A typical celebration starts with a sweet and how amazing it is to team the best fruit with the best dessert- Halwa. This melt-in mouth Mango Kesari Halwa is an Indian traditional delicacy that is flavored with fresh mango, ghee, saffron and cardamom.
This utterly delicious Mango Kesari Halwa made by slowly sauteing Suji (semolina or rava) in Desi Ghee and adding freshly grated mango, is a simple yet elegant recipe of Indian desserts.
While I had made Suji Plain Halwa on several occasions especially on Navmi Puja at home, this is the first time I made a gentle twist to this halwa recipe by adding fresh mangoes. The summer fruit adds the much needed sweet and tartness to this halwa.
Team this Mango Halwa with Poori, paratha or have it as is.
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Why Would You Love This Recipe?
- Tried and tested Recipe over years
- Traditional Indian Dessert
- Simple and Quick recipe
- Easily available Ingredients.
- Scalable and customizable recipe.
- The Best Mango Kesari Halwa Recipe Ever!
Ingredients
- Mango- Mango adds natural sugar and mild tart flavor to Suji Halwa. For best results, use sweet mango variety like Banganapalli (Safeda) or Dasheri (Mangifera indica). [1]
- Suji- is the prime ingredient of this recipe. Suji or semolina is coarse form of durum wheat. The same recipe can be made using chickpea flour or gram flour to make it gluten free. I prefer using finely grounded suji, though thick textured suji works well too. I have used a local brand of Suji. Feel free to use any local good quality brand.
- Desi Ghee- is the star ingredient of any halwa recipe. In India, Halwa or sweets are always liked the most when made in desi ghee. You may use swap it with any vegan oil form making it vegan but for best results, I recommend using Desi Ghee. I have used Mother Dairy Cow's Ghee. You may use the good quality local brand.
- Cardamom- Adding cardamom to Halwa adds perfect aromatic warm flavor to it. We never add cinnamon flavor to any halwa dish as cinnamon dominates the flavor.
- Saffron- sprinkling the soft and colorful yellow-orange saffron strands not only add vibrant color to this halwa but adds kesari flavor too.
- Sugar and Water- I recommend using sugar syrup for having the right consistency of sugar mixed in halwa by boiling sugar in water till it dissolves.
Variations
- Add another flour- You may make Wheat Halwa (Atta ka halwa) or gram flour using the same recipe.
- Add another fruit- Though I haven't tried yet, I guess banana and orange can be swapped with mango while making halwa, especially for kids.
Storage Suggestions
We hardly have any leftovers of any halwa. If you have any, store it in dry container with lid in a refrigerator. It would be good for about 1-2 days.
For serving again, keep it on kitchen top and reheat in microwave for about 5 min or heat in heavy bottomed wok on slow flame for about 3-4 min.
Expert Tips
- The secret to perfect textured Halwa is sauteing Suji in desi ghee on slow flame. It's a bit long process but that's the way to deliciousness.
- Always make a sugar syrup by boiling water with sugar. Never add raw sugar and then water in sauteed suji. That's not the right way to make it as the sugar might not dissolve properly and make the halwa crunchy.
- Sieve sugar syrup before adding it to the wok (Kadai) to avoid adding any impurity in halwa.
- The wok is sizzling hot. So be careful when you pour the sugar syrup as the suji will splutter. You have to keep sauteing so that lumps are not made. The trick is to use a long handled spatula. Add syrup little by little and keep mixing it.
FAQs
Yes, absolutely. If you are looking for a healthy alternative to sugar, use jaggery in slightly more quantity than sugar. But if you are looking for a less calorie Halwa, then let me tell you jaggery and refined sugar are almost of same calorific value.
Well, adding milk to any halwa (including suji halwa) adds rich flavor to halwa and very often Indians add a small portion of milk or make halwa in milk instead of water.
Detailed Recipe With Steps
Step 1 Gather and Roast Suji in Ghee
Gather all the ingredients. In a heavy bottomed wok (kadai), add ghee along with suji. Keep roasting on a slow flame.
While the suji is being roasted, you may peel mango and grate it to have a fresh mango pulp. Also, take a pan and add water, sugar, cardamom and saffron to it.
Step 2 Sauteing Suji
Sauteing suji is a bit long process, but rewarding at the end. Suji is white when raw. After roasting it in ghee, it would gradually become light brown and dark brown. I roast it till its dark brown and ghee starts floating over it. (see middle image below). Add mango pulp.
Step 3. Add Sugar Syrup
Slowly add sugar syrup and keep sauteing till the suji becomes one large uniform lump.
Step 4. Garnish and Serve
Garnish the delicious Mango Suji halwa with cardomom seeds and Kesar (saffron) and serve hot.
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Mango Kesari Halwa | South Indian Kesari Halwa | Suji Pudding
Equipment
- 1 Wok Kadai with heavy bottom
- 1 Pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup Suji
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup mango puree
- few strands Kesar (Saffron)
- 5 small cardamom
- 1.5 tablespoon Desi ghee
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. For Suji/ Rava/ Semolina, I have used the brand Rajdhani. You may use any brand. I have used Safeda Mango as they are sweet and juicy.
- Take a heavy bottomed Kadai/Pan. Add desi ghee to it.
- Add Suji to the ghee in Kadai. Make the flame simmer as we wish to roast suji slowly. It takes around 10 min to do that. Believe me, slower this process is, delicious your Halwa would be.
- Mix them well and keep sauteing so that suji is uniformly roasted.
- In the Mean time, you may make the sugary water. You may take around 2 cups of water. The ratio of Suji and water is 1: 4. Boil water and add sugar. If mangoes are sweet, you may reduce sugar.
- Add coarsely grounded Cardamom and Kesar. Once the sugar is dissolved fully, you may switch off the flme.
- Suji has become brown and left the ghee on the sides of kadai. I am sure the house would be aromatic with ghee and roasted suji!!
- Add The mango puree
- Mix well. Add the sugary water by sieving so that cardamom peels dont come in halwa.
- Slowly, suji absorbs the water. you may increase the flame. But be careful, we shall roast it till the water evaporates and it becomes a thick big lump.
- Once it happens, halwa leaves ghee.
- The utterly delicious Mango Kesari is ready!!
Notes
- The secret to perfect textured Halwa is sauteing Suji in desi ghee on slow flame. It's a bit long process but that's the way to deliciousness.
- Always make a sugar syrup by boiling water with sugar. Never add raw sugar and then water in sauteed suji. That's not the right way to make it as the sugar might not dissolve properly and make the halwa crunchy.
- Sieve sugar syrup before adding it to the wok (Kadai) to avoid adding any impurity in halwa.
- The wok is sizzling hot. So be careful when you pour the sugar syrup as the suji will splutter. You have to keep sauteing so that lumps are not made. The trick is to use a long handled spatula. Add syrup little by little and keep mixing it.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 bowl | |
| Servings: 5 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 227 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 5.3g | 7% |
| Saturated Fat 3.2g | 16% |
| Cholesterol 13mg | 4% |
| Sodium 0mg | 0% |
| Total Carbohydrate 44.6g | 16% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.9g | 3% |
| Total Sugars 32.3g | |
| Protein 2.3g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 5mg | 0% |
| Iron 1mg | 4% |
| Potassium 59mg | 1% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
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