Sago Pudding

Sago is a cereal acquired from the powdered pith of a sago palm. A type of flour, called sago flour, is made from sago It is starchy and  used for making  puddings and pancakes and for various other purposes. Sago is commonly used for cooking  in India, Bangaladesh and  Sri Lanka.

Traditionally,in our home,sago is  cooked and eaten in the form of a pudding.It is in  the spotlight during the festive seasons.It makes a good dessert  and keeps us feeling warm and cosy during the  cold wintry days.In summer, you can chill the pudding and enjoy it's thick texture. Sago is  widely sold  in the form of "pearls". Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet  sago pudding.I usually  purchase white sago pearls to make  a warm dessert.Some prefer to eat  sago pudding or porriage  with a serving of thick coconut milk.

Ingredients

¼ pound sago pearls

6-8 oz jaggery

½ teacup coconut milk

5 cardomom pods

A piece of cinnamon stick

A pinch of salt

A tablespoon sugar ( optional)

Method

Wash and soak the sago pearls for about 15 minutes.Put the pearls into a pan,add the water ,cinnamon ,and the cardamons and bring it to a boil.Scrap the jaggery and add it to the cooking sago.Add a pinch of salt.At this point,( optional)  you can add an extra tablespoon of sugar if you want the pudding to balance your taste buds..Now pour the coconut milk and stir it very well.Remove from heat and pour the contents  into a glass dish.This will taste good when eaten warm. Some love to serve it with a spoonful of thick  coconut milk/cream.

Remove the  cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving.

Tip: Add an extra cup of water to the above recipe to make sago porridge. And add sugar according to taste.

 

 

Dinner Rolls

This is a curry made out of onions,bell peppers ,tomatoes and potatoes.Whenever I have left over dinner rolls that was bought from the baker ,I make a new  curry as a filling for the buns.When the children get tired of eating the same food ,they relish  a change of flavour.This is something I usually make for breakfast or dinner with the left over buns.This meal is made in  a jiffy .I am sure all you vegetarians out there will enjoy trying  this recipe. I also make use of these buns to make hot dogs.

This is prepared according to the amount you need to fill up the buns.I will give you the recipe to roughly  fill 3-4 buns.

You will  need: one big sliced onion,a big green pepper sliced hoarsely,one tomato chopped roughly and  a small potato cut in tiny pieces.Saute the onions,bell peppers,and potato in a tablespoon of oil.When it turns pale in colour, add 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder and the chopped tomatoes.Add salt to taste and cook until the onions  and the  green bell peppers start to wilt.You can also add a dash of soya sauce and a spoonful  of tomato ketchup to get an extra zing.

Serving Suggestions:

Wattalappam ( Jaggery pudding)

This pudding is popular mostly in Muslim homes in my home country.Muslims prepare this dessert during special occasions like weddings and festivals.This pudding was originally known as the Malay pudding and later became to be popularly known as wattalappam.This dessert  is mostly steamed but for the last few years I have tried baking the pudding,by placing the  pudding bowl  in a tray with water.I believe it is as good as steaming.

 Wattalappam


Ingredients
10 eggs
1 pound jaggery
2 teacups thick coconut milk
1/2 teaspoons powdered cardamoms
A pinch of salt


Method
Break the eggs into a bowl and beat well .Scrape the jaggery and mix it with the eggs .Add the coconut milk ,cardamoms and the salt and mix well.Pour into  small moulds and steam for about 1 and  1/4 hours or until firm..
Baking takes a longer time to cook.It took me almost 2 and 1/2 hours for the pudding to be well cooked.

Eating Pittu

I made pittu or ( also known as puttu)  using pitu flour which was available in the supermarket.The recipe I borrowed from a sri lankan cookery book,(lakehouse cookery book).I made a chilly sambol, which is commonly known as lunu miris. Pittu  is delicious with  coconut milk spooned all over . 
Please come over to my kitchen for the recipe.

Asian Water Spinach

 Kang kong leaves also known as Asian water spinach is a leafy green vegetable.It can be cooked as a vegetable with mild spices  or added  in meat curries  with chiilies and soya sauce.The recipe I have for you is the way I cook any kind of  leafy green.I have  plucked the leaves with the tender part of the stem ,cleaned and washed them in running water. Place in a colander to drain excess water .

 In  a pan, Heat a tablespoon of oil .Slice a large onion, 3-4 green chilly , 2-3 cloves of garlic, a piece of ginger .Stir fry these ingredients with a teaspoon of red chilly flakes.Chop a medium tomato and and fry till it turns pale.

Now put the cleaned leaves into the frying pan and mix well.Add the juice of a lemon and salt according to taste.

Remove from heat as soon as  the leaves start to wilt. Serve immediately with steaming rice and curry.

Hearth and Soul Blog Hop

Breaking Fast During Ramadan

It’s Ramadan once again and Muslims across the globe observe fast from dawn and until sunset. During a specific time when the sunset prayer is called in the mosques, Muslims break their fast with dates and thereafter eat other types of food. Friends and relatives are invited to partake of their food. Delicious Samosas, pastries, fruits and fruit juices and an assortment of savories are spread across the dining tables.
During Ramadan back at home in my native country, a delicious conjee is cooked with a lot of aromatic herbs and flavor. This is a porridge prepared with rice, chicken or lamb and a heavy dose of coconut milk. The cooling effect of garlic, ginger and fenugreek which is added during the process of cooking the porridge, makes it more irresistible. Children who fast are treated with their favourite food and drink.

Conjee-rice porridge


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Rice And Curry

Sri Lanka is known for her warm hospitality and great food.The staple food of this beautiful island, is rice, which is accompanied with a wide range of curries,vegetables, pickles  and green leaves.No one could resist a  plateful  of  scrumptious delicacies.As hungry as I was,I  just couldn't  dip into the food without first taking some pictures of what I was going to eat.


A plate of rice with a variety of vegetables and curried fish.The vegetables you see are curried beetroot, lentils,  green leaves,thallana-battu  (Thai eggplant ) cooked spicy fish and fried pappadams,a crispy, savoury cracker.The best part of the whole thing is , you use your right hand fingers to mix a little bit of the rice and curries,take a morsel of the mixture and shove it ( not too roughly)  into the mouth.Hmm..And when munching, you get the real taste of all the goodness of the fiery spices and the flavourings of all the herbs.You got to taste it, to feel it!

My goodness! I still cannot believe that I had actually cleaned up the plate.

Kiri Bath

Milk Rice  is a traditional Dish in Sri Lanka and is known as kiribath in the sinhalese language.The recipe follows.

1/2 measure white rice
2 teacups thick coconut milk
salt
water for boiling the rice

Boil the rice like you usually do.When the water is all absorbed and  before the rice gets fluffy and nice,add the coconut milk and salt.Stir well.Cover the pan and cook until the milk is absorbed with the rice.
Serve with fish curry ,seeni sambol and katta sambol (  chilly and maldive fish chutney0