Dry fruit Kesari

 A sweet dish that could be made in a jiffy in around 15 to 20 mins using dry fruits and rawa. This is similar to Rawa Kesari with extra ingredient of dry fruits added to it. 

Ingredients:

Dates - 6 nos

Raisins - 12 nos

Almonds - 12 nos

Cashew nuts - 12 nos

Pista - 12 nos

Rawa - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 4 tbsp

Ghee - 4 tbsp

Water - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:    

Chop the dates finely. Sliver 6 of the  almonds, 6 cashew nuts and pista. Fry these along with raisins in a tbsp of ghee in low flame. 

Stir fry rawa in another tbsp of ghee in low flame till the colour changes slightly golden. Remove from flame and set it aside to cool. 

In a hard bottom pan add water and bring it to boil once it starts boiling add sugar, cardamom powder and bring it boil till the sugar dissolves. Add the fried rawa to it and mix it well. Ensure it does not form lumps. Once it starts bubbbling add the dry fruits to it and mix well. 

Fry the remaining cashew in ghee and once removed from flame add the remaining almonds (sliver them too) and add it to the kesari. 

Rawa Payasam

 One of the easiest payasams that can be made for any festivals or functions or when there are guests at home is this rawa payasam which is made using Cheeroti rawa or regular rawa. 

Ingredients

Rawa - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Ghee -1/4 cup

Milk - 2 cups

Cashew nuts - 8 to 12

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Water -  1 1/2 cup

Method:

In a hard bottom pan add 1/2 of the given quantity of ghee and add rawa to it and fry till all the rawa is coated with ghee. Add water to the rawa and cook it till it becomes thick. Ensure that it does not form lumps. Add sugar and stir well. Mix for 5 mins. Add the milk and bring it to a boil. Remove from flame. Add cardamom powder. Broke the cashew nuts and add fry it in the remaining ghee and add it to the payasam. 

Serve hot or chilled. If it is chilled, add slightly warm milk to it as it would have become more thicker in consistency. 

OPOS Rawa Kesari

I have already posted Rawa Kesari in traditional method. After learning the OPOS method, I tried it so many times, and my hard anodised cooker never failed to give me a hand.

Ingredients:
Double roasted rawa - 1 cup

Ghee - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 4 cups
Food colour - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cashew Nuts - 10 nos

Method:
Mix water, sugar, 2 tbsp ghee and food colour in a pressure cooker and cook for 1 whistle. Lift weight to release steam. Add the double roasted rawa. Mix well, close the cooker and put the weight  again and close for 20 mins. Before serving add the remaining ghee and roasted cashew nuts.

Recipe for Rawa Kesari in traditional method. 

Rawa Kesari - A very easy to make sweet.

How I missed to post this recipe which I make quite often at home is a million dollar mystery. This is one sweet which is very easy to make and always turns out very good. It can be made for Poojas, guests in a jiffy. This Rawa Kesari can be made both with and without food colour. It is very easy to easily flop this recipe but once it is mastered any one can make it quite easily. If the rawa is not cooked well, the kesari becomes chewy or turn hard. If less water is used Rawa turns lumps. The knack of making a good rawa kesari lies in the ratio of water, sugar and rawa.

Ingredients:

White Rawa - 1/2 cup
Water - 3 cups
Kesari Colour -2 pinches
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cashews - 5 nos

Method:
In a hard bottom pan fry the rawa well. Let it cool in a plate. Fry the cashew nuts in 1 tbsp of ghee and set them aside. Add another tbsp of ghee to the pan and add the roasted rawa. Roast the rawa again till it emits a roasted smell. Ensure no lumps are formed and spread it again to let it cool. Add 3 cups of water to the pan and add food colour. When the water starts to boil, add the cardamom powder and kesari powder. Reduce the flame and add sugar to it and mix well. When all the sugar dissolves add the roasted rawa and mix thoroughly. Ensure no lumps are formed. Cover the pan and cook in low flame. Add ghee inbetween. When it gets thick add the roasted cashew nuts and the remaining ghee. Mix well and cover the pan. Serve in a cup or spread it in a plate and put pieces.

Rawa Upma using Rawa Mix

Ingredients:
Rawa Mix - 1 cup
Onion - 2 medium sized
Water - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Method:
In a pan heat oil and add the onion. Pour water, add curry leaves and salt. When it boils add the Rawa mix. Mix thoroughly without forming any lumps. Reduce the flame and cover it with a lid. Cook for about 10 mins. Decorate it with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chutney, sambar. But the best side dish is sugar.

