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Sajjige - Semolina Milk Pudding

Rava Milk Kesari

Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup semolina / rava / sooji
  • 1 tsp ghee plus 2 tbsp
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • a pinch of good quality saffron
  • 6-8 cashews broken into small bits
  • 2 cardamom pods skin removed and crushed to powder
  • 4 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 heaped tbsp sultana raisins
Instructions
  1. Pour water and milk into a medium-sized heavy bottom pot or saucepan and bring to a boil.
  2. In the meanwhile, heat a medium-sized kadai or skillet on medium heat. When the pot is hot enough, add 1 tsp ghee followed by cashew pieces and fry till they are golden.Remove cashew pieces onto a plate.
  3. To the same kadai with residual ghee, add rava/sooji and roast until fragrant and light brown, remove on to a dry plate and let cool.
  4. When milk is about to come to a boil, crush saffron with your fingertips, sprinkling over the milk. As the milk boils, saffron will leave out its lovely color. Be cautious not to let milk boil over. Stir to dissolve.

  5. Take the pot off heat and scrape off all the rava from the kadai into the milk, stir swiftly to avoid lumps. Now reduce heat to low and place the pot back on the stove. As rava cooks, it will begin to bubble up like a min volcano. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let cook on sim for about 5-6 mins for it to soak up the milk. When cooked, rava turns translucent and soft. Drizzle in 1-2 tbsp ghee (per your taste), spoon in brown sugar and add the cardamom powder. Stir to mix well. As soon as sugar dissolves, switch off and keep aside covered. Pudding loses its melt in the mouth texture and becomes very chewy if cooked with sugar any longer.

  6. Wash the sultana raisins in a small bowl, strain and towel dry. I like to serve them warm in small round bowls with fried cashew pieces and sultana raisins sprinkled on top.
Notes

The texture of rava in between upma rava (coarse) and chiroti rava (fine) suits best for this recipe

Substitute water with double the milk if using non-fat or low-fat milk and boil a little longer to reduce moisture content.

I prefer Spanish saffron for its quality, fragrance and color. Refrain from using too much saffron, a pinch goes a long way.

Substitute brown sugar with jaggery or regular cane sugar to suit your taste. Pudding tends to become dry after a while.

To reconstitute, place over low-medium heat, add some milk and stir until desired consistency is reached.

Mix in sugar and serve immediately.