Mango Rava Kesari

Mango Rava Kesari or Mango Sheera is an Indian dessert made using semolina or rava (sooji) and fresh mangoes. This is an interesting twist to the classic Rava Kesari which is a popular South-Indian sweet dish.

Rava Kesari is a simple and delicious dessert, commonly served in South-Indian breakfasts. This dessert is made with basic pantry staples like rava, ghee and sugar and is one of the quickest sweet dishes to spin in minutes. The dish gets it’s name as Kesari due to the orange food colour added to the dessert.

This humble dessert is my personal favourite and I relish it piping hot, along with some crispy bajji. I have fond memories of my mom making this sweet for me almost every alternate week. Her Kesari was always simply perfect in terms of taste and texture. Even now, this is our go to dessert for neivadhyam and quick evening snacks.

Over a period of time, there have been some interesting variations to this humble recipe with the most popular one being Pineapple Kesari which is quite common in the wedding breakfasts. This mango kesari is a similar fruit based twist to this classic dish. The addition of saffron or kesar gives it an enhanced taste, colour and flavour and pairs beautifully with the king of fruits. Trust me, this dish tastes divine, and mango lovers must try this without fail.

While this is a simple dessert, but many struggle to get the texture and consistency of this dessert right. Also, one of the most common issues in this dish is formation of lumps. If you follow the below tips and tricks, I can assure you that you would never go wrong, and always get the perfect taste and texture.

• First and foremost is the ratio of ingredients – Rava:Ghee:Water:Sugar must be in the ratio of 1: 0.5 : 3 : 1.75. So if you are using 1 cup rava, you would need roughly 0.5 cup of ghee, 3 cups of water and 1.75 cups of sugar. In this recipe since we are using mangoes which are naturally sweet, so I have used sugar in ratio of 1: 1.5.
• Roast the rava in small amount of ghee till it slighlty changes colour. This gives a fragrant kesari with grainy texture.
• Water must be boiling hot when you add to rava.
• It is important to gradually add the water, while constantly stirring simultaneously to avoid lumps. Do not add all the water at once.
• Add the sugar only when rava is fully cooked. Again there are chances of lumps when sugar is added, so mix rigorously soon after adding sugar.
• Make sure to use mango pulp made from a mango which does not have fibrous threads. Alphonso mangoes work great for this recipe.
• Add ghee in small portions once the sugar is incorporated.
• Make sure to turn off the flame while the kesari is still in slightly pouring consistency. Transfer to a dish and keep it covered. The consistency would automatically thicken in few minutes. If you cook for too long, the kesari would become dense and dry.

Mango Rava Kesari tastes best when served hot. Here is a pro tip – if your kesari has become cold or you have refrigerated it, heat it in the microwave for a minute, and it shall be back to perfect consistency again. Kesari is served best when it is scooped in a round shape either using a ladle or ice-cream scooper. You can also garnish pistachio for this Mango Kesari as it pairs well with saffron and mangoes.

Mango Rava Kesari | Mango Sheera

Mango Rava Kesari or Mango Sheera is a delicious Indian dessert made using semolina, fresh mangoes, ghee and sugar.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian, South-Indian

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup Semolina or Rava or Sooji
• ½ cup Fresh Mango Puree
• ¼ cup + 2-3 tablespoons Ghee
• Saffron 1 pinch
• 3 cups Boiling Hot Water
• 10 Cashewnut
• Pistachio for garnishing

Instructions

 

• Soak saffron strands in hot water for 5-10 minutes
  
• Heat a heavy bottom kadai and add 2 to 3 tablespoon ghee. Roast cashewnuts in ghee and keep aside
  
• In the remaining ghee, add rava or semolina and roast on low flame till colour changes to pink
  
• Now, add hot water to rava gradually, while continuously stirring it. It is is import to stir simultaneously to avoid lumps.
  
• Add saffron water to rava and mix well.
  
• Once Rava is cooked, add sugar. Mix well to avoid formation of lumps.
  
• Next add the mango pulp or puree and cook for a minute.
  
• Finally, add ghee gradually while incorporating the ghee into kesari.
  
• Add roasted cashewnuts and mix. Kesari is ready when it starts coming together. Turn off the flame while kesari is still in slightly loose consistency as it thickens when cooled.
  
• Garnish with pistachio and serve hot.
  

Video

Notes

• It is important to roast the rava slightly in ghee to make it aromatic, and also to get a good grainy texture.
• Make sure to not add all the hot water at once. Keep stirring while gradually adding water. This will avoid formation of lumps.
• Be careful after adding sugar as well. Mix thoroughly to avoid lumps.
• While fresh mango puree works best, you can also use store bought puree
• Do not cook kesari till it becomes too thick, as kesari would become dry and hard after cooling.
• You may heat the kesari in microwave for a minute if it has become cold. Hot kesari tastes best as the ghee oozes from kesari making it delactable.

Keyword Dessert, Halwa, Kesari, Mango, Mango dessert, Mango Rava Kesari, Mango Sheera, Rava Kesari, Sooji ka halwa

If you liked this recipe or have tried it, please share your feedback and suggestions below.