Aval Kesari/Poha Sheera recipe is a sweet Indian pudding made during Krishna Jayanthi. This poha halwa is easy and requires few ingredients.
This can be served as neivedhyam for the Gokhulashtami. This can also be served as a dessert for any festival /occasion.
What is Janmashtami
Also known as Krishna Jayanthi or Gokulashtami, it is a Hindu festival celebrated widely across India. This day marks the birth of Lord Shree Krishna.
A charismatic, benevolent God, he was the 8th Avatar (or reincarnation) of Lord Vishnu. As a child, he was extremely mischievous and had a penchant for stealing curd and butter.
Being my favorite God, I always enjoy reading about his several exploits.
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Why make this dessert on this day
It's believed that beaten rice or poha is Krishna's favorite food. That's why its offered to him as prasadam on his birthday.
There is even a short story associated with this food in Indian mythology which tells us how much he liked it and what extents he would go to, to get it.
It's a cute story about his friendship with Sudama. You can google it. It's a fun read.
Cilantro Poha and Tamarind Poha are two savory recipes that can also be made using these flattened or beaten rice flakes.
Why I love it
There are many Poha Sheera recipes available online but I like to make it this way because it's the way my MIL makes it.
I feel this Instant Poha Kesari recipe is one of the simplest versions! BTW, the word Kesari means orange color tones and in some instances also means saffron.
- A mouthwatering Indian dessert recipe
- It's got a soft, and chewy texture and is sweet to taste
- Quick and easy to make using basic ingredients
- A vegan recipe if you swap the ghee
Ingredients needed
Poha or Aval is the key ingredient here. Also known as beaten or flattened rice, they can be found at any Indian grocery store or on Amazon.
The other ingredients are sugar, food color, nuts, saffron, and ghee.
Here's how to make it
Since this popular South Indian dessert comes together so quickly, it's perfect to offer as neivedhyam or prasadam during festivals like Krishna Jayanthi.
Unless told, you will not be able to guess that this Kesari recipe is made using beaten rice/poha.
- In a pan
, add beaten rice and water. - Add organic orange or yellow food color to the pan. Keep stirring on medium flame till the poha softens and thickens.
- Gradually add sugar to it, stir and let this mixture come to a boil. Keep stirring on medium flame and it will begin to thicken.
- This could take a couple of minutes. There should be no lumps formed.
- Once it stops sticking to the pan and comes together like halwa, add ghee and continue to stir it for another minute.
- Chop some nuts and keep saffron strands ready. Take the pudding off the flame and garnish it with chopped nuts, saffron strands, and cardamon powder. Mix well.
, add beaten rice
and water.
to the pan. Keep stirring on medium flame till the poha softens and thickens.
to it, stir and let this mixture come to a boil. Keep stirring on medium flame and it will begin to thicken.
and continue to stir it for another minute. 
and keep saffron strands
ready. Take the pudding off the flame and garnish it with chopped nuts, saffron strands, and cardamon powder. Mix well. 
Serving suggestions
Drizzle some ghee over it when serving. This Aval Kesari can be served hot or cold.
This is popularly served during Krishna Jayanthi or Janmashtami. However, you can prepare this dessert for any festival or occasion and share it with your friends and family.
Another way of serving this pudding is to grease a plate with ghee and spread the Kesari on it. After it cools down, cut in the shape of diamonds with a knife and serve.
Top tips, recommendations, and suggestions
Thick or thin poha can be used for this Kesari recipe. Poha can be dry roasted first before being used. Poha can also be coarsely ground.
Make sure the poha or aval is fully cooked before you add sugar to attain a soft texture. Instead of sugar, feel free to use any other variety of sugar or jaggery.
Adding food color is optional. You can use natural colors like turmeric or skip adding it all together. As a result, the color of this Kesari will then be plain white.
For a richer flavor, add 1 cup milk and 1 cup of water instead of 2 cups of water. Add ghee-fried cashews and raisins for garnish.
To make this Sheera recipe vegan, just skip the ghee and use any cooking oil instead.
You can store the Kesari in the fridge for up to a week. It can be kept in the freezer as well for 1-2 months. But its best made fresh.
More dessert recipes to try
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Aval KesariPoha Sheera
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup poha
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp orange color
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp chopped mixed nuts
- 10-12 strands saffron
- 2 tbsp ghee
Instructions
- In a pan, add beaten rice and water.
- Add organic orange or yellow food color to the pan. Keep stirring on medium flame till the poha softens and the mixture thickens.
- Gradually add sugar to it, stir and let this mixture come to a boil. Keep stirring on medium flame and it will begin to thicken.
- This could take a couple of minutes. There should be no lumps formed.
- Once it stops sticking to the pan and comes together like halwa, add a tbsp of ghee and continue to stir it for another minute.
- Chop some nuts and keep saffron strands ready. Take the pudding off the flame and garnish it with chopped nuts, saffron strands, and cardamon powder. Mix well.
- Drizzle some ghee over it when serving. This Aval Kesari can be served hot or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
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Yumm! I've never heard of this before, so thank you for educating me. It looks so tasty!
Yes, do give it a try..thank you
I'm making this for the weekend, I bet everyone is going to devour it!
yay!! thank you
This looks like an amazing sweet treat. So many delicious flavours.
thank you so much
Looks so good! I have some friends that would go crazy for this!
do pass it along 🙂 thank you
This looks like such a delicious dessert. I've never tried it before so will have to give it a go!
Thank you so much.
I love anything with saffron in it, so this will be a must try for me. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Same here..saffron is so good in desserts. Do try this. Thanks.
Love all rice based desserts so I can't wait to try this! I love saffron, and can imagine how exotic and refreshing this tastes.
Yes, this pudding is very delicious. Thank you
Looks delicious! I'd love to try this one with my family.
Thank you so much
I love the consistency. It just melts in the mouth. Thanks for sharing another delicious Indian recipe with me!
Yes, its so yummy! Thank you so much
My family loved this version of rice pudding! It was delicious and not too difficult to make!
Thank you so much. Glad you all enjoyed it
This pudding is a nice change, I am loving the sweet orange and saffron flavours
Thank you so much
This looks like a treat in my taste! Never had anything quite like it but I love the combo of rice, saffron and sweet.
Yes, its really yummy! Thank you
I enjoy cooking many Indian dishes but haven't yet cooked with poha - I'll have to hunt some down as this looks so comforting. I do love saffron as well, it gives such a lovely color and delicate flavor.
You must try poha..its a great ingredient to cook with. It's available on Amazon as well.
I made this last weekend for my family and they loved it, even had seconds too. It wasn't difficult to make and was overall an amazing experience. Thank you!
I am happy to hear that! Thank you
This is so beautiful - I love saffron desserts, and this is so elegant and delicious!
Thank you so much
Truly beautiful! I have never heard of this pudding before. Looks delish!
This rice puddding seems so finger-licking and palatable. What kind of mixed nuts do you usually use, Priya?
Thank you so much! It truly was 🙂 I usually add almonds, cashews and pistachios.
This looks amazing, beautiful pictures! I am so happy I found you blog x Diana
Nice recipe flavorful and sweet. I hope you are doing ok there... Came from FBC. I hope electricity is back in your area.
yes, thankfully we escaped with minimum damages. Thanks for checking.