Pineapple~Saffron Sweet Rice/ Avnas- Keshar Bhaat/ Ananas Kesari Chawal.

“Pineapple~Saffron Sweet Rice/ Avnas- Keshar Bhaat/ Ananas Kesari Chawal” … Keshar Bhaat is a traditional sweet dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine where the rice is infused in saffron flavor and coated by sugar syrup giving it the golden glow and sweetness … just gave a twist to the same recipe by adding pineapple to make it more flavorful and tastier … Yummilicious ... 

** Keshar Bhaat (Keshar Chawal/ Sweet Saffron Rice) is a famous sweet rice dish prepared almost all round India though the reference names differ. This is a royal dish which stands out on its own, by and large prepared during marriages and other celebrations. The dish is considered royal as the ingredients that goes into making of the dish are all costly and hence it was a royalty to prepare the same for invitees.

** The rice is infused in the flavor of kesar (saffron) during the cooking process which imparts a golden colour and has a distinct flavour of its own as is the name given ie. kesari bhaat. I prepare this dish many times during festive days as my family loves it and the added bonus being it has a 2-3 days shelf life when stored well in fridge. You just need to thaw and steam it or microwave before serving for freshness of taste.

** This sweet rice is also known as shakkar bhaat/ meetha chawal in some parts of Mumbai/  Maharashtra. I have already posted the recipe for Kesari Bhaat/ Sweet Saffron Rice before in the blog, which you may check out on using the search/ label option. For this recipe, I have given my own twist and added on pineapple/ avnas/ ananas to bring in additional taste. The recipe remains the same by and large with minute changes. 

** Pineapple Sheera/ Halwa is something often prepared in most of the home while pineapple kesari bhaat is unheard of, atleast I have not come across it anywhere. The addition of pineapple not only gives it a lovely pineapple flavour but also makes it more tastier. Do try this dish and enjoy with your family and friends. I will be preparing this dish with more flavours so please follow me on Fb, Instagram and Blog for updates.

** Here is my own recipe for “Pineapple~Saffron Sweet Rice/ Avnas- Keshar Bhaat/ Ananas Kesari Chawal” ... my style, do try it ...

** Ingredients:

Jeera Rice/ Basmati Rice : 1 cup

Ripe Pineapple/ Avnasa/ Ananas : 2 cups of medium sized pieces.

Sugar/ Shakkar/ Sakkara : 1- ¼ cup.

Cloves/ Lavanga/ Laung : 6-7

Saffron/ Keshar/ Kesar : 1 tsp.

Milk/ Doodh : 2-3 tblsp.

Orange Colour (Optional) : 2 pinches/ drops.

Almond Slivers/ Pieces (Optional): 1 tblsp

Cardamom/ Ellaichi/ Yellu Powder : ½ tsp.

Ghee/ Toop : 3-4 tblsp.

Water/ Paani/ Uddaka : 1- ¼ cup + ¼ cup.

** Wash the rice and soak in plenty of water for 10-15 minutes. Drain, rinse and put it in a colander to drain off water completely. 

** Add 1-2 tsp of ghee in the pressure cooker pan and when its hot add in a pinch orange color, drained rice, 1- ¼ cup of water and mix well. Cover with the lid and pressure cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. 

** Keep the pressure cooker aside and let the pressure drop on its own. When you are able to open the lid, do so and let the excess steam pass off completely. Do not attempt to touch the rice at this stage or else it will turn out mushy. 

** Note : Be careful with addition of water as for this we want a bit of 80% cooked rice only, the very reason why double water is not added while cooking. Excess water will turn the kesari bhaat mushy and mess out the dish. You can also cook the same in kadai by adding hot water is the procedure for pulav. 

** Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then with a large fork gently loosen/ separate the cooked rice grains. You will get nicely separated rice as we have added in less water and cooked it to the consistency of 80% only. Keep this ready aside.

** Add the saffron in a small bowl with warm milk. It will impart a nice yellow colour when fully soaked. Keep this ready aside. If not adding Orange colour you can increase the saffron threads to bring out brighter yellow color.

** Add cut pineapple pieces into a thick bottomed kadai/ pan with little bit of water and cook on medium heat for 3-4 mins mixing in between a few times. You can microwave the same for 2-3 mins also. Keep this ready aside.

** Now heat the remaining ghee in a thick bottomed kadai, crush the cloves a little bit so that it imparts flavour on its addition, put it in the kadai and stir for a few seconds. Lower the heat and add pinch of orange colour (Optional) and mix well. 

** Add ¼ cup of water, raise the heat to bring it to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add sugar and mix well. Cook on medium heat until sugar thickens a little bit, say for 5-7 minutes. You should get the syrup to 1 thread consistency.

** Immediately add in saffron along with the milk its soaked in, the cooked pineapple pieces and mix well. Now add the cooked rice little by little mixing it all the while on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. Now lower the heat to minimum, cover the kadai with a tight lid and cook till all the moisture has evaporated.

** Lastly when almost done, add almond slivers/ pieces (Optional), cardamom powder and mix well. Check in to see that there is no moisture left at the bottom of the mixture, if so allow to cook uncovered on low heat for some time. 

** When done you will notice that each rice particle will glisten like gold and this is how a traditional “Kesari Bhaat” finally turns out. Each rice particles should get coated with the kesari sugar syrup and glisten alike while remaining separate. Here I have added in the goodness of golden pinepple too for extra flavour.

** When done, remove from heat and allow to cool uncovered for some time. This dish tastes best at room temperature, so avoid serving it hot. In case you store it in fridge for later serving, then thaw it for few minutes and either steam it in pedavana/ steamer for 10 mins or microwave it just for few minutes to warm up but not hot. 

** “Pineapple~Saffron Sweet Rice/ Avnas- Keshar Bhaat/ Ananas Kesari Chawal”  is done and ready to be served. You may offer this to God as Naivedyam which is what I do and then distribute it among family and guests. Remember to relish pineapple saffron sweet rice at room temperature for best of taste. This dish is I believe prepared in every community all round the country and it is only the names with which it is referred to that differs. India is a huge country with many religions observing different cultures but they all teach one teaching and that is peace and brotherhood. 

** This dish is usually prepared to be offered as Naivedyam/ Prasadam to God on festive days though it is also prepared during other celebrations too. Try this delicious sweet rice dish in your home on any occasion you desire to and enjoy with your family and friends. Children who are reluctant to eat rice will definitely love this sweetened rice as sweet dishes are their favourite. If you try this dish and is appreciated by your family, then do give me a feedback, as it will inspire me to to that much more, Thank You.