Apple Kesari Bhaath/Sweet Saffron Rice with Apples

Apple kesari bhaat is lightly sweet, saffron-laced Indian rice dessert, flavored with cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves, loaded with ghee for a rich taste, topped with fried cashew nuts and raisins and infused with apples to give it a fruity bite. Enjoy it for the upcoming Diwali or serve it as a rich dessert any time. It is super easy to make and a perfect scrumptious way to sneak fruits in your diet.

Kesari bhaat or sweet saffron rice is a popular Indian rice dessert, normally enjoyed during festivals like Diwali, Navratri or on any special occasion as a lip smacking finale to a festive meal! The traditional dessert has just rice, sugar and exotic saffron/kesar (just a tinge but that goes a long way!) with some freshly ground cardamoms and whole cloves.

I had some apples that were not crisp enough to our liking to enjoy as a fruit, so I was looking for ways to use them up.  One of our family favorites is apple pockets which I have shared  few weeks back.

Sweet saffron rice was on my to-do list for my blog.  With apples waiting to be used up, and Diwali coming up soon, I decided to try this with added apples to share with all of you to give this scrumptious dessert a fruity twist as well as make it kind of low sugar for this upcoming festival when you will be showered with more sweets than you can enjoy!

Normally, we add about 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of rice, but added apples with its natural sweetness gave me an excuse to reduce the amount of sugar in the kesari baath to ½ cup and I was blown away by the richness and flavor apples gave to the dessert.

Ghee or clarified butter is a must in this sweet rice. Normally, we add more ghee that you can see it floating around the rice, but with all of us being health conscious, I have mixed in only about 4 tbsp of ghee. You can add more and make it richer if you prefer.

Cinnamon is the perfect spice that pairs with apples, so a small bark of cinnamon has been added while cooking rice to flavor the mixture.

All you need to do is cook the rice with some spices like cinnamon and cloves, and once the rice is cooked, mix in grated apples, sugar and saffron infused milk (about ¼ cup milk) along with cardamom powder. Give it a good mix or cook until all the sugar has melted and you have a rich homogeneous mixture. Nuts and raisins sauteed in ghee is stirred in for crunch and texture.

Ghee adds flavor and richness; do not omit it. Serve this delightful Indian dessert with a fruity twist at your next dinner party or any special occasion. It is best enjoyed warm served with more ghee!!

This easy dessert comes together in minutes, so do try this soon and serve it for dessert or any time!

Other Indian desserts you may enjoy:

Lauki Halwa/Bottlegourd Halwa

Sweet Pongal/Rice-Lentil Sweet Pudding

Dates and Oats Kheer/Pudding

Now let's get on to the recipe:

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Apple Kesari Bhaath/Sweet Saffron Rice with Apples

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4-6

Apple kesari bhaat is lightly sweet, saffron-laced rice, flavored with cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves, loaded with ghee for a rich taste, topped with fried cashew nuts and raisins and infused with apples to give it a fruity bite.

Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large apple, peeled and grated
• 4 tbsp ghee or more
• 2 to 3 cloves
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• Few strands saffron soaked in milk
• 2 tbsp each cashew and raisins
• 1 tsp cardamom powder

Instructions

1. Wash rice in plenty of water and drain well.
2. Chop nuts (cashew, almonds or pistachios) and fry in 2 tbsp of ghee along with raisins until the nuts turn a light brown and raisins start to puff up. Remove and keep aside.
3. In the same pan, add 1 more tablespoon of ghee and stir in cinnamon and cloves. Sauté on medium heat until it starts to emanate an aroma.
4. Add drained rice and fry on medium low for a few minutes until the rice starts to glisten with ghee.
5. Stir in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Either cook in pressure pan for 2 whistles or in a closed saucepan until all the moisture is gone and the rice is soft, tender and cooked well but each grain is still separate.
6. Rice should be cooked well as once you add sugar, it will not cook further; stir in sugar and grated apple along with soaked saffron with the milk (or water) and powdered cardamom.
7. Mix well on medium high heat, stirring often until the sugar starts to melt.
8. Keep cooking stirring constantly, adding more ghee until all the sugar has melted completely, flavors have combined well and the whole mixture is soft and almost dry.
9. Remove from heat and serve hot topped with extra fresh ghee!
10. Enjoy!!

Notes

Make sure the rice is well cooked but not overcooked before adding the sugar.

Add more ghee for a richer dessert!

Kesari bhaath is best enjoyed hot.

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How to make Apple Kesari Bhaat with step-by-step method:

• Wash rice in plenty of water and drain well.
• Soak saffron in a little milk.

• Chop nuts (cashew, almonds or pistachios) and fry in 2 tbsp of ghee along with raisins until the nuts turn a light brown and raisins start to puff up. Remove and keep aside.

• In the same pan, add 1 more tablespoon of ghee and stir in cinnamon and cloves. Sauté on medium heat until it starts to emanate an aroma.

• Add drained rice and fry on medium low for a few minutes until the rice starts to glisten with ghee.

• Stir in 2 cups of hot water and bring to a boil. Either cook in pressure pan for 2 whistles or in a closed saucepan until all the moisture is gone and the rice is soft, tender and cooked well but each grain is still separate.

• Rice should be cooked well as once you add sugar, it will not cook further; stir in sugar and grated apple along with soaked saffron with the milk.

• Mix well on medium high heat, stirring often until the sugar starts to melt.
• Keep cooking stirring constantly, adding more ghee, along with powdered cardamom, nuts and raisins, until all the sugar has melted completely, flavors have combined well and the whole mixture is soft and almost dry.

• Remove from heat and serve hot topped with extra fresh ghee!

• Enjoy!!

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