It comes as no surprise that sheera is the most favoured dish served as prasad to our gods." says Taruna Deepak.
"I first had Pineapple Kesari 20 years back. Like my romance with saffron suji halwa, it was instant love. I find the sweet fruity scent of pineapple in the halwa quite irresistible, almost addictive. For me, having pineapple halwa is about 'pet bhar gaya, par neeyat nahi (the tummy is full, but not the craving)'.
"I especially enjoy having a warm bowl of this halwa during the monsoon season. Fresh juicy ripe pineapples are ideal for making this dish, but if you cannot procure them, then go for canned ones."
A food blogger, Taruna creates the most interesting of desserts among other yummy things. You can find more of her recipes here.
Pineapple Kesari
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp milk
- Pinch kesar or saffron, crushed
- 1½ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 175-200 gm fresh pineapple, cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ tsp green elaichi or cardamom powder
- 3 tbsp ghee + 1 tsp ghee extra
- ½ cup rava or suji or semolina
- 1-2 tbsp roasted nuts, like pistachios, cashews, almonds
Method
- In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat.
Take off heat and add the crushed saffron into it.
Keep aside to soak for an hour. - In another small saucepan, over high heat, warm the water and sugar and keep stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Add the pineapple pieces and cook for a few minutes or until the pineapple just about softens.
The cooking time will depend on how ripe your pineapple pieces are and how large they were chopped.
Take off heat.
Using a spoon, remove the pineapple pieces from syrup and keep the syrup aside.
Squeeze the excess water from the pieces and grind the pineapple pieces in a mixer/grinder to attain a rough puree.
It will require hardly 2-3 seconds of pulsing.
Keep aside. - Add the cardamom powder to the syrup that was kept aside.
Stir.
Cover and keep aside. - Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a kadhai or wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat.
Add the semolina and roast over low heat until golden.
Carefully add the cardamom-sugar syrup to the roasted semolina, stirring continuously.
Be careful while adding the syrup because it may cause the semolina to splutter.
Increase the heat to medium and cook for half a minute.
Add the pineapple puree and keep stirring till the halwa begins to come together.
Take off the heat and immediately add the saffron milk along with the remaining 1 tsp of ghee and the nuts (reserve some for garnish).
Keep cooking and stirring utilising the residual heat for 1-2 minutes more.
If you are unable to get ripe, sweet pineapples, add a few drops of pineapple essence, now, to the halwa to enhance the flavour.
Grilling the pineapples before using also helps enhance its flavour.
Serve hot.
Taruna's Note: Depending on how ripe and sweet the pineapple pieces are, adjust the amount of sugar.
Editor's Note: For a vegan version, use cashew butter instead of ghee.
Taruna Deepak lives in Mumbai and is the creator of the food blog Easyfoodsmith.
