Hi friends,    

     In India, may be it’s a festival, marriage or any other celebration, everything starts and ends on a sweet note. Is it not??? We Indians are like that.Here food and celebration seem to go together.

     Also food is an integral part of all Indian festivals and not to forget,sweets are added attractions.Festivals like Diwali,Lohri,Eid etc. are known for offering sweets that are a must eat during the period as it is considered a oman to offer sweets to all our dear and near ones.You all might be thinking,why today I’m talking about festivals and sweets.It’s because today I’m going to share the recipe of a famous Indian sweet, Pineapple Kesari.

      Kesari is a sweet Indian food that’s popular through out the country.It is made with semolina,sugar,ghee,water and milk.

      It is originated from the Karnataka state of South India. It is a  Cuisine of Karnataka and is a popular dish during festivals such as Ugadi. The word kesari in kannada refers to the spice saffron which is used,resulting in it’s saffron-orange-yellow-colored tinge. In Karnataka it is also served as breakfast.

     Kesari  is also called Kesari bhat and there is a large choice of Kesari bhat varying from place to place.It might be cooked with pineapple, banana, mango, coconut ,or rice.

     You know whenever I talk about Kesari, it reminds me of my college days.My graduation and post graduation period,filled with both good and bad memories,was spent in a hostel.And hostel life is not at all good for an introvert like me.I missed badly my home,my family,my pals….

     The food they served us in the hostel was not that bad.But still I missed my mom’s delicious food. Initially I didn’t like their typical South Indian main course menu (but it changed with time,and now I’m a big fan of South Indian food).So I used to skip meals and the snacks​ served in the evening with tea were only my life line then.And among those snacks ,the sweet, Kesari was my favorite.The orange colored big square pieces looked so tempting….The only thing that stopped me from having another piece was the fact that  they used to add artificial colors.

     But homemade​ Kesari is always a hit as they are more healthier,as we can avoid artificial colors and this time I tried to make it a bit more healthy by adding pineapple chunks to it.

     My mom makes Kesari as prasadam (it’s the food offered to the Gods during pooja).I have brought slight changes to her recipe.So let’s take a look at the ingredients required.

Ingredients–

                            Main ingredients

• 1 cup rava/semolina
• 1 cup pineapple chunks
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp cashew
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• A few saffron strands dissolved in 2-3 tbsp of milk
• 2 cardamoms powdered
• 1/4 cup ghee ( original recipe calls for 1/2 cup ghee, which I think is too much)

Method-

1. Do not fret at the last moment, before you start, have all your ingredients ready and handy.
2. Soak saffron strands in warm milk for 10′.             Saffron soaked in milk
3. Heat ghee in a non stick pan,fry cashew nuts and raisins separately and set aside.
4. Now in the same ghee add the semolina and roast on low flame, till it gives out a nice aroma.
5. In the meantime​,in another pan bring, 2cups of water and 1 cup of milk to boil.
6. When the semolina is roasted well,add the boiling milk and water mixture to it carefully as the mixture can splutter.Mix well and add saffron soaked in milk to it.
7. Add sugar and again mix well.
8. Keep stirring the mixture to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, till the mixture come together and the ghee starts to separate.
9. Add the roasted nuts, raisins, pineapple chunks and cardamom powder.Mix it well.
10. Add 1tsp of ghee to the mix, again give it a good mix.
11. Cover the pan and cook the mix for 2′ at low flame.
12. Ready to serve.

Pictorial presentation-

                             Fry cashew nuts

                                Fry raisins

Roast semolina in ghee till fragrant 

In the meantime bring milk and water mixture to a boil

                          Roasted semolina

Add the boiling milk and water mixture to it,also add saffron soaked in milk and mix well

Add sugar and mix well

Keep stirring till the mixture comes together and the ghee starts to separate

Add roasted nuts ,raisins , pineapple chunks and cardamom powder and mix well

Add 1tsp ghee, mix well ,cover and cook the mix for 2′ at low heat

                          Ready to serve😋
     This dish is worth a try, friends and I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this wonderful Pineapple Kesari.You can also store it in refrigerator and whenever you wish to have it, just reheat it in a non stick pan along with a little amount of ghee for 1′ or till it becomes nonsticky and glossy and serve it.

                         Happy cooking 😃