Rava Kesari with Jaggery

Rava kesari has always been my favourite Indian sweet/dessert. However, it puts me off when the kesari comes in an extremely artificial orange colour. And then one day one of my aunty made rava kesari using brown sugar and it tasted fantastic! So, I'm trying to replicate my aunt's kesari, but instead of brown sugar I'm using jaggery.

Before staring on the kesari, boil some water and keep aside.

Dissolve the powdered jaggery with some boiling water and strain for impurities, if any.

 

In a pan heat some ghee and roast the chopped cashew nuts till light brown. Remove the cashew nuts once they are done and go on to roast the raisins till they plump up. Remove the raisins and keep aside. 

 

In the same pan, add in the semolina and roast for a about a minute till its nice and fragrant. 

 

Stir in the jaggery and add some of the boiled water.

 

Lastly, add the roasted cashew nuts, raisins and powdered cardamom.

Keep stirring till the kesari leaves the side of the pan.

Remove the kesari mixture from heat and pour it into a dish lightly greased with ghee. Let the kesari cool for about 15-30 minutes. Cut and serve. You may skip this step and just scoop the kesari mixture into individual dessert bowls and serve hot.

 

RAVA KESARI WITH JAGGERY

+PRINT RECIPE HERE 
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup semolina

1 cup powdered jaggery (dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water)

2 1/2 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp cashew nuts, roughly chopped

1 tsp raisins 

1/4 tsp powdered cardamom

2 cups hot water

METHOD:

1) Boil about 3 cups of water and keep aside.

2) In a bowl, place the powdered jaggery and add to it 1/2 cup of the boiled water. Once the jaggery has dissolved, strain for impurities if any.

3) In a pan, melt 2 1/2 tbsp ghee and roast the chopped cashew nuts and raisins separately and keep aside.

4) In the same pan, with the remainder of ghee, roast the semolina for about a minute till fragrant, in medium low heat

5) To the semolina, add the dissolved jaggery and water. Mix well.

6) Add the roasted cashew nuts, raisins and powdered cardamom.

7) Keep stirring for about 3 minutes till the kesari leaves the side of the pan.

8) Once the kesari comes together, remove from heat and pour it into a dish lightly greased with ghee and let it cool for 15-30 minutes. Once the kesari has cooled, cut and serve.

 * You may skip this step and just scoop the kesari mixture into individual dessert bowls and serve hot.