Orange kesari bhath /orange semolina pudding

My husband and kids just cannot resist eating desserts especially during festive season and our family favourite dessert is semolina pudding /rava kesari/kesari bath/Sheera but this time with an Orangy twist. Kesari bath/sheera is one of the basic Indian desserts, made in every indian home,but the name varies from region to region,in northern india they call it halwa and in south kesari Bhath,rava kesari or sheera. This is a real kid pleaser dessert that they can join in and help make or decorate. I love making kesari bath as I can get as innovative as I can with the flavours. Do try this easy,fool proof recipe this festive season !

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup kesari rava/fine semolina
• 2 cups Fresh Orange juice
• 1 cup Sugar
• 11/4 cup Ghee/clarified butter
• 4-5 Cloves/lavang
• 2 pieces of Cinnamon/dalchini

Cooking Directions

1. Roast kesari rava,cloves and cinnamon with a cup of ghee on slow fire,until the grains are separated and changes to light brown colour.
2. In the meantime boil orange juice in a bowl or sauce pan.
3. Once the roasting is done slowly add the orange juice and keep stirring till the rava absorbs all the juices and cooks well.
4. Add sugar and continuously stir till all the sugar dissolves completely and no lumps are formed
5. Now add the remaining ghee little at a time and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Put on a greased plate and cut into desired shape.
6. Garnish with roasted nuts of your choice.

For orange cups:

• Slice top off the navel orange. Run a knife around its interior to hollow it out. Scoop out the orange segments and prepare juice for the pudding. Carve pumpkin face on one side of the orange. Repeat for other oranges. Use a paper towel to gently soak up any remaining juice inside the oranges and its ready..Just fill these cups with the pudding and serve.

Crispy Bitter-gourd salad

bitter gourd is one of the more notable vegetables in Asian cooking  and we GSB konkani's have several recipes from curries to crispy fries,i  just love them all.This salad is easy and quick to make

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized Bitter-gourd
• 2 Onion ( chopped)
• 1 fresh green or red chilly ( finely chopped)
• 1/2tsp Lemon juice

Cooking Directions

1. Finely chop bitter gourd and apply salt and keep for at least 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes squeeze all the water from the gourd and deep fry till golden brown or until crisp.
3. Just before serving mix some chopped onion,chillies and salt,mix it lightly with a spoon and squeeze 1/2 tsp lemon juice and garnish with some tomato slices

Variation: Add some freshly grated coconut to give some nutty flavour to this dish.