With the arrival of the mango season, it’s time to indulge in the fruit. Here’s what you have been craving for- Mango!! After all, who doesn’t like mangoes? As a part of the blog hop “MANGO” theme, I’m going to share with you back to back 3 mango recipes which will truly win your heart – Here I present my first recipe Mango kesari or Mango Sheera.
In the world of things fruity and exotic, the mango stands tall, a king amongst fruits. It is already May and the mango season is here (not for me)!!! To me happiness smells like mango, tastes like mango, like all the simple things that we enjoy! It brings back nostalgic memories!! I’m sure each of us have some memories associated with mangoes….For me it’s my grandparent’s village, summer holidays and eating unlimited mangoes!! Not that I haven’t otherwise eaten mangoes but those memories are something special and close to my heart. Very unfortunate that we don’t get Indian mangoes (Banganapalli or Rasalu) here in Germany, at least where I live. But we do get good mangoes in local super markets, it’s not the same though!!! You know what I mean!!
Mango is not only the most luscious and decadent of the fruits, it also packs a nutritious punch. Mango is full of vitamin A and beta-carotene, a lot like carrots, both are brilliant anti-oxidants and will keep you shining.
If you don’t like mangoes, look away now. This post includes a “mango” word count well in excess of what is normally reasonable.
Mango kesari or Mango Sheera is an Indian sweet pudding prepared using semolina or broken wheat, mango pulp spiced up with cardamom and garnished with nuts. It is fairly quick and simple to make and tastes delicious with the natural aroma of mangoes. Inspired by the delicious Pineapple kesari I make, here I present my first trial version of Mango kesari or Mango Sheera. It turned out pretty good. The reason I never tried it out was just that I could gulp in the mango as it is, can’t resist myself until I prepare a dish with mango
. But now this is exclusively for my blog and my lovely readers
.
Moving on to the recipe for Mango kesari or Mango Sheera…Do give it a try and Enjoy!!!
Step-By-Step process in making Mango Kesari or Mango Sheera:
I’m using canned alphonso mango pulp for most of my mango recipes.
Note: When using fresh mangoes, use one whole mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks. Blend mango chunks with a tablespoon of water in a blender and puree until smooth. You can add 2 tablespoons of sugar if the mango is not sweet enough. Fresh mango pulp is now ready for use.
You will need the following to make Mango Kesari or Mango Sheera:
- Heat a pan over medium heat and dry roast semolina until you get a nice aroma.
- You can also roast in a teaspoon of ghee, as ghee enhances the aroma. But to cut out a few calories, I try and use as little ghee as possible, hence dry roasted.
- Heat a little ghee in a small pan over medium heat, lightly fry cashews till they turn light brown. Set them aside for later use.
- Heat a sauce pan with 2 cups of water over medium heat.
- To this add sugar and saffron (optional). Allow it to boil rapidly.
- Once the water starts to boil, add semolina slowly little by little in a stream and keep stirring with another hand.
- Be quick in stirring and slow in adding semolina to prevent the formation of lumps.
- Break any lumps and stir gently. Cook till all the water evaporates.
- Now add the mango pulp and a pinch of salt. Mix gently.
- Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent burning and to get the desired consistency.
- Add 1 tablespoon ghee and mix well ( Quantity of ghee is personal choice, you can increase if you wish to). Turn off the heat.
- Add cardamom powder and mix well.
- Add toasted cashews over the Mango kesari, scraping down all the ghee from the pan. Give it a nice mix.
- Serve hot with chopped nuts sprinkles on top.
Mango Kesari or Mango Sheera
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Semolina Sooji/Rava
- 1½ to 2 Cups water depending on the desired consistency
- ½ cup Sugar
- A pinch of saffron Optional
- 1 Cup Mango Pulp or Mango Puree
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons Ghee Clarified butter, divided
- A pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 10 Cashews toasted in a teaspoon ghee over medium heat until light brown
- For Mango Puree:
- One Whole Mango Skinned, cored & Roughly Chopped
- Blend together the chopped mango until smooth and set it aside.
Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium heat and dry roast semolina until you get a nice aroma. It can be roasted in a teaspoon of ghee too, as ghee enhances the aroma.
- Heat a sauce pan with 2 cups of water over medium heat. To this add sugar and saffron. Allow it to boil rapidly.
- Once the water starts to boil, add semolina slowly little by little in a stream and keep stirring with another hand. Be quick in stirring and slow in adding semolina to prevent the formation of lumps.
- Break any lumps and stir gently. Cook till all the water evaporates.
- Add the mango pulp and a pinch of salt. Mix gently.
- Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent burning to get the desired consistency.
- Add 1 tablespoon ghee and mix well . Turn off the heat.
- Add cardamom powder and mix well.
- Add toasted cashews over the Mango kesari, scraping down all the ghee from the pan. Give it a nice mix.
- Serve hot with chopped nuts sprinkles on top.
Notes
2. Adjust the sugar to suit your taste and requirement.
3. Stir once you add the semolina to boiling water to avoid formation of lumps.
4. You can roast semolina with ghee for a nice aroma and texture, but avoid it if you want to cut down a few calories.
5. This halwa tends to thicken a bit as it sits. You can microwave it for a minute before serving.
6. You can follow the same recipe and make plain semolina/sooji halwa, just avoid mango in the recipe and follow the same process. Mango can be substituted with pineapple pulp to make pineapple kesari.
7. You can also prepare this using milk instead of water, but I prefer this way.
8. It is believed that if semolina is thick, it does not get cooked nicely when cooked along with sugar, but I tried cooking semolina along with sugar solution many times and I never had problems. So you can add sugar first or once semolina is cooked. But you can prepare either ways.
9. If you like a moist looking kesari rather than the greasy one, use more of the mango pulp, may be increase pulp by half a cup to the mentioned quantity. Note: These are just my tips with experience and trial & error, so please do not use all the options given to make the recipe. First follow the original recipe and then make changes while trying it again.
You might want to check out other popular desserts from my blog-
- Carrot halwa
- Coconut burfi
- Sweet pongal
- Rice Kheer
- Bread rasmalai
- Beetroot halwa
- Kajjikayalu
- Banana whole wheat dosa
- Bobbatlu
- Gingered plum Bueberry smoothie
- Mango Kesari
Many more to come!!…Don’t miss out!!…..Stay Tuned!!
Happy Cooking 🙂
Padma
