Alagappa's

Alagappa's dessert mixes take the guesswork out of two sweets cooked for poojas, birthdays and festival mornings across South India and Sri Lanka. Each mix brings together the grain, sugar and flavouring in the right proportions, so the cook adds milk, water or ghee as the pack directs.

We list Alagappa's in our kheer and payasam mix collection, part of dessert mixes in the baking, sugar and desserts department. The kesari mix is based on semolina, and the payasam mix makes a milky pudding, the two sweets most often made at short notice for guests.

Kesari, known as rava kesari in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and as sheera further west, is cooked until it leaves the sides of the pan, then finished with ghee fried cashews and raisins and set in a greased plate to cut into diamonds. Payasam is simmered with milk until creamy and served warm or chilled after a sadya, a pooja or a birthday meal. For a richer finish, add a pinch of saffron or crushed cardamom and a spoon of ghee at the end. Both sweets also travel well in a tiffin box to a temple or a family gathering.

Store unopened packets in a dry cupboard, and once opened use them soon or seal the rest tightly. To compare, see the matching mixes from Baba's and our semolina and rava for kesari from scratch.