Tickling Palates: Pineapple Rava Kesari / Halwa

I simply love the pineapple flavor to bits but you all have to admit with me that getting the skin off to bite into the succulent juicy flesh of the fruit could be very frustrating. The numerous cuts in my hand in the past while engaged in that particular activity has put me off from enjoying this fruit. I have religiously stuck to the tinned ones.

Last Thursday, while on my way to the office I saw a load of pineapples among other fruits being ~~downloaded~~ unloaded in the ‘Pazhamuthirsolai’. Though a part of me wanted to buy the pineapples that looked so fresh, the cuts and pains came back to haunt me and I moved on.

In the evening when I crossed the same shop saw all the pineapples neatly cleaned and packed in sealed zip locks. Hurray!!!. The aroma was just too much to just go past the shop turning a blind eye to them. As my job had been made so easy I bought one and headed home. My kids were so happy upon seeing how succulent the pineapples were. As the next day was first Friday of “Aadi” month I reserved half the fruit to make Kesari for prasadham and we all enjoyed the rest.

Though I wanted to make this kesari in the Microwave, the power went boom on the next day evening and I had to make do with the stove top. I will update this post later with the Microwave version.

Pineapple Rava Kesari / Halwa
You’ll need:

Rava / Sooji	1 cup
Pineapple	1/2 cup
Sugar	2 cups
Water	3 cups
Pineapple essence	2 tsp
Ghee	6 tbsp
Oil	2 tbsp
Cashew nuts	2 tbsp
Yellow food color	1/4 tsp

Method:

Chop the pineapple pieces finely and mix them with 2 tbsp of sugar. Mix well and let this rest for at least an hour.

In a thick bottomed Kadai heat together 2 tbsp of ghee and oil. First add the halved cashew nuts and roast till they turn golden brown over low flame. Now add the pineapple mixture and sauté for a minute or two. Keep the flame at low.

Now add the Rava / Sooji and the yellow food color and keep roasting it till the oil and ghee coats it well. This will take 5 – 7 minutes. In another stove heat the water to boiling hot. Pour the water to the roasting rava from the sides carefully while mixing it with a ladle. Mix well.

Close with a lid and let it cook for another 5 minutes over low flame. Now you will see that the whole mixture has thickened well. Now it is time to add the sugar. Mix well. You shall the mixture slightly turning watery and lumpy. But that’s all right.

Now add the remaining ghee. Mix well and again close with the lid and cook for another 5 – 7 minutes. You will see that Kesari has come together. I took it off the stove when the Kesari was in dropping consistency as that is how we all like it.

After taking off the stove finally add the pineapple essence and mix well. Serve either hot or cold.

If you want to cut them into pieces then cook it for further 5 more minutes till the kesari has become very thick. Add essence before pouring it into a ghee coated plate. Let it cool down completely before you slice them.

Notes:

You can also use tinned pineapples instead of fresh ones.

If using tinned pineapples no need to mix them with sugar and rest them for an hour. Chop and use them directly.

You can also reduce the sugar amount and use the syrup if using tinned pineapples.

Always mix the essence 5-10 minutes after taking off the stove and it has cooled down considerably.

Adding the essence while cooking will give the sweet a bitter taste and you don’t want your efforts wasted.

This is off to MMK: Indian Mithai Mela