Kesari - A supreme treat from the kitchens of India

This is my Mom's recipe, which has a medium sweetness that makes you relish the dish and go for that extra spoon with lesser guilt ;-) 

The below measurement serves 4-5 (this could be served in small portions because it is a very rich dessert)

Ingredients:

1. Ravai - 100 gms

2. Sugar - 200 gms

3. Ghee - 5 tbsp

4. Cardamom powder - A pinch 

5. Saffron color food coloring - A pinch 

6. Pistachio - 1 tbsp (chopped)

7. Almonds - 1 tbsp chopped

8. Cashew - 1 tbsp chopped 

9. Saffron strands - A few

10. Tutty Fruity - 1tsp (Optional)

11. Raisins - 1 tbsp 

I recommend to do the entire process in medium low flame. 

Method:

1. Heat a tablespoon of Ghee in a pan. 

2. Add the dry fruit and nut(except tutty fruity and saffron) one by one and fry until golden brown. Do not add all nuts all at once, because they do not get roasted at the same time. 

Once they are golden brown, set aside.

2. Bring about 200 gms of water to boil.

3. In the same pan,  With the ghee, which was left over after adding the nuts, add the rava and roast it. 

4. The rava need not change color, but make sure you get a nice aroma of the semolina. by this we prevent the rava granules to stick to each other and form a porridge consistency.

5. Once the rava is roasted, add the boiling water. please be careful here as the steam might come up to the face. the water must be absolutely hot.

6. Stir it continuously and add the Food coloring and the saffron stands

7. Give it a good mix and make sure the rava is cooked completely. this might take about 3-5 minutes. take a little in your hand and press in between your fingers (Make sure the rava is cooled a bit to handle, do not hurt your fingers). there should be no coarse rava granules felt between your fingers. the rava must be absolutely soft. this is so important because once we add the sugar, the rava will stop cooking. it is important to make sure that the rava is absolutely cooked before adding sugar

8. Measure the sugar and have it ready. Add it little by little , while you are still stirring. you can leave a gap of 30 seconds in between each batch of sugar. I added 200 gms sugar in almost six intervals. by doing this, we make sure there are no lumps formed. if all of the sugar is added all at once, there are high chances of the rava to form lumps and we will have a difficult time breaking it.

9. Once all of the sugar is added , add a table spoon of ghee and mix well. keep stirring. Add the cardamom powder. 

10. As we add the sugar, we will see the mixture loosening and then as the rava and sugar incorporates well, the mixture starts to thicken. Once the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, as shown below, it is ready for the next steps.

 11. Add the fried nuts and add around 2 table spoon of Ghee.

12. Mix well. Serve hot/cold/warm :-) 

Garnish with some nuts and saffron strands.

Avial - A perfect healthy and tasty combo.

Ingredients:

1. Vegetables - chopped into wedges - 300 gms. 

2. Curd - 1 1/2 cups - Fresh , absolute thick curd. 

3. Coconut - 1 cup

4. Green chillies - 6 nos 

5. Cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon

6. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

7. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

8. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

9. Salt to taste

10. Hing - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Chop the vegetables into an inch sized wedges. I have used the following green vegetables and starchy vegetables.

please make sure to wash and peel the root vegetables, so that,  no mud/dirt is retained. Rinse them several times, even after peeling the skin, to make sure the vegetables are clean.

Green vegetables

1. Carrot - 1 small

2. Beans - 5 nos

3. cluster beans - 5 nos

4. Broad beans - 3 nos

5. Snake gourd  - 3 inch long piece

6. Pumpkin - 100 gms

Starchy vegetables:

1. Yam - 50 gms
2. Potato - 50 gms
3. Colocasia - 50 gms
4. Green plaintain / Raw Banana - 4 inch long

There are two ways of cooking the vegetables.

Method 1:
2. Steam the vegetables. you can put it in a cooker and cook for two whistles. this is very important. The vegeyables should be steamed and should not be mushy. Every vegetable should retain its shape , texture.


Method 2:
2. Heat coconut oil in a pan. Coconut oil is a must. once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the curry leaves and once it is fried, add the veggies. Add the salt and mix well, cover and cook for two minutes, for the veggies to soak in some flavour. From the kadai,  transfer it to a bowl and pressure cook.


The veggies might leave out some moisture. make sure to drain the veg stock. please do not waste the stock. add some salt and pepper and have it as a refreshment. The vegetables must be completely dry. there should not be any residual stock.

If you follow Method 1:
 3. Allow the veggies to cool.
4. Grind the coconut, chillies, cumin seeds into a smooth paste.
5. Once the veggies are cooled completely, add curd, ground paste and mix well. if the vegetables are not cool, the curd will become runny, spoiling the appeal of the entire dish.
6. Heat coconut oil, once hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and add it to the Avial. Mix well and serve it with rice or Adai.


If you follow Method 2:

3. Allow the steamed veggies to cool completely.
4. Grind the coconut, chillies and cumin seeds into a smooth paste.
5. Once the veggies are cooled, add curd and the ground paste and serve with rice or Adai.