Pineapple Sheera | Pineapple Kesari
Pineapple sheera is an Indian pudding made with semolina, sugar, dry fruits & pineapple chunks that are added for flavour and texture. This is an anytime treat!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup semolina (fine rava)
- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks (I used canned pineapple, use sweet, fresh pineapple preferably)
- 1 tbsp raisins (cleaned)
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped cashew nuts (cleaned)
- 3/4 cup sugar (adjust to taste)
- 1 cup water * see notes
- 1/2 cup milk (for sheera) or water (for kesari)
- a pinch saffron strands dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water or milk or 2 drops of yellow food colour
- 2 cardamom pods, husked & powdered (optional)
- 2 tablespoons ghee plus extra to fry the nuts & raisins* see notes
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Soak the saffron strands in the hot water or milk for at least 10 minutes or till the milk has changed to a bright yellow.
- Heat ghee in a wide based pan/kadhai and toss in the cashew nuts and fry them on a low heat till they then turn light golden. Remove. Next, fry the raisins till they just puff up, remove immediately before they burn.
- In the same ghee add the semolina and roast on a low heat for 2- 3 minutes taking care to see that it doesn't burn. If you fry the semolina on a low heat it will get partially cooked and help fluff up quickly. While the semolina is frying, bring the water (or water & milk mixture) to a boil.
- When the semolina has roasted and gives out a nice aroma add the boiling milk and water mixture to it. Be careful as the mixture can splutter! Mix till it is smooth & lump free.
- Add the sugar and stir till it gets absorbed. Next, add the saffron mixture or food colour
- On a low heat keep stirring the mixture so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and slowly the mixture comes together in a lump
- Add the 2 tablespoons of ghee and stir till it gets absorbed
- The sheera/kesari is almost done. Add the roasted nuts and raisins, pineapple chunks and give it a good mix. Add the cardamom powder if using. Cover the pan and turn down the heat to very low. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- If you wish, serve the sheera in a bowl. Lightly grease it with ghee and then put the sheera in it, invert the contents onto a plate. Serve hot.
Notes
To make soft and mushy sheera the semolina : water ratio to be used is 1:3, you may use only water (1-1/2 cups) or 1 cup water and 1/2 cup milk if you like it a little rich. I prefer it light, so I used 2 cups water and 1 cup milk.
The best tasting sheera is usually made of a lot of ghee. Some recipes call for as much as 1/2 cup of ghee per cup of semolina! In my opinion it is too much and too rich. Since we count calories in our home we reduced it to a quarter of a cup. Use as much as you desire.