Rava Kesari is a very popular and a crowd favorite dessert that is made in the Southern states of India. I give you all the tips and tricks here to make this delicious dessert pudding to be perfect, fluffy, not lumpy and melt in your mouth goodness.
Rava kesari is a tea time dessert, if you may call it that. It is served at weddings during afternoon tea - kesari and vadai or bonda along with tea or filter coffee is a popular combo. It is also served along with breakfasts on festival days.
For me, it is an anytime dessert. Everytime we are in Chennai, India, I will make sure to go to the restaurant Saravana Bhavan to have their rava kesari which is the most delicious and perfectly textured kesari you can ever eat. It is so very popular across the state and beyond for this very reason.
This rava kesari recipe is a copycat recipe of Saravana Bhavan and can be called a hotel style kesari or catering style kesari recipe.
I also have recipes for Mango Rava Kesari and a Polenta Kesari that you may want to try.
Ingredients
- Rava / Semolina - Bombay rava or fine sooji is what is used in this recipe. This is very important to get that halwa like smooth consistency to the kesari. You can buy it pre-roasted or roast it by yourself. I like to roast by myself, so I have better control of the right kind of roast for the perfect rava kesari.
- Sugar - regular white granulated sugar works fine for this recipe.
- Ghee - ghee is needed to roast the cashews and raisins that are garnishes for the kesari and also to add to the kesari itself.
- Oil - now this is the trick to making the kesari stay soft and fluffy just like how the caterers make it or how they make it in restaurants. A combo of ghee and oil does the trick for adding the necessary fat component, while the ghee provides flavor, the oil keeps the smooth consistency even when the ghee tends to harden up when cooled. Use a neutral flavor oil like avocado oil.
- Green Cardamom - remove seeds from fresh cardamom pods and powder them to get the most fragrance out of them.
- Food coloring - I would have loved to say this was optional, but the rava kesari’s signature yellow-orange color adds to the appeal as well. This is probably the only thing ever that I make to which I add food coloring. There are natural food color options available, but I am yet to find that perfect egg yolk yellow/orange color in those.
Ratio of rava, water, sugar and ghee in rava kesari
This ratio is very important and once you remember it and follow it precisely, making the perfect rava kesari is super easy.
The ratio I follow is 1: 3: 1 ½: ¼ of rava:water:sugar:ghee(+oil)
Method
Heat and melt 1 tablespoon of ghee in a wide heavy bottomed pan. Add the cashews and raisins to this and roast them till the cashews are crispy and brown and the raisins have puffed up. Remove this from the pan to a plate/bowl.
In the remaining ghee, add the rava/semolina and over medium heat, roast it to be golden brown in color. Keep stirring to make sure the rava doesn't burn and wait for the color to turn ever so slightly and the aroma of roasted aroma comes up.
Lower the heat and add the water to this. Some of the rava may start to clump up. Work quickly and break these clumps using the back of the ladle. It is important to keep the heat low, so you can work through all the clumps before all the water gets absorbed by the rava.
Add the food color at this point and mix it in well.
As the rava absorbs the water and starts to thicken, add the sugar to this and mix well.
As the sugar melts, the mixture might look too runny but that's ok. It will thicken up in just a few minutes. Add the ground cardamom to this and keep mixing.
In about 5-7 mins, the mixture will start to thicken and leave the sides and bottom of the pan when moved with the ladle. Add the ghee and oil combo to the pan at this time.
Again, the kesari will look all runny in consistency and it may seem like there is a lot of ghee but again, don't worry. Keep mixing the ghee into the kesari and it will absorb it all in just a few minutes, maybe about 5 mins.
Once it has all come together and the kesari once again leaves the sides and bottom of the pan with little effort when moved around with the ladle, it is done.
Now add the roasted cashews and raisins back to this and mix it in. Serve warm.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the kesari while it is still warm. If the kesari has gotten cold, you can always reheat it in the microwave before serving.
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Recipe tips
- My number one tip to make this the perfect kesari is to stick to the ratio of rava:water:sugar:ghee. It is really simple once you follow this.
- Use fine rava to get that smooth consistency of the kesari. Bombay rava or fine sooji is what you need to look for.
- Ghee + Oil combo is the secret to making a hotel style or catering style kesari. The oil helps in keeping the consistency smooth and melt in your mouth soft, which is key to a great rava kesari.
Rava Kesari
Ingredients
- 1 cup rava / semolina use fine rava / sooji
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup ghee
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 or 2 drops orange food color
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 2 tablespoon cashews
- 2 tablespoon raisins
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a wide heavy bottomed pan. Roast the cashews and raisins and remove them from the pan to a plate/bowl.1 tablespoon ghee, 2 tablespoon cashews, 2 tablespoon raisins
- In the remaining ghee, add the rava/semolina and over medium heat, roast it to be golden brown in color.1 cup rava / semolina
- Lower the heat and add the water to this. Cook till all the water gets absorbed by the rava.3 cups water
- Add the food color at this point and mix it in well.1 or 2 drops orange food color
- As the rava absorbs the water and starts to thicken, add the sugar to this and mix well. Add the ground cardamom to this and keep mixing.1 ½ cups granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Add the ghee and oil combo to the pan at this time. A Keep mixing the ghee into the kesari and it will absorb it all in just a few minutes.¼ cup ghee, ¼ cup oil
- Once done, add the roasted cashews and raisins back to this and mix it in. Serve warm.
Notes
- My number one tip to make this the perfect kesari is to stick to the ratio of rava:water:sugar:ghee. It is really simple once you follow this.
- Use fine rava to get that smooth consistency of the kesari. Bombay rava or fine sooji is what you need to look for.
- Ghee + Oil combo is the secret to making a hotel style or catering style kesari. The oil helps in keeping the consistency smooth and melt in your mouth soft, which is key to a great rava kesari.
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