Easy step-by-step recipe to make the popular Southern Indian dessert, Rava Kesari. It is made with a few simple ingredients like semolina, sugar, ghee and cardamom.
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.