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
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.
Traditionally Modern Food says
Have tried pineapple kesari love the addition of apples.. I should try for my kid
revifood says
Apple adds a nice texture and flavor to the Kesari Vidya. You sure must give it a try 🙂
Framed Recipes says
Lovely texture there, Revathi. - Sreelatha
revifood says
Thanks Sreelatha 🙂
Juanna says
Look delicious. Can I replace canned pineapple chunks instead of using fresh; fresh pineapples here are either too expensive or not very good.
revifood says
Yes absolutely Juanna. Canned pineapple chunks should work just fine. You can skip the first step though where I mix it with sugar and leave it to soak a bit.