fruit kesari recipe with step by step photos – mix fruit kesari is a rich and delicious south indian pudding made with rava (sooji or cream of wheat), mix fruits, ghee and dry fruits.
sharing one more sweet recipe for diwali. kesari is the south indian version of sooji halwa. there are some variations in making halwa or kesari. this mixed fruit kesari is one of them. i have also shared a few more kesari varieties like:
we have had fruit kesari in south indian weddings and what i like is the fruity flavor that comes in the kesari. use seasonal fruits or whatever you have. avoid citrus fruits and melons though. here i used apple, pear, pineapple, banana and pomegranate.
i have also used less ghee and sugar than what is generally added to kesari. the fruits do contribute their own sweetness to the kesari and thus there is no need to add more sugar. i have used about 1.75 cups of mixed fruits in this recipe.
there is no color added and hence you do not see a bright yellow or orange colored kesari. if you want to add color, then use natural color extracts. kesari is always loved by my folks and even this fruit kesari was much much appreciated.
serve fruit kesari hot or warm or at room temperature. the leftovers can be refrigerated. during the diwali pooja, you can make this kesari as a naivdeyam and offer to the deities. mix fruit kesari can also be served as an after meal dessert. do note that the recipe can be doubled as well as tripled.
if you are looking for more halwa varieties then do check:
Fruit Kesari
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat)
- 1 teaspoon ghee for roasting sooji
- 4 to 5 tablespoon ghee Or 2 tablespoon ghee + 2 tablespoon oil Or 4 tablespoon oil, use a neutral flavored oil
- 12 to 15 cashews
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- ½ cup chopped apple or 1 small apple - chopped
- ½ cup chopped pear or 1 small pear - chopped
- ½ cup chopped pineapple
- ⅓ cup chopped banana
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder Or 3 to 4 green cardamoms - crushed to a powder in mortar-pestle
- 1 pinch saffron strands
- 6 tablespoon sugar or about ⅓ cup sugar
- 1.5 cups water
INSTRUCTIONS
roasting rava
- heat 1 tsp ghee in a thick bottomed kadai or pan.
- add ½ cup fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat). stir very well.
- roast the rava very well stirring often on a low flame.
- roast till the rava become fragrant and look crisp. takes about 5 to 7 minutes on a low flame. switch off the flame.
- remove the rava in a plate and keep aside.
chopping fruits
- now rinse, peel and chop 1 small apple, 1 small pear, 1 small banana ( i used elaichi banana) and 2 to 3 pineapple slices. remove the pomegranate seeds from a small pomegranate. pomegranate is optional.
- you can also use your choice of fruits. mangoes and chickoo (sapota) also tastes good.
making fruit kesari
- heat 4 to 5 tbsp ghee in the same pan. add 12 to 15 cashews.
- fry the cashews in ghee till golden. then remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
- next add 1 tbsp raisins. as soon as you add the raisins they will start to swell up.
- stir and fry the raisins till they swell and become plump. remove and keep aside.
- next add the chopped mixed fruits. stir very well.
- saute the fruits on a low to medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
- add ½ tsp cardamom powder and a generous pinch of saffron strands. stir.
- now add 6 tbsp sugar or about ⅓ cup sugar. you can add sugar as per your taste.
- add 1.5 cups water. stir very well.
- bring this mixture to a vigorous boil on a medium flame.
- now lower the flame and add the ghee roasted rava. you can also add the rava in parts.
- as soon as you add the rava, quickly stir and mix very well. there should be no lumps in the halwa.
- add the fried cashews and raisins. reserve a few for garnish. allow for the water to be absorbed by the rava.
- do stir at intervals. the rava will soften up. you should not see any whitish or creamish tiny specks on the rava. this means that the rava is not cooked well.
- in the below pic, the fruit kesari is done and ready to be served.
- if you want to slice like barfi or serve them like i have done, then pour the hot mixture in a tray or in small to medium tart moulds or small bowls. press with a spatula to even. once warm, slice them or unmold them.
- serve fruit kesari garnished with the fried cashews and raisins.
NUTRITION INFO (approximate values)
roasting rava to make fruit kesari
1. heat 1 tsp ghee in a thick bottomed kadai or pan.
2. add ½ cup fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat).
3. stir very well.
4. roast the rava very well stirring often on a low flame.
5. roast till the rava become fragrant and look crisp. takes about 5 to 7 minutes on a low flame. switch off the flame.
6. remove the rava in a plate and keep aside.
7. now rinse, peel and chop 1 small apple, 1 small pear, 1 small banana (i used elaichi banana) and 2 to 3 pineapple slices. remove the pomegranate seeds from a small pomegranate. pomegranate is optional. you can also use your choice of fruits. mangoes and chickoo (sapota) also tastes good.
making fruit kesari
8. heat 4 to 5 tbsp ghee in the same pan. add 12 to 15 cashews. you can also add 2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp oil or 4 tbsp oil (use a neutral flavored oil).
9. fry the cashews in ghee till golden. then remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
10. next add 1 tbsp raisins.
11. as soon as you add the raisins, they will start to swell up.
12. stir and fry the raisins till they swell and become plump. remove and keep aside.
13. next add the chopped mixed fruits.
14. stir very well.
15. saute the fruits on a low to medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
16. add ½ tsp cardamom powder and a generous pinch of saffron strands. stir.
17. now add 6 tbsp sugar or about ⅓ cup sugar. you can add sugar as per your taste.
18. add 1.5 cups water.
19. stir very well.
20. bring this mixture to a vigorous boil on a medium flame.
21. now lower the flame and add the ghee roasted rava. you can also add the rava in parts.
22. as soon as you add the rava, quickly stir and mix very well. there should be no lumps in the halwa.
23. add the fried cashews and raisins. reserve a few for garnish. allow for the water to be absorbed by the rava.
24. do stir at intervals. the rava will soften up. you should not see any whitish or creamish tiny specks on the rava. this means that the rava is not cooked well.
25. here the fruit kesari is done and ready to be served. if you want to slice fruit kesari like barfi or serve them like i have done, then pour the hot mixture in a tray or in small to medium tart moulds or small bowls. press with a spatula to even. once warm, slice them or unmold them.
26. serve fruit kesari garnished with the reserved fried cashews and raisins.
Thank you very much for wonderful recepeies.
you are welcome sridevi 🙂
Love this natural fruit kesari.It got the natural color as well..wonderful recipe dassana.
thankyou sathya 🙂
Hi dear…. Made fruit kesari as a prasad for God…. Turned out to be awesome ?…. Thanx again for one more superb recipe….. May I please request you to post the recipe for cheese fondue???
Wish you & your family a very very happy diwali and a fun filled prosperous new year……
welcome niki and thankyou for your kind and honest words 🙂 wish you also a happy diwali.
2. When ever I do kesari I get lumps after frying adding ghee any suggestion for this
3.i am a great fan of ur site I have tried many items and everything came out perfect
add the rava in parts an stir after adding each part. or add the rava gradually with your left hand all at once and stir with your right hand while adding the rava. the rava has to be quickly and well stirred after adding.
thank you meena.
I have a doubt my elders say if we add sugar in water first then sooji will not cook.first in hot water sooji should be cooked and then sugar is added
the sooji gets cooked whether you add sugar in water or you add sugar in sooji. they might be saying like this as the sugar syrup should not come to a consistency like half string etc. then the sooji won’t cook for sure. but we do not bring the sugar to any thread consistency while making the syrup. so the sooji gets cooked nicely.
Hello, very good recipe this is.
I have one question about papdi recipe you posted on 5th Nov. I made these papdis with ghee as moyan. Look wise & taste wise it was good but those were not khasta/crunchy like professionals one. Can you tell me what will be the reason?? How can i make them khasta?
Anupam
those methi papdis are not khasta. they are just crisp. the khasta texture that we see in mathris or kachoris is not there in the methi pooris, as we have just mixed everything and kneaded the douugh. to get the khasta texture, you have to mix or rub ghee with the flour first and get a bread crumb like consistency. then hold the flour+ghee mixture in your fist and a lump will form. at this stage, add the spices, methi etc. add very little water and knead to a firm dough. the dough should not be soft. otherwise there will be air bubbles on the papdi when you fry and they will become soft also.
you can have a look at this papdi recipe. they had some khasta or flaky texture in them. recipe here – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/papdi-recipe-fried-papdi-baked-papdi/
One small request can u please post recipe of kaikari mandi whenever possible thnx a lot!
noted down the recipe request 🙂
I dont have melon seeds inorder to make sahi panner can i skip it or is there another substitution for those seeds
riya, just skip the melon seeds. no need to add.