Paal Kesari/Milk & Semolina Pudding

Paal kesari is a tasty modification of kesari- the south Indian semolina pudding. My mom makes kesari often as my father likes it. But I m not a big fan. Now M & A are big fans of kesari and any modifications to kesari is a welcome change in their court. I do make kesari and gajar ka halwa now and then during winter because they taste delish when eaten warm and sure helps subtle the winter cravings.
I use fine variety of semolina and yellow food color just to differentiate them a bit from the regular kesari. You can use the regular variety of semolina/rava too.

Ingredients:

Rava/Sooji/Semolina-1/2 cup

Sugar-1 cup

Milk-2 cups

Cardamom-4 pods, crushed to fine powder

Ghee- 3 tbsp

Cashews-5, broken

Raisins-10

How It Happened:

1. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a pan, add the cashews and raisins and fry til golden brown. Then remove them and transfer to a plate.

2. With the remaining ghee in the same pan, add the rava and fry until they slightly change the color in simmer.

3. Now add 1 cup of milk slowly to the rava and mix well. Take care as you add milk, the rava may form lumps. Keep stirring as you break the lumps using the back of your ladle.

4. Add the remaining milk and cook covered in simmer for 10 minutes/ until the rava is completely cooked.

5. Add the sugar and mix well. Now the mixture will turn runny again. Keep cooking in medium flame for 2 minutes.

6.  When the mixture starts to thicken, add ghee little by little and keep mixing until all the ghee is used up. Add food coloring and cardamom powder and mix well.

7.  When it reaches the desired consistency, switch off the flame and garnish with fried cashews and raisins.

Notes:

* Do not reduce the ghee else they will be sticky and will not have the flavors working.

* You can use saffron if you want.

* Use ant flavorings as per your taste. The cardamom and milk works best for me.

* Do not fry the rava so much that it turns to brown color.

* Usually I prefer this kesari to have a bit loose/runny consistency than the regular kesari. But you can have it a little long to make pieces out of it. Also remember the kesari thickens after cooking. So switch off the flame 2 minutes before it reaches your desired consistency so that as it cools you will get the right texture and consistency you are looking for.