Cucumber & Walnut Kesari | Semolina pudding - ready in 20 mins!

I have always loved putting together ingredients that are not a common combo. Well, there have been some disasters :P but mostly, these unique marriages have ended up in success stories :) Thanks to Kalyani's Magic Mingle which has helped me take forth this fancy of mine. Each month I get to play around with two absolutely different ingredients and come up with a dish! So this months, combo ingredients are Cucumber and Walnut!

Well, after racking my brains for a week now, I have finally landed up with this sweet dish. I was a little skeptical on how it would turn out as cucumber isn't really a dessert veggie. Anyway, went on with it with small portions of the ingredients and was I delighted by the outcome!! :)
Walnuts are a little more crunchier and chunkier than cashew nuts. If you like some extra crunch, you would love this. Else, you could go back to using cashew nuts instead. Apart from this, the kesari was simple and yum, with not a hint of the cucumber except for some friendly crunches amidst the softness of the semolina. Try is, if you like variety as this needs not much time to make :)

Makes: 1 big bowl

Serves: 2-3

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

Cucumber - 1 medium

Semolina - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Walnuts - 1/4 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Food colour (optional) - a little

Method

• Peel the cucumber and slit it in half. Remove and discard the seeded middle. Finely grate the pieces and keep aside.
• Heat a tbsp of ghee in a pan and roast the walnuts. Once they turn mildly brown, take them off the stove and set aside.
• In the same pan, add another tbsp of ghee and toss in the grated cucumber and allow to cook for about 2 minutes on medium flame.
• Add the milk and bring it to a boil. 

• Once boiled, lower the flame and add in the food colour (if using) and add in the semolina little by little, simultaneously stirring the mixture.
• Once the mixture is completely combined together, add in walnuts and sugar.
• Mix well and add in a bit more ghee if needed.
• Once the mixture begins to form into a ball, it is done. Remove off the flame and serve hot! :)

Sending it to Magic Mingle