Indian Food Recipes: Pineapple Sheera

 By Nandini Bhushan*

The cuisine from the five southern states of India — Tamil Naidu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is grouped together as the South Indian cuisine. This cuisine offers a wide range of vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian delicacies that is sure to delight one’s taste bud. Let us explore the mouth-watering dishes from the Southern Indian states to experience the essence of each of these states.

Also try: Indian Food Recipes: Chicken Chettinad

Pineapple Sheera

Pineapple sheera or pineapple kesari is a sweet and tangy popular south Indian dessert that is served in marriages and functions. It is indeed a fancier version of traditional sheera or halwa where the fresh pineapple chunk is cooked along with roasted semolina, sugar, roasted nuts and a dollop of aromatic ghee.

Ingredients

Semolina: 1 cup

Pineapple chunk: ½ cup

Sugar: ¾ cup

Milk: ½ cup

Saffron: a pinch

Ghee: 3 tsp

Chopped dry fruits: 2 tsp

Cardamom powder:¼ tsp

Step 1

Soak the saffron in lukewarm milk for about fifteen minutes.

Step 2

Heat ghee in a thick bottom pan and roast the chopped dry fruit. Once done, keep it aside.

Step 3

Add semolina to the same ghee and roast it for a couple of minutes stirring frequently.

Step 4

In the meantime bring two cups of water to a boil.

Step 5

Once the semolina is roasted, add boiling water stirring it continuously till it’s smooth and lump-free.

Step 6

Add sugar and saffron mix and keep stirring it on low heat until the mixture comes together.

Step 7

Add a tsp of ghee, pineapple chunk and roasted nuts and give it a good mix. Finally, sprinkle the cinnamon powder and cook for another couple of minutes.

Step 8

Serve hot.

*Nandini Bhushan is a well-known food blogger