One of the most basic and loved sweets in the whole of India - Semolina Pudding. The North Indians refer to it as Sooji or Suji Halwa while the South Indians know it as Rava Kesari or simply Kesari. As I mentioned, it is one of the simplest sweets to make among the myriad (and complicated!) Indian sweets. Gets done in a jiffy, involves minimal ingredients and the effort is minimal. For all the "minimum" so and so, the taste is par excellence. It is one of our favorites and is among the rare sweets we like. The amount of sugar can be adjusted to your liking and that makes it easier for us to use as little as possible.

Its a very forgiving recipe and is hard to mess up. However a little care (see tip in the middle of the step) can make it extra delicious. Its also versatile - in the sense that different flavor essence can be added to give a special twist - so its like eating a different sweet every time. I find in many restaurants that Pineapple flavoring seems to be popular.We personally like it plain with just the hint of saffron. I LOVE adding lots of roasted cashews. Something about that delicious nutty crunch along with soft semolina seems to strike the right balance in my palate. This recipe comes specially for prasanthi, a 14 year old sweetheart who wants to surprise her mom. (Bless her! I was too busy eating at her age to bother learning cooking! Hugs). Starting out the year 2011 on a sweet note.