Rava (Semolina) Kesari/ Sheera

   Rava Kesari is another sweet which can be made quickly and easily at home. This sweet is commonly made for several festive occasions and there are several versions of this recipe across India with slight variations. You can increase the quantity of the nuts and reduce the amount of sugar and ghee to appeal to the health conscious folks.

Ingredients: 

1 cup of rava (Semolina)
1 cup of milk
1 1/4 cup of sugar
handful of cashew nuts
10 raisins
3/4 cup of ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp of cardamom powder


Preparation:


1.Add a tbsp of ghee to heavy bottomed vessel and add nuts and raisins. Roast them till they turn golden brown. Be cautious with the raisins and remove before it turns dark.

2.Transfer them to a plate and add the rava to the ghee. Roast them slightly till nice aroma comes.
3.Add boiled milk (warm milk) and 1 cup of warm water to the rava and keep stirring so that there is no lumps. The addition of milk softens the rava and it melts in the mouth.

4.The amount of ghee can be varied from half cup to 3/4th of a cup. Add the ghee and cook in low flame and keep stirring
5.Add the sugar and allow them to dissolve.

5.Transfer the nuts and cardamom powder.  Mix them well. Kesari is ready.

*If needed add kesari (saffron) powder.

Semia payasam (Vermicelli Kheer/Pudding)

Payasam (a.k.a. Kheer) is a traditional Indian sweet dish. I made this recently for my fathers birthday and it turned out well. So I decided to share it with my dear readers today. As always, I welcome your feedback and comments.

Ingredients: 

1 cup of semia
3-4 cups of milk
3/4 cup of sugar
handful of cashew nuts
10 raisins 
pinch of saffron
2 tbsp of ghee 


Preparation:


1.Add ghee to heavy bottomed vessel and add nuts and raisins. Roast them till they turn golden brown. Be careful with raisins, remove before it turns dark.

2.Transfer them to a plate and add the semia to the ghee. Roast them slightly till nice aroma comes.

3.Add boiled milk (warm milk) to the semia. Keep stirring till the semia is cooked.

3.Now add the sugar and allow them to dissolve.

4.Transfer the nuts and saffron. Mix them well. Semia payasam is ready.

Iyengar style more kuzhambu/Poosnikai more kuzhambu

   Recently, I made this Iyengar style more (buttermilk) kuzhambu. My mom is visiting us for a few months and is contributing in many ways to enhance my recipes. This is one of the several recipes that I will post in the coming days ahead. I did not have curry leaves readily available, but adding them will make a huge difference in the flavor.

Serves up to 4 people
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

300 grams of Ash Gourd (winter melon/poosinikai)
1 cup of beaten yogurt 
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of red chilly powder
1 tbsp of oil
salt as required


Grinding:

3 tbsp of grated coconut
1 tsp of Bengal gram dhal
1/4 tsp of fenugreek
1 tbsp of toor dhal
1/4 cup of water
3 green chillies





Seasoning:

1/2 tsp of mustard
1 red chilly
5 curry leaves
1 tsp of oil
pinch of asafoetida 




Preparation:

1.Soak toor dhal for 1 hour. Heat oil in the pan, add  ash gourd, turmeric, salt and red chilly powder. Saute for 5 minutes and add some water. Close the lid till the pumpkin is cooked.

2.While the ash gourd is cooking, dry roast fenugreek seeds and Bengal gram dhal, till they turn golden brown. 

3.Grind them together with the items mentioned in grinding together in to a paste. 

3.Add the ground mix to the ash gourd and beaten yogurt. Cook in simmer flame, bring it to boil. Heat oil in the pan, add the seasoning and transfer to the more kuzhambu. Serve with rice.