pineapple kesari recipe with step by step photos – delicious south indian sweet made with sooji (cream of wheat) and pineapple.
halwa or kesari which is a pudding like dessert made from sooji (rava) is very popular in india during any festive occasions. in north india, sooji halwa is often made during religious occasions. whereas in south india, rava kesari is made. there are a few versions of kesari like
i had made pineapple kesari on basant panchami (spring festival). usually we prepare a yellow colored sweet dish. mostly its sweet saffron rice. but this time i made this yellow colored pineapple kesari. the color yellow signifies the color of spring. we also do a pooja of goddess saraswati on this day. goddess saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, learning, wisdom, art and creativity.
kesari or halwa is one sweet which is quick as well as easy to prepare. it does not take much time too.
pineapple kesari bath is best served hot or warm. if you like a sweet breakfast, you can also make kesari for breakfast. you can also serve it as a dessert after your meal. since ghee is added, i would suggest to serve it hot or warm. otherwise the ghee solidifies and you do get a grainy texture from the ghee in the kesari. in this case, just warm the kesari in microwave before serving.
if you are looking for more halwa recipes then do check:
pineapple kesari recipe below:
pineapple kesari recipe
ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
- ½ cup unroasted rava (sooji or cream of wheat) or 120 grams unroasted rava
- ½ cup sugar or add as required
- 1.5 cups water
- 4 tablespoon ghee
- 12 to 15 cashews (kaju)
- 1 tablespoon raisins (kishmish)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (choti elaichi powder) Or 2 to 3 green cardamoms crushed in a mortar-pestle
- ¾ cup chopped pineapple Or 3 to 4 pineapple slices cut in ½ inch cubes
- 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped pineapple for garnish (optional)
- 1 to 2 drops of natural food color (optional) Or 10 to 12 strands of saffron (optional)
- 1 to 2 drops of pineapple essence (optional)
how to make pineapple kesari recipe
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first chop the pineapple in small cubes and keep aside. keep aside.
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in a pan or sauce pan, take the 3/4 cup chopped pineapple, 1.5 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.
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add one or two drops of the natural yellow color extract. you can also add about 10 to 12 strands of saffron to get a yellow color. you can also add pineapple essence for a dominant pineapple flavor.
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stir well and keep this pan on the stove top and bring to a boil. while simmering, do stir so that the sugar dissolves.
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meanwhile, in another pan or kadai take 4 tbsp ghee and heat it.
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then add 12 to 15 cashews.
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stir and add rava/sooji. stir very well. then add 1/4 tsp cardamom powder and stir.
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stir & saute the rava till the cashews turn a light golden and you see ghee releasing from the sides. takes about 4 to 5 minutes on a low flame. keep on stirring, so the rava does not get browned.
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by this time, the pineapple + water mixture would also begin to boil.
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pour the pineapple mixture to the pan with the roasted sooji.
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stir quickly and briskly so that lumps are not formed.
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simmer on a low flame and allow the sooji to absorb the water.
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add raisins. stir well.
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in just about 4 minutes, the rava will soften up and the pineapple kesari is done. you should not see any creamish specks on the kesari. this means that the rava has not cooked properly.
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serve pineapple kesari hot as it is or garnished with some pineapple cubes.
recipe notes
- the recipe can be doubled.
- you can also use tinned pineapple slices. but while using tinned pineapple slices, no need to boil them in water. just add them directly.
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how to make pineapple kesari recipe:
1. first chop the pineapple in small cubes and keep aside. from 4 pineapple slices, i got ¾ cup chopped pineapple cubes. keep aside.
2. in a pan or sauce pan, take the ¾ cup chopped pineapple, 1.5 cups water and ½ cup sugar.
3. usually color is added to pineapple kesari. since i don’t use any synthetic colors in food, for the first time i have used natural color to give yellow color to the kesari. i used a natural yellow color extract. you can also add about 10 to 12 strands of saffron/kesar to get a yellow color.
4. add a drop of the color if using, or add crushed saffron strands. you can also add pineapple essence to give a dominant pineapple flavor.
5. stir and keep this pan on the stove top and bring to a boil. stir this mixture while heating up so that the sugar dissolves.
6. meanwhile, in pan or kadai take 4 tbsp ghee and heat it.
7. then add 12 to 15 cashews/kaju.
8. stir and add ½ cup rava/sooji/cream of wheat. here i used the fine variety of sooji.
9. stir very well.
10. then add ¼ tsp cardamom powder and stir.
11. stir and saute the rava till the cashews turn a light golden and you see ghee releasing from the sides. takes about 4 to 5 minutes on a low flame. keep on stirring, so the rava does not get browned.
12. by this time, the pineapple + water mixture would also begin to boil.
13. pour the pineapple mixture to the pan with the roasted sooji. be careful as the mixture splutters.
14. stir quickly and briskly so that lumps are not formed.
15. simmer on a low flame and allow the sooji to absorb the water.
16. add raisins.
17. stir well.
18. in just about 4 minutes, the rava will soften up and the pineapple kesari is done. you should not see any creamish specks on the pineapple kesari. this means that the rava has not cooked properly. if you want to slice pineapple 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. press with a spatula to even. once warm slice them or unmold them.
19. garnish with a few pineapple cubes and serve pineapple kesari hot or warm. for more rava recipes, you can check this collection of 33 rava recipes.
Hi Dassana,
I plan to make to make this recipe for Navratri. Could you please suggest if i can use a little bit of turmeric along with saffron strands in the sugar syrup to get the perfect yellow colour ? I won’t be using any pineapple essence.
ritu, you can use a bit of turmeric. usually in the fasting practices of western and north india, turmeric is not allowed, but in south india, turmeric is allowed during fasting. yes you can skip pineapple essence.
Thank you 🙂 . I purchased a natural yellow food colour. So I will the skip the turmeric.
welcome ritu. wish you a happy navratri.
Hi ,
Can we use pineapple juice instead
you can use pineapple juice.
Hello mam..
I am big fan of urs recipes… Anything I am going to make first ,I read your recipe… Actually I want to ask a question. I tasted pineapple halwa at a marriage first time but in that pineapple tastes like we did in gajar halwa (grated ) and you took pineapple cubes. Please help me I am desperate to try pineapple halwa… Thanks
thanks aakanksha. the pineapple halwa which you had is not this halwa. it must have been made the way gajar halwa is made. this halwa is a variation of sooji halwa or rava kesari where pineapple is added. you can check this recipe of ash gourd halwa and i think pineapple halwa can be made with this recipe – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/ash-gourd-halwa-recipe-kashi-halwa/
Hi,dasanna I just love ur recipes.they are so easily explained I always open up ur website for the recipes n get my desired recipes . thanks a lot.
pleased to know this thankyou so much ayesha 🙂 for your kind and positive words.
Can we use milk along with water?
milk can react with the pineapple and give a bitter taste. so i would suggest to add water only.
Anytime I wana make a veg recipe I follow ds website.It never fails…
Amazing explanation ,nice recipes ,butiful pics…keep doing the good work…thanks.
thanks a lot rasha. happy cooking.
This recipe is excellent…. I was looking it for the past 1 year…. Enjoyed the recipe so much… very tasty…
Also Can any one let me know how to make BALL GRAPES JUICE that is available in shops?
Thank you..
thanks john for the feedback. not sure how the grapes juice is made.
Hi Dassana,
I cannot thank you enough for this recepie. I am generally not good at preparing sweets. But my husband wanted to have this and I very skeptically tried it. But your instructions are so easy and it came out amazingly well. This is first time i am so satisfied with my preparation. Thank you once again 🙂
welcome vidya. glad to know that both of you liked the recipe. do try some more sweets recipes.
Damn easy way to demonstrate the recipe
thanks ashi
Hi Dassana,
My name is Austin from Nigeria. There are no words to describe how wonderful your posts are and further more, you ve really impacted a lot on many people. This i have read from their comments. Your posts are simple, straight to the point and stimulate creativity. Keep doing what are best in doing.
You are the best!
I subscribed to your post but am yet to receive any feedback.
My questions now are on the cashew fudge. Can i used lightly roasted cashew, more available here? How solid can the fudge be and remain after making it? And lastly, how long can this stay in a container seeing there are no preservative added to it?
Lastly, do you happen to sell some of these raw materials like gram flour / spices like Cummins, coriander, fennel, etc? These are hardly available in Nigeria.
I look forward to your candid answers to my questions soon.
Regards,
Austin
thanks a lot austin for your kind words and positive feedback. we don’t supply spices. you will need unroasted cashews. roasted cashews might now work. the fudge stays solid and in the fridge it will stay good for one week to 10 days.