A luxurious, festive, aromatic dessert combining cooked rice, sugar, ghee, saffron, and cardamom. The rice is first cooked, then cooked again with ghee, sugar, saffron-infused milk and roasted cashews, raisins, and a touch of cardamom until the mixture turns rich and glossy. This sweet saffron rice is traditionally served warm during festive celebrations in my family.
This dish is very similar to the Rajasthani dish ‘Meethi chawal’ which uses some turmeric powder to achieve the golden yellow color. Kesari bhath gets its yellow color with saffron alone, no turmeric. This makes it more rich, fragrant, and luxurious for special occasions.
Kesari Bhath
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Basmati rice
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Ghee
- 1/4 – 1/3 Cup Cashew pieces
- 1/4 Cup Raisins
- 7-8 Strands Saffron
- 1/4 Tsp Cardamom powder
- 4 Whole cloves
- 2 Tbsp Grated desiccated coconut
- A pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp Milk
Instructions
- Cook the rice using your preferred method. I usually use my rice cooker or cook it directly in a saucepan.
- Meanwhile, prep the rest of the ingredients. Soak the saffron strands in the milk in a small cup. Let it rest for a few minutes to allow the saffron to release its beautiful color and aroma.
- Heat 2 tsp of the ghee in a small saucepan or kadai, and gently toast the cashew pieces to a golden brown. Add the raisins the cashews and continue stirring for another minute until the raisins puff up, Add the whole cloves and take the pan off the heat.
- When the rice is done cooking, transfer it to a large heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Add the sugar, ghee, saffron (with milk), cashews/raisin/cloves mixture, and a small pinch of salt to the rice. Stir it all together and turn on the heat.
- Continue to cook the rice while stirring frequently to prevent any browning at the bottom of the pan. The sugar and ghee will melt and then begin to thicken and ‘candy’ the rice. The rice will also take on the yellow color from the saffron. You can add a little extra saffron while the rice is cooking in the sugar, if you want to boost the color some more. This is also a great time to taste and adjust the sweetness with more sugar, if needed.
- When the mixture thickens and the ghee starts to separate and coat the rice, turn the heat off. You are looking for a consistency where the rice is holding together without pooling any liquid around it.
- Add the cardamom powder and desiccated coconut and give the kesari bhath a final stir.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- The ‘Kesari’ in the name of this dish refers to Saffron (Kesar). For this reason, I prefer to color the rice using saffron alone, and avoid adding turmeric powder. Turmeric powder has an earthy smell that detracts from the delicate fragrance of pure saffron.
- Kesari Bhath can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave, covered, before serving.
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