Kesar rava sheera |keshar sooji halwa | saffron kesari

kesar rava sheera or keshar sooji halwa  or semolina saffron  halwa  are different names of this aromatic sheera recipe which has saffron (kesar in marathi) along with rava as its main ingredient along with normal sheera ingredients like milk ,dryfruits and sugar

This recipe was in my drafts since a long time but had forgotton to post or my laziness was preventing me from typing the post .

Since ganesh chaturthi is approaching posting this halwa or sheera recipe which can me made as a prasad

'Sheera' is a simple but popular sweet in India. It is known as 'Sooji ka Halwa' in North and 'Kesari' in South India.

in maharashtra sheera is normally made as prasad during satyanarayan pooja in which we add velchi keli (small yellow banana) along with other sheera ingredients

In order to make the saffron suji halwa i have used hot water with sugar, but if you want you could substitute milk with water

you could also add fruits like banana, mango, apple, pineapple

Ingredients:

1 cup - rawa
1 cup - sugar
2 1/2 cups - water
5 - almonds, slivered
10 - cashews, broken
10 to 12 - raisins
1/4 tsp - cardamom powder
1/4 tsp - nutmeg powder (OPTIONAL)
2 pinches - saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp - warm milk
few drops - yellow colour(OPTIONAL )
3 tbsp - ghee


Method:

1.Heat ghee in a large heavy pan,add dry fruits & saute till they are browned ,keep aside .In same ghee add rava. Stir and roast on low for 8-10 minutes or till aroma exudes.
2.Side by side, put water to boil, add sugar, bring to a boil.
3.Add boiling water to the rava, little at a time stirring continuously. Take care to protect hands from the spluttering.
4.When well mixed, check rava grain between fingers and taste for sweetness. Adjust sweetness, and add more boiling water if grain is hard.
5.now mix saffron mixture soaked in milk ,roasted dry fruits, cover and simmer till ghee separates. Save a small amount of almonds and cashews for garnishing.
6.if using food colour add it  and mix well.
7 Grease a katori (vati) or mudala with ghee .Press hot halwa inside it, and unmould onto a plate.
8.Garnish with a few slivers of almonds and cashews.& pinch of saffron