Rava Kesari Recipe (Soft, Lump Free) | Cook Click N Devour!!! (2024)

Rava kesari recipe is a traditional south Indian dessert or sweet semolina pudding with sooji, sugar and desi ghee or clarified butter

It is easy to make perfect rava kesari is easy if you follow few tips and this recipe with step by step pictures you will be able to make best ones in just 20 minutes. Sooji halwa, kesari bath and rava kesari are similar desserts from various Indian states with small variations.

For more Indian sweets recipes please check kaju katli, rice kheer, sweet pongal, coconut ladoo.

Sooji kesari is the most common and quick sweet that is prepared in all south Indian homes. We prepare it whenever we need a quick sweet for offering to God, for sudden guests and also festivals.

Given how rava, sugar and ghee are staples in all south Indian kitchens it is no brainer to make rava kesari always 🙂

Today I am sharing my fool proof, easy, tried and tested recipe that will yield you super soft, melt in mouth, delicious, non sticky and fluffy kesari 🙂 Few more variations of this recipe I have shared in the blog are

• Semiya kesari
• Pineapple kesari
• Mango kesari

About Kesari Recipe

Kesari is sweet semolina pudding made very commonly across India for festivals, parties, neivedhiyam and to serve for guests.

It can be made in just 20 minutes as semolina cooks very fast. It is the most sought after Indian sweet given how easy and it is to prepare.

The word kesari actually means king in Sanskrit 🙂 Kesar means saffron color. This sweet is the given this name may be it is the king of sweets? It is indeed a very tasty one, rich and addictive.

Making good kesari is no less than an art. While the recipe it very easy with simple ingredients, it does take some expertise to cook semolina perfectly.

Best rava kesari is fluffy, non sticky, lumps free, soft and melt in mouth. I make kesari very often at home. I make it always without food colour but I wanted to share the authentic looking kesari in blog, so I have added pinch this time alone 🙂

My mom never adds food color, that is how we ate it always and I used to be fascinated with bright orange kesari when I see it elsewhere 🙂

These days when I make this sweet I add few saffron strands for a natural tint and it also adds a lovely flavor.

Next we never make a separate sugar syrup for this recipe. It is completely strange method that I see in few recipes and absolutely unnecessary too.

The best part about kesari recipe is how quick and easy it is to make and let us not complicate it. We always add sugar directly to the cooked rava, cook until it melts and cook further for ghee to ooze out. No south Indian home that I know makes a sugar syrup for kesari 🙂

Rava kesari is often a part of breakfast platter in south India. In Karnataka it is served a chow chow bath- a serving of khara bath and kesari bath.

In north Indian states there is a similar recipe called sooji halwa or sheera which is made with semolina, sugar, ghee and milk. It is also garnished with loads of fried nuts, raisins.

I hope you will try this easy and perfect recipe to make rava kesari and enjoy. It is

Soft, fluffy, melt in mouth

traditional authentic recipe

non sticky and lump free

made in 20 minutes

perfect for sudden guests and poojas.

How To make Rava Kesari Recipe

Roasting Nuts & Sooji

Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a heavy pan. Add 15 cashew nuts and 2 teaspoons raisins.

Fry until cashews turn golden and raisins turn plump. Remove to a plate.

Now heat ghee again in the same pan and add 1/2 cup rava. Use fine sooji also known as Bombay rava.

Start roasting rava in low flame. Roast continuously until rava turns aromatic and changes very slightly in color. Do not let it go brown or dark in color.

Making Sooki kesari.

Roast the rava well then reduce the heat to lowest add 1.5 cups water, slow while stirring the rava continuously.

After adding water add a pinch of red food color if using or few strands of saffron. Also add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder or 3-4 crushed green cardamom pods.

It will take around 7-8 minutes for sooji to absorb all the water and cook thoroughly. Cooked sooji will be fluffy and soft. Now add another 2 tablespoons ghee.

Mix well for ghee to coat the cooked sooji properly.

Now add 3/4 cup sugar. I add 3/4 cup sugar for 1/2 cup sooji as we like sweeter dish. You can also add 1/2 cup sugar for mildly sweet dish or even 1 cup as my mom does, it is very sweet for me though.

After adding sugar, as you mix you will notice the dish becomes thin as the sugar dissolves.

Now add the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee.

Mix well and cook in medium heat for another 4-5 minutes or until ghee is released from the sides.

Finally add the fried nuts and mix. Remove from flame.

Serve rava kesari hot. You can also spread it on a greased plate and cut out into diamonds or use moulds like I did for desired shape.

Serving Suggestions

Kesari tastes excellent when served piping hot. You can serve it as dessert after a lvish meal or as snack.

Usually in south India it is a common practice to serve one sweet and one savory snack in the evening along with coffee.

Kesari-bajji or bonda and coffee is much loved combination 🙂 Few snacks that you can serve with rava kesari are

Medu vada

Masala vada

Onion pakora

Veg pakora.

Tips To Make Best Rava Kesari

Variety of Rava– Always use fine sooji also known as bombay rava for making kesari or upma. It is smaller in size, cooks quickly and very soft.

Roasting rava– To make kesari that is non sticky always roast the rava well. Even if you roasted sooji, roast it in ghee as mentioned in the recipe until sooji turns aromatic and crunchy.

Ratio of water to sooji– This is again a very important point. If you add more water the kesari will be very mushy and less water obviously means sooji will not get cooked thoroughly. Do note that the water quantity varies with the variety of rava used.

To make kesati without lumps make sure to stir the sooji continuously as you add water. While stirring make sure to break any lumps that may form.

Shelf life– Rava kesari stays good for 3 days in refrigerator. Just gently warm with few drops of ghee before serving.

Can I use milk instead of water? Yes but the you cannot store the kesari for more than a day.

More Sooji Recipes

Rava dosa

Easy rava idli

Instant rava vada

Are you making this recipe?I would love to see a snap of your creation too.Do snap a pic and share on Instagram with hashtag#cookclickndevouand please give a star rating ★in the recipe card above. Follow us onPinterest,Instagram,Facebook for more recipes and ideas.

Recipe