Coconut and Lime Tapioca Pudding

Finallllly I am getting around to writing up this delicious recipe. The cold Sydney weather with the really late onset of autumn rains made for the perfect weather to whip up some of this stuff. I don’t make it often… but when I do, it doesn’t last for long at all. I guess I just love pudding, whether it’s tapioca or some spiced Indian kheer.

The recipe is super simple, and can be tweaked in so many ways. You can make it with whole milk, or cream sometimes, or coconut milk. It goes perfectly with whatever seasonal fruit you can get your hands on! But a point to remember is that tapioca is one of the purest forms of starch you can find. If you are trying to cut down that blood sugar then most definitely avoid this stuff at all costs!

You might be wondering… well duh? Why make a dessert if you are trying to cut down on sugar intake? Well tapioca can be used to make savory food too . At home we make a spiced tapioca meal during fasting periods as an alternative to rice or breads. I’m moving way off track here.

Coconut and Lime pudding! How can anyone resist the combination? It’s fun and tropical and really refreshing. It’s the kind that works wonderfully well during the hotter months and cooler months too. Here’s that simple recipe

Right? Simple. And it works a treat. It’s the easy dessert that you can whip up in no time. Perfect for those last minute dinner parties or a quick treat for an every day dinner.

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Orange and Elderflower Halwa

OOh yes… another Halwa recipe. I think I’ve become a little obsessed with making new halwa recipes. Halwa is just so yummy!

Like I said in my previous Halwa recipe… Halwa is basically a pudding usually made with semolina or milk solids (khoya). With origins in the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent, this pudding is eaten during festivals, special occasions and religious events. My mom typically makes it with bananas and semolina, and it was definitely one of my favorite things while growing up. So if you have checked out the blog lately, you will see that I’ve already made a sugarfree halwa which turned out seriously amazing! Here is the link!

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Why orange? Because we tend to always have oranges at home, and they never seem to finish! Plus, I haven’t eaten all that many orange sweet recipes in India, and well.. I just felt a little bit inspired. The elderflower? Well that is because I had a really refreshing orange and elderflower drink some time ago, and it’s become my new infusion flavour. You can grab elderflower cordial, which is the easiest way to infuse the flower, from good supermarkets. I picked mine up from Woolworths, but I found only a few of them stock up on the cordial 🙂 Now please remember that cordial is basically sugar and elderflower made into a syrup… so not all that good for the diabetics 😥

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This recipe is fairly straightforward, but does have a little bit of prep times (i.e. like 2 hours!).

For a sweeter halwa, of course add more sugar while cooking. Also, it is important to toast off the semolina prior to making the complete halwa otherwise you end up with a kind of uncooked and clumpy semolina mixture which isn’t all that appetising 😥

Hope you guys liked this easy recipe! Look out for more easy halwa recipes that I’ll be posting up! Are you guys enjoying the fusion foods from the Indian Subcontinent? I’m going to have a go at doing some more t

 

Apple and Date Halwa

Halwa, or Indian pudding (I guess we could call it that) is a seriously delicious dessert with roots in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. It is typically served warm, but tastes wonderful cold too. It is truly a favourite in my house, and we make it as a treat for a celebration or festival.

Now, my mother usually makes Halwa using semolina and banana, while back in India I have had it made with carrots and milk solids (mawa or khoya) OR believe it or not… bottle gourd. It’s fairly heavy on the sugar, which is obviously not so great for anyone trying to lose weight, or control their sugar.

This recipe is 100% inspired by the Happy Pear but it is most definitely a superbly different halwa recipe. Why? Because this one is 100% sugar FREE! Yup. That’s right.

Now this halwa does turn out not so sweet, which I personally don’t mind, but as a note I think next time I will definitely add over some agave nectar or some rose syrup. Honey would work too, but really to each their own 🙂

Before starting this recipe, make sure your dates are really well soaked. This is where we get the sweetness in the halwa and it’s essential that these are softened prior to cooking. They should break apart wonderfully once in the pot and caramelize with the rest of the halwa.

Now, I used semolina in my halwa because it is a great standard ingredient. Traditionally, ghee would be used to cook  the halwa and I do recommend using some. My first attempt, I went with all coconut oil and i found that most people didn’t enjoy the coconut undertones to the dessert. It would be better instead to use grapeseed oil as it’s flavour profile isn’t as deep as coconut.

Oh and better yet… Diabetic Daddy Dearest actually ate thirds of this halwa. SCORE!