Fruit Kesari

My 268th recipe,"Fruit Kesari", a special South Indian dessert. I am back to my regular posting schedule after a short break 🙂 Had a wonderful time in LA during the weekend. So decided to treat everyone with a lovely dessert as a back from vacation post 😉

There are a lot of dishes which I love but did not get a chance to eat much while growing up. The main reason was that it was not one of those dishes which my mom made frequently at home. I loved having them in restaurants or other occasions like a marriage. Which is also one of the reasons why these dishes are special. Fruit Kesari (pineapple kesari) is one such dish. I have tasted Fruit Kesari many times at South Indian marriages and it has been one of my favorite desserts for a long time now.

Kesari, as such, is a common South Indian dessert made with rava / sooji / semolina, and frequently served during festivals. I would say that I make kesari atleast once a month. However, it is just the plain version without the addition of any fruits. Since I make it mostly during festivals, I would always be in a hurry and never got the chance to click pics for posting. So this time around, I made sure to make a batch of my special fruit kesari, just for the blog.

Though it may sounds like a quick, easy and simple dessert, it sure does taste delicious. The fresh apple and pineapple chunks added to this fruit kesari give it a nice touch of freshness, tang and texture. The pineapple paste adds a nice depth of flavor which even the finest of fine essence would not be able to provide. All in all, a super delicious and flavorsome dessert that can be prepared in a short time 🙂

Fruit Kesari

Fruit Kesari

Revathi Palani

Fruit Kesari is a quick an easy South Indian dessert made primarily using rava / sooji / semolina and flavored with pineapple puree and other fresh fruits.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Total Time 10 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• ½ Cup Apple (small chunks)
• Pineapple - ½ Cup (small chunks) + ⅓ Cup (chunks)
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Ghee
• 10 Cashew
• 20 Raisin
• 2 Cups Water
• a large pinch Saffron
• ½ Cup Rava | Sooji | Semolina

Instructions

 

• First add the apple chunks and ½ cup of the pineapple chunks to a small mixing bowl. Add about 1 Tbsp of the sugar to the fruits and mix well. Keep it aside.
  
    
• Add the remaining pineapple chunks (⅓ cup) in a mixie/blender and grind to a smooth paste.
  
    
• Heat the ghee in a large pan / kadai and add the cashew and raisins. Once the cashews turn slightly golden and the raisins puff up, remove them from the ghee and keep aside.
  
    
• To the same pan with the remaining ghee, add the water, ground pineapple paste and saffron. Mix well and bring it to a boil.
  
    
  
    
• Once the liquid starts to boil, add the rava and mix well. Ensure that no lumps are formed. Turn the flame to medium.
  
    
• Cook covered for a couple of mins until the rava is fully done. Open the lid, add the remaining sugar. Mix well until combined. Add the apple, pineapple chunks (drain excess liquid) from step 1 and the cashews, raisins from step 3. Mix well and turn off the flame.
  
    
  
    
• Serve hot.
  
    

Notes | FAQ

- I used a pre-roasted rava. If using a rava which is not roasted, first dry roast it in a pan and then use.

- Normally, about 1 ½ Cups of water is sufficient for preparing kesari. However, my rava absorbs more water and hence used 2 Cups of water. Do adjust the quantity of water based on the rava being used.

- Adjust the quantity of sugar based on taste. However with less sugar you will not get a glazed finish.