milk kesari recipe with step by step photos – easy to prepare delicious kesari recipe or what we call sooji halwa with milk.
during poojas and on festive ocassions, i always end up making kesari or sooji halwa as its very easy to make and takes less time than other indian sweets. also one cannot go much wrong while making a kesari or halwa.
the chances of having disasters or failures are more when one prepares complicated indian sweets for the first time. a first timer can easily make kesari or halwa as the method is simple and not difficult. few kesari recipes variations posted on the blog which can be easily made are:
as the name suggests, this version of rava kesari is made with milk and not water. so it is more rich. the recipe serves 5 to 6 servings. you can easily halve the ingredients proportionally for a serving of 2 to 3.
the leftovers also stay well in the fridge for a couple of days. just warm the kesari in microwave before serving.
if you are looking for more sweets recipes then you may like
Milk Kesari
INGREDIENTS FOR Milk Kesari
- 1 cup fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat) or 240 grams fine rava
- 3 cups milk or 750 ml milk
- 8 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 12 to 15 strands of saffron
- 1 to 2 drops of orange natural color extract (optional)
- 18 to 20 cashews
- 2 tablespoon raisins
HOW TO MAKE Milk Kesari
- take 3 cups milk in a thick bottomed pan.
- then add 1 cup sugar. you can add sugar as per your taste.
- stir and add 12 to 15 saffron strands and 1 to 2 drops of orange or yellow color extract. if you don't have any natural color then skip it.
- keep the milk on stove top and allow it come to a boil on a low to medium flame. do stir at intervals when the milk is simmering.
- whilst when the milk is getting heated up, in another pan heat 8 tbsp ghee.
- lower the flame and first add 15 to 20 cashews.
- then add 1 cup fine rava/sooji/cream of wheat (about 240 grams).
- stir very well.
- then add 1/2 tsp cardamom powder.
- on a low flame, roast the rava often till you you see some crispness in them and they getting nicely fragrant. about 6 to 7 minutes on a low to medium flame. a tip is when the cashews get light golden or golden and you see ghee releasing from the sides, then the rava is done. keep on stirring often, so the rava does not get browned and is roasted evenly.
- then add 2 tbsp raisins. stir.
- by now the milk would also have started boiling.
- pour the hot boiling milk into the roasted rava.
- stir quickly and continuously so that no lumps are formed. be careful as the mixture splutters too. you will see the rava will absorb the milk and the whole mixture will thicken.
- just level everything with a spoon or spatula and allow to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes on a low flame. you can also cover and cook milk kesari. you should not see any creamish specks in the rava. this means that the rava is not cooked well.
- serve milk kesari hot or warm.
how to make milk kesari recipe
1. take 3 cups milk in a thick bottomed pan.
2. then add 1 cup sugar. you can also add sugar as per your taste.
3. stir and add 12 to 15 saffron strands and 1 to 2 drops of orange or yellow color extract. here i used natural orange color extract. if you don’t have any natural color then skip it.
4. keep the milk on stove top and allow it come to a boil on a low to medium flame. stir first so that the sugar dissolves. then later stir at intervals when the milk is simmering, so that the milk does not get scorched from the bottom.
5. when the milk is getting heated up, in another pan heat 8 tbsp ghee.
6. lower the flame and first add 15 to 20 cashews.
7. then add 1 cup fine rava/sooji/cream of wheat (about 240 grams).
8. stir very well.
9. then add ½ tsp cardamom powder or crushed cardamom.
10. on a low flame, roast the rava often till you you see some crispness in them and they getting nicely fragrant. about 6 to 7 minutes on a low to medium flame. a tip is when the cashews get light golden or golden and you see ghee releasing from the sides, then the rava is done. keep on stirring often, so the rava does not get browned and is roasted evenly.
11. then add 2 tbsp raisins. stir.
12. by now the milk would also have started boiling.
13. pour the hot boiling milk to the roasted rava. be careful while adding the hot milk as the mixture splutters too.
14. once you pour all the milk, then stir quickly and continuously so that no lumps are formed.
15. you will see the rava will absorb the milk and the whole mixture will thicken.
16. just level everything with a spoon or spatula and allow to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes on a low flame. you can also cover and cook milk kesari.
17. here the milk kesari is done and is ready to be served. you should not see any creamish specks in the rava. this means that the rava is not cooked well.
18. serve milk kesari hot or warm.
I tried making this dish a few times before, but it never came as good. Thank you for the step by step instructions. The tips (pouring the milk when bubbling, and mixing the cashews with rava right in the beginning) are the key for awesome dish. Thank you!
Welcome Raghu. Glad to know that the tips helped you in making a good milk kesari recipe.
I didn’t use any saffron or food colors as I don’t have those and didn’t use any measuring cups but I followed ur ratios with normal bowls..but finally it was aweee…mouth watering
thanks prasanna for your positive feedback. nice to know that milk kesari recipe worked very well for you.
Done today really it’s awee…
Mam ur awsm cook .i like ur way of presentation .mam iwould like to knw that whether ican add turmuric for yellow colour i have no any natural colour what i want to do
thanks divya. you can add turmeric for a natural yellow color. but just add one or two to three pinches, otherwise the kesari will get the aroma of turmeric.
Hi I like ur recipes, I would like to suggest u plz try Sindhi Koki it’s delicious,all will loved it
Thanks
thankyou kanchan surely would try sindhi koki and you are welcome.
Hi dassana love your recipes thank you should we use boiled milk
yes you can use boiled milk.
Hi… I do not have saffron… Does that matter too much?
Also I do not have any measuring cup. Can I use any bowl and keep ratio of milk to sugar as 3:1?
you can skip the saffron. generally kesari has a orange or yellow color. so if you have natural food colors, you can add them. yes the bowl proportion will work.
Thanku so much..
I am a vivid follower of ur website…
All if wt I hv tried till now turned out superb! All the best n keep up the gud wrk mam!
thanks nishtha.
I neither have any colour nor saffron . Should I make it? That is why I am apprehensive.
if you don’t add then also its fine. it will be like sooji halwa. you can make this recipe without saffron or any food colors.
I love ur website.I am big fan of u.you are awesome
thanks gazal for your kind words
I love your website and I am a big fan of you 🙂 I have just started cooking and I am totally dependent on your blog for everything. I have tried many dishes and you inspire we to cook keep up the good work.. you are awesome 🙂
thanks ashii for sharing positive feedback and for your kind words. glad to know this.
I love your site.whenever I need to make any new recipe, firstly I check on this site, if I don’t get than only I move to another.I have tried lots of ur recipes. And none of them fail yet..especially eggless cake with apple sauce. Everyone in our family has enjoyed a lot..my husband does not eat oats in any form..but when I made oats upma..he also enjoyed lot..thanks a ton for such a wonderful site..now cooking is become a cake walk for me
welcome kajal. thanks for sharing your experience and positive feedback on recipes. glad to read your comment.
yep its doing great in my mouth
Very tasty
thanks aarti
Very tasty. ….
thanks nisha
Pl.send recipe Veg. items
mrinmoy, your name is added to recipes email list.
Brilliant.Thankyou
welcome jay