Kesari Bath/Kesari (Tamil Nadu), Sheera (Maharashtra), Sooji ka halwa is a simple easy to prepare sweet dish prepared using rava (semolina), sugar and ghee. This dish is very common as also popular throughout India. This is prepared as offering to God during festivals, served in combination with upma as chow chow bath and as a snack with pakoras and Bajjis (deep fried savory dish).
Time for preparation - 20 minutes
Ingredients
- Rava/sooji/semolina - 1 cup
- Sugar - 3/4 cup
- Ghee - 1/2 cup
- Cashew - 10 cut into pieces
- Raisins - 10-15
- Saffron - few strands
- Cardamom - 4
- Cloves - 2
- water - 2 -3 cups
- Soak saffron in milk/water
- Powder cardamom and cloves using a pestle
- In a thick bottomed wok/kadai roast rava under medium flame with 1/2 spoon ghee, until the smell of rava wafts and rava colour turns pale golden. Keep it aside
- In the same kadai add 2 spoons of ghee and roast cashew till golden followed by raisins. keep them aside.
- Add water to the same wok and let the water boil.
- Add remaining ghee to boiling water
- Mash soaked saffron and add to boiling water
- Add rava slowly little by little and keep stirring the water with a spoon so that no lumps are formed.
- Let rava cook for 5-6 minutes
- Add sugar ,mix well and leave it on the flame for 2 more minutes
- Add cardamom clove powder, mix
- Garnish with roasted cashew and raisins
- Yummy Kesari bath is now ready
- Donot over roast/burn rava while roastig - it will impart burnt smaell
- Always add sugar after rava is cooked
- Never add cardamom to boiling water - aroma will be lost with boiling
- Add cashews in the end to retain their crunchy texture
- Ingredients of Kesari Bath have following benefits
- Ghee is rich in the oil soluble vitamins, A D and E.
- Ghee is rich in K2 and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) – an antioxidant with anti-viral properties if it is sourced from grass fed cows.
- Ghee is rich in medium chain fatty acids which are absorbed directly to the liver (like carbs) and burnt as energy. Athletes can use ghee as a consistent energy source.
- Ghee stimulates the secretion of gastric acid, thus aiding in the digestive process
- Safranal, a volatile oil and Αlfa-crocin, a carotenoid compound found in saffron have have anti-oxidant and anti-depressant properties
- Cardamom-oil reportedly has antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant and tonic properties.
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