Rava kesari

Rava kesari recipe – Also known as kesari bath, this is a quick mouth melting South Indian dessert made of semolina, sugar, ghee and nuts. This recipe will yield you delicious, flavorful, soft and fluffy rava kesari just under 25 mins.

What is rava kesari?

Rava kesari is a popular sweet dish from South Indian cuisine made of rava or suji, ghee, sugar, kesari and nuts. Rava means semolina and kesari means saffron color, the key ingredient that brightens up the dish.

It is made often in most house holds due to its simplicity. It is eaten as a breakfast dessert or as a after meal dessert.

This is most commonly offered as naivedyam to the Hindu gods or deities during pooja, festivals & auspicious days like Ganesh chaturthi, Navratri, krishna ashtami etc.

Rava kesari is similar to the Sheera or Suji halwa. In some parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra this is called as Sheera. But these are made without color.

Rava kesari is also known as kesari bath in Karnataka. This is a popular dish served in tiffin centers of Karnataka. It is pretty much served in a meal platter & in a breakfast platter.

Chow chow bath is one such platter where khara bath & kesari bath are served with coriander coconut chutney.

This rava kesari is made without any unhealthy food color, a fat pinch of saffron has been used. If you do not have saffron, you can use natural edible color.

How to make best rava kesari?

1. The key to making best rava kesari lies in the ratio of rava, water and ghee. The proportions shared below yield soft, light and fluffy kesari that isn’t too greasy.
2. Roasting rava in ghee until slightly crunchy and aromatic is also important. This prevents the dish from turning sticky and makes it really delicious.
3. Stirring consistently while pouring water to the rava is very important as it prevents lumps.

Originally rava kesari is made with fine semolina known as bombay rava. But many households now a days even use golden fine wheat rava or fine bansi rava to make this. The flavor of the one made with whole wheat rava is different from semolina.

If you prefer to use the whole grain rava, then use 3 cups water.

Can you use milk?

Yes, milk can be used instead of water. I personally prefer to use half water and half milk. Using only milk makes the sweet heavy.

Varieties

There are many variations of rava kesari like kesari bath, pala kesari, pineapple kesari, mango kesari, semiya kesari or fruit kesari recipe. Here are a few I have shared on the blog
Pineapple kesari
Orange kesari
Fruit kesari
Milk kesari
Semiya kesari

On occasions we also serve this rava kesari with savory snacks like
Mysore bonda
Goli baje
masala vada
dal vada

Preparation for kesari bath

1. Heat 2 table spoons of ghee in a heavy bottom pot. Split open 12 cashew nuts and clean them. Fry them until slightly golden.

2. Add 12 raisins and fry until they turn plump. Remove them to a plate.

3. Next pour the 1 cup rava. Mix well to coat the rava in ghee.

4. Begin to roast the rava well on a low to medium heat until crunchy and slightly aromatic. Do not brown it.

5. While the semolina is getting roasted, bring 2½ cups water to a boil in a pot. You can also use milk or a mix of both. Kesari bath is mostly made with water and not milk.

How to make kesari

6. When the water comes to a rolling boil, pour it to the rava slowly in a stream. Stirring consistently with the other hand. Make sure the flame is medium at this stage.

7. There should be no lumps.

8. Continue to cook stirring consistently until the water is absorbed completely.

9. Lower the flame and cook covered for 2 to 3 mins.

10. Add ¾ to 1 cup sugar and mix well. I use 1 cup. If you prefer low sweet, then add lesser. Sugar melts and makes the mixture gooey. Then continue to cook until all the moisture evaporates.

11. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder and kesari color. I used 2 pinches of saffron soaked in 2 tbsps hot water. If you do not have the kesari, just skip it.

12. Next add 3 to 4 tbsp ghee. I used 3 tbsp.

13. Mix well and continue to cook until the mixture leaves the pan. Cook covered for 2 mins. This is optional.

Garnish rava kesari with nuts and raisins. You can fluff up with a fork.

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