Rava Cake (Semolina Cake)

A fine find when you fall down with fever, yummy when you are upset with your tummy J, loaded with Vitamin as complex as B, also high in Vit E you C. A popular ingredient for pudding or pilaf, when cooked as cake puffs up to become fluffier than farina. Cook it as coucous as in North Africa or as our own humble Upma from South India. Are your spirits soaring up to a plane as high as spiritual? Steam it then as sheer kheer, serve it to a seer and see him cheer! Look yourself in the mirror. Aha that smile… So Crystal Clear!

On this auspicious morning of Sep 27th 2017, while nonagenarian and expert cook Smt. Lalithamma Ramamurthy meanders her way into the Kalyana Mantapam on the dot of Muhurtham to shower her choicest blessings on Vinitha, her grand daughter when she ties the sacred knot with her beloved, let me enjoy the privilege of posting Rawa (Semolina) Cake, a traditional dessert recipe gifted with love by Smt. Lalithamma to readers who can digest Mangala’s Potluck ! :)

Dish Type:  Traditional South Indian Dessert

Time taken:  1 hour

Yield:  10 pcs (approx.)

Ingredients – Option 1

Cream Milk                         1 cup

Chiroti Rava                        1 cup (Semolina fine quality)

Sugar                                     ¾ to 1 cup

Salt                                         A pinch

Sour curd                             1 cup

Saffron                                 A pinch

Baking Powder                  1 tsp

Baking Soda                        ¼ tsp

Dry fruits                             Few nos. cut to fine pieces (optional)

Directions

Mix first 6 ingredients listed above in a bowl. Beat the mix to bhajji batter consistency. Leave the batter for about half an hour. Check taste for sugar. Add more if required. Add dry fruits of your choice: Raisins, chopped cherry, cashews, walnut, pumpkin seeds, dry dates (optional), baking powder and baking soda to the batter at this stage (i.e, just before baking). These also contribute to sweetness of the cake.

Keep an old cooker over a gas stove. Put 1 cup salt or enough to cover the bottom of cooker. (Instead of salt, sand can be used. Fill upto 1 1/2” height enough to cover the bottom of cooker)

Place a steel grid. Close the cooker with its lid without using gasket or weight. Switch on the flame. Preheat cooker for 5 min. Spread banana leaf/baking paper/aluminium foil at the bottom of the vessel in which you wish to put the batter for making cake. Place few pieces of chopped dry fruits spreading it all around. Over this pour the batter. Keep this vessel in the preheated cooker. Leave in medium flame for 5 to 10 min. and in low flame for about 40 min. Cake will be baked by now. Let it cool down. Then carefully remove the cake from vessel, slowly separating the sides first.

Rava Cake is ready to serve. Time to Celebrate!!

Tete a Tete

Oven can be used instead of pressure cooker. Preheat oven in high temp. for about 5 min. Bake the cake in low temp. for about 40 min.

To check if cake is fully cooked, prick a tooth pick deep into the cake. If nothing sticks to the the stick, then cake is done.

Recipe contributed by nonagenarian and expert cook, Smt. Lalithamma Ramamurthy 

Recipes viewed here are a part of  "Mangala's Potluck" section in this blog