Recipe for Rawa Idly using Rawa Mix

Ingredients:
Rawa Idly Mix - 2 cups
Butter milk - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Salt to taste

Method:
In a shallow vessel add the mix, butter milk, water and salt and mix thoroughly without forming any lumps. Keep it aside for about an hour. Pour it into idly moulds and steam for about 10 minutes. Serve hot with coconut chutney or mint chutney or coriander thokku.

Instant Rawa Mix for making different dishes

Ingredients:
Rawa - 1 kg
Mustard seeds - 2 tbsp
Urad Dal - 6 tbsp
Channa Dal - 8 tbsp
Cashew Nut - 24 nos
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red Chillies - 8 nos
Asafodeita - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 6 tbsp
Oil - 4 tbsp

Method:
Fry Rawa in a dry pan and let it cool.

Add ghee and oil to the pan and add mustard seeds when it splutters add Urad dal, channa dal and cashew nuts. When the dals start turning  golden brown in colour add the red chillies. Reduce the flame to medium and add the rawa and fry well. Remove from flame and add asafodeita and mix well. Store in airtight container.

Can be used to make rawa idly, rawa upma or rawa dosa whenever needed.

Recipe for Rawa Idly

Ingredients:

Bombay Rawa - 1 cup

Sour Curd - 1 cup (beat well)

Gram Dal - 2 tbsp (optional)

Oil - 3 tbsp 

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Fruit Salt - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 3 nos finely chopped

Cashew nuts - 8 nos finely chopped

Asafodeita powder - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)

Method:

Dry roast rawa in a pan and let it cool. In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, green chillies, cashew nuts, asafodeita and curry leaves. Add roasted rawa to it and blend well. Remove from flame and let it cool. Add salt, fruit salt and coriander leaves. Soak gram dal for an hour and drain it thoroughly. Add it to the rawa mixture.  Beat 1/2 cup of the curd well and add it to the rawa mixture along with 1 cup of water. Let the whole mixture soak for about 2 to 3 hours. Just before steaming, add the remaining 1/2 cup of curd after beating it thoroughly. Pour it in idly plates and or in cups and steam it for about 8 to 10 mins (if you are using pressure cooker, the steam must not be sticky). 

To make this Rawa Idly more colourful and kids friendly add vegetables like carrot, potatoes, peas etc to it. Carrot and potatotes should be grated or diced to very small pieces.

Recipe for Upma (Semolina Upma)

Upma is one recipe, which is made very fast and very easily. Whenever a fast tiffin for the evening time had to be made, I prefer making this. As far as I know many of the south Indian households add Semolina in their monthly budget.


Ingredients:
Semolina/Sooji/Rawa - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Green Chilly - 2 nos
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Broken Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Asafodeita - 2 pinches
Salt to taste
Curry Leaves - few
Coriander Leaves - chopped 1/4 cup
Water - 2 cups


Method:
Dry roast rawa. Let it cool. In the same pan add 1 tbsp of ghee and roast the rawa again till it is coated well with ghee. Remove from the pan and spread it on a plate.


Add oil and mustard seeds to the hot pan, when the mustard seeds splutters add the urad dal, green chillies, hing, curry leaves and finely chopped ginger. Add water and salt bring it to a boil. When the water boils add the roasted rawa slowly by constantly stirring so that no lumps are formed. Cover the pan and lower the flame and cook till the rawa becomes soft and non sticky. 


Add the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee and remove from fire. Decorate it with finely chopped coriander leaves.


Variations:
Chop 2 medium sized Onions finely and add it while seasoning and when it turns glossy add the water.


Dice vegetables like carrot, beans, potatoes and along with peas and cauliflower florets cook it till they are soft (say half cooked) and add it after the seasoning is done and before the water is added (if you are adding vegetables, instead of 2 cups of water add 3 cups of water). 

Rawa Ladoo|Rawa Laddo

Ingredients:
Bombay Rawa or Cheeroot Rawa - 1 cup (Semolina)
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom Powder - 2 pinch

Method:
In a hard bottom pan add 1/4 cup of ghee and add the rawa and fry it till all the ghee is absorbed fully by the rawa. Add 1/2 cup of water to it and close with a lid for a min. Rawa would have got cooked by this time. Add sugar to it and mix well. Add another cup of ghee to it and when it all turns to a mixture, remove from flame and add cardamom powder. Make small balls of the mixture when warm. 

Rawa Ladoo is ready