Chow Chow Bath
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5
12 reviews
Excellent
Chow Chow Bath
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Chow Chow Bath is a traditional Indian dish featuring roasted fine rava (semolina) split into two preparations: a savory spiced rava bath and a sweet kesari bath. It combines toasted grains, seasoned vegetables, lentils, and spices, offering contrasting flavors and textures in a balanced meal often served with coconut chutney for added freshness.
Description
Beginning with roasting fine rava until fragrant and dry without browning establishes the base texture for both dishes. The savory rava bath includes tempered mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, chopped vegetables like onions, capsicum, carrot, tomato, green peas, and curry leaves, enhanced with vangi bhath masala or chili powder. This mixture cooks with water, sugar, and salt until the rava is tender, finished with ghee and fresh coriander for richness and herbaceous notes.
In contrast, the sweet kesari bath is prepared separately by cooking rava in water with raisins, sugar, cardamom, and saffron or natural coloring for visual appeal. Ghee is added toward the end for lubrication and aroma. The dish offers textural contrast: the savory side with its spiced vegetables and tempered lentils versus the sweet, fragrant, and buttery kesari.
Typically served together, Chow Chow Bath represents a balanced combination of sweet and savory flavors often accompanied by a refreshing coconut chutney, which is prepared from fresh grated coconut, roasted chana dal, green chili, and seasoning. It suits breakfast or festive occasions and highlights classical South Indian spice and layering.
The recipe allows adjusting spice levels by varying the vangi bhath masala or chili powder amount and suggests optional vegetable additions like finely chopped French beans. Roasting rava carefully is essential to avoid color change and achieve proper aroma.
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Ingredients
for roasting rava
- 1 cup rava or 160 grams fine rava (sooji or cream of wheat, fine
for frying cashews
- 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil or ghee, generic cooking oil
- 20 to 22 cashews
for preparing rava bath
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon chana dal (split husked bengal gram)
- ½ teaspoon urad dal (split husked black gram)
- 3 tablespoons onion finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons capsicum bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons carrot finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato finely chopped
- 2 to 3 tablespoons green peas frozen
- 7 to 8 curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon sugar or add as required
- salt as required
- 1 teaspoon vangi bhaat masala
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder optional) - to make the dish spicy
- 1.5 cups water
- 2 tablespoons ghee - to be added later
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Coriander leaves cilantro leaves, chopped
- lime or lemon while serving, few wedges
for preparing rava kesari bath
- 1.5 cups water
- ½ tablespoon raisins
- ⅓ cup sugar or 60 grams sugar or you can add ½ cup of sugar for more sweeter version.
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- saffron pinch of strands
- 1 to 2 natural orange food color extract or a pinch of turmeric powder, drops
- 2 to 3 tablespoons ghee to be added later
for coconut chutney
- ⅓ cup coconut grated fresh; tightly packed
- 2 tablespoons chana dal roasted bengal gram, roasted
- 1 green chili - chopped
- 3 to 4 tablespoons water for grinding chutney
- salt as required
Instructions
roasting rava
- Heat a pan or kadai first. Add the 1 cup rava or cream of wheat (fine variety).
- Begin to roast the rava. Stir often while roasting the rava. The rava or sooji grains should become fragrant and start to look dry, separate and crisp. Don’t brown the rava.
- Roasting takes about 5 to 6 minutes on a low flame. Then switch off the flame. Once the rava becomes fragrant and starts to look dry and crisp, then switch off the flame and add the roasted rava in a plate and keep aside.
- Take 1/2 cup of the roasted rava and keep aside. Half of the rava will be added in savory khara bhath and the other half in sweet kesari bhath.
frying cashews
- In the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon ghee or oil. Add 20 to 22 cashews.
- Stirring them often on a low to medium flame fry till they get golden. Keep aside.
preparing rava bath
- Lower the flame and in the same pan, add 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon chana dal and 1/2 teaspoon urad dal.
- On a low flame saute the lentils and mustard seeds, till the chana dal and urad dal gets golden. The mustard seeds will also crackle by then.
- Next add 3 tablespoons finely chopped onions. On a low flame, saute for a minute.
- Then add 3 tablespoons finely chopped capsicum, 3 tablespoons finely chopped carrot, 3 tablespoons finely chopped tomatoes and 2 tablespoons green peas.
- Mix very well and add 7 to 8 curry leaves.
- Season with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and salt as required.
- Then add 1 teaspoon vangi bhaat masala. Mix very well.
- Now add 1.5 cups water. Mix very well. Bring the water to boil at medium flame.
- When the water comes to a boil, reduce the flame to a low. Then add the roasted rava in two to three batches.
- As soon as you add first batch, stir very well. So that lumps are not formed.
- This way add in batches. Stir very well after adding each batch.
- Cover pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Open the lid and then add 2 tablespoons ghee. Also add 2 to 3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves.
- Mix very well, so that the ghee is mixed evenly with the khara bhath.
- Lastly add 10 to 12 fried cashews. Mix again.
- Serve mtr style rava bath with some slices of lemon and coconut chutney.
preparing kesari bath
- In another thick bottomed pan or kadai, take 1.5 cups water.
- Add 1/3 cup sugar (60 grams). You can also add 1/2 cup sugar for a more sweet taste.
- Keep the pan on a low flame and stir very well, so that the sugar dissolves.
- Add raisins and a pinch of saffron strands. I have added raisins in the sugar solution and they do soften up while cooking. If you want you can even fry the raisins with cashews.
- Add 1 to 2 drops of natural food color extract if using or else skip it. Mix very well.
- On a low-medium flame bring this sugar solution to a boil.
- When it comes to a boil, then lower the flame. Add the roasted rava in 2 to 3 batches. First add one batch and quickly stir so that no lumps are formed. Continue to add the remaining batch of rava and mix very well.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons ghee & 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder.
- Mix very well, so that the ghee is distributed evenly in the kesari bhath.
- Cover the pan and on a low flame or sim let the mixture cook.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- The rava will absorb all the water and cook. The mixture will also thicken. You should not see any whitish or creamish tiny specks on the rava. If you see then this means that the rava is still not cooked well. Once the rava is cooked well then add the remaining fried cashews.
- Mix very well.
- Serve kesari bath hot or warm. You can also pour the kesari bath mixture in small to medium steel bowls or in small to medium tart moulds and let them become warm. Once warm then unmold and serve.
preparing coconut chutney
- Grind all the ingredients mentioned under the heading 'for coconut chutney' in a grinder jar. Add more water if required while grinding chutney. Remove and keep aside.
Notes
- Omit the vangi bhath masala powder if unavailable, substituting with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder for spiciness.
- You may add 2 teaspoons or more vangi bhath masala powder to increase flavor intensity.
- Adding finely chopped French beans with the other vegetables adds extra texture and nutrients.
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Overall Rating
5
12 reviews
Excellent
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