineapple sheera in hotel mini meals last week. It didn’t taste good, kind of synthetic flavoured and no pineapple pieces, but I liked the idea of pineapple halwa so I searched and found your recipe. I try to eat vegan so I used coconut oil instead of ghee. In any case it came out soooooo yummy, completely different from hotel version. So happy to make such a delicious treat with sweet fresh pineapple and store cupboard items. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Zanna
You are most welcome! Glad you liked it! Yes in restaurants mostly it is the artificial flavor that is added. Thanks for the comment!
Forever grateful for all your recipes. I am a novice and am really bad at cooking, until I discovered your recipes. Your recipes are easy and the food had gr88 falvour. I am a big fan, thanks!
Hi Amruta,
You are welcome. Thanks a lot for the comment. So happy to know the recipes are useful.
🙂
The measurements were perfect sheera turned out awesome. I used fruit colour instead of kesar.Thanks for sharing a good recipe
Hi Swasthi Garu,
Your recipes are quite easy for beginners. It helped me a lot .
I have a small question regarding rawa used to prepare pineapple sheera .
Can I use fine sooji rawa ?
Will that differ from using coarse sooji rawa?
Hi Sangeetha garu,
Thank a lot. Happy to know the recipes are useful. The rava used for upma is used in this recipe. It is known as bombay rava or semolina. If you say fine sooji rawa is it the chiroti rava ? I know there are 3 kinds of rava
chiroti that is very fine
regular upma rava known as bombay rava
bansi rava which is slightly yellow in color and is coarse.
For rava sheera only upma rava is best and the others don’t turn out very good. Hope this helps
Yes andi , I meant to say chiroti rawa. I used Bombay rawa to prepare this sheera and it was a big hit . My family members loved it . Thank you so much for suggestion ?.
Sangeetha
we use choroti rava for making poori, just a tbsp or two of this added to wheat flour will yield very good pooris. Thanks for trying
Hai swasthi
It’s good see you are uploading videos also. It’s helps for beginners to learn easily.
Hai swasthi
Very happy u r uploading videos also. It helps to who are learning recipes.
Hai swathi,
I love your recipes.I tried some of them.today I prepared my daughters favourite pineapple kesari.she loved it and it’s very tasty. Thank you.
welcome shashi
Good to know the kesari turned out good. thanks for the feedback
Hey Swasthi,
I love your recipes, Noe I have learnt few North Indian dishes & chicken biriyani via this blog. Keep sharing wonderful recipes, There is a non-stick pan you use in most of the recipes, could you please share the details about that , which brand it is? .
Thanks a lot
Divya
Hi Divya
Thanks for trying the recipes.
It is tefal brand , model – titanium pro.
YUMMMM……. YUMMMMM…… YUMM….. YYYYYYYYYY SHEERA.
My sister do not like the taste of pineapple sheera, but I served her your blogs recipe.
She became a huge fan of pineapple sheera.
Thanks swasti for this wonderful recipe & also the it has got a mild sweet flavor so we can have it any time.
welcome shalini
so glad to know your sis liked it. thanks for the feedback
Can you share the previous recipe of Pineapple sheera?
Hi Arpita,
Here is the recipe. Stick on to the same measurements mentioned in the above recipe, only the method is different.
1. You will have to blend the pineapple, sugar and saffron first in a blender until smooth. Set this aside.
2. Roast the rava, set aside.
3. Ghee fry the nuts, set them aside. Bring water to a rolling boil in the same ghee pot. Pour rawa slowly and cook until the water evaporates completely. Add the blended pineapple and sugar mixture. Stir well and cook for about 5 to 7 months. without burning.
Hope this helps
Hi Swati,
I have made this recipe many times and every year I make it on Ganesh puja, it’s a big hit! Thanks for sharing it again!
I want to give 5 stars but clicked on 3 by mistake 🙁
Hi Arpita
Hope you are good. So glad to see ur comment after 1 year again on the same recipe post. Really happy. Thank you
Yummy, made your potato kurma with pulao and this kesari for last night’s dinner. All turned out delicious. Thank you
welcome Samaira.
So glad to know all turned out well. Thanks for the feedback