Microwave Rava Kesari Recipe/Sooji Halwa

• Rava/sooji/Bombay rava – 1/4 cup
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Water – 1.5 cups
• Ghee – 1 tbsp + 2 tsp
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Yellow food color – 2 pinches
• Pineapple essence or cardamom powder – little ( as needed)
• Cashew nuts – few ( to garnish)

• Take a big microwave safe bowl & add oil + ghee.Choose a big bowl because rava will rise well while cooking & it may spill.
• Add cashews & roast it for 2 minutes in high power(mine is 800w power). Keep an eye after 1 minute.If cashews turn golden brown quickly,remove it.No need to keep it for 2 minutes.Remove cashews alone & add rava to the oil+ghee mixture,mix well so that rava is well coated without any lumps.

• Roast the rava in high power for ONE minute.Open the microwave,mix well & again roast it for a minute.So roasting takes TWO minutes here.Take care that rava doesn’t get burnt.So stand nearby and watch carefully.Remove the rava bowl and keep aside.

• In a vessel,heat water in gas stove till it starts to roll boil and add it to the roasted rava.Take care,it splashes.After adding water,add food color.Mix well without lumps.

• Cook the rava for TWO minutes in high power covering with a lid. Choose a big bowl because rava will rise well while cooking & it may spill.After 2 minutes,remove the bowl,mix well, cover it with the lid & cook again for ONE minute.Rava will thicken and gets cooked very well.Now remove the bowl.
  • Add sugar,essence & mix well without lumps.

• The mixture will turn watery & small lumps may form.Mix quickly and break the lumps.As u mix,mixture will thicken slightly due to the heat of glass bowl & lumps will break.Make sure u break all the lumps.If u touch the mixture,it will be slightly sticking to the fingers.

• Keep it in high power for 30 seconds,remove & mix well. U will see the rava leaving the sides of bowl.Immediately add 2 tsp of ghee.Mix well & transfer to a plate or bowl.Do this process quickly else kesari may turn hard because of the heat of glass.If u touch,mixture will be non-sticky.
• Mixture will be semi solid initially. But it becomes thick & well set as it cools down.So don’t panic.

• Serve in a bowl by garnishing with roasted cashews.U can also reheat the kesari for one minute in high power before serving ! But this step is optional.

NOTE : Timings may differ based on the power of your microwave.If its more than 800w,the entire process needs lesser time than mentioned and if the power is less than 700w,time taken may be more.So keep an eye and do it carefully if making for first time.

• Rava has to be cooked well else kesari turns chewy n hard.
• Adding right amount of sugar also helps to give u soft kesari.
• Adding oil helps to retain the moisture & prevents the kesari turning hard even after it cools down.Skip it & add ghee alone if u wish.
• Adding pineapple essence is completely optional.U can add cardamom powder or saffron as u wish.
• Here i used more water than mentioned in the original recipe.It helps to make lump free and perfectly cooked kesari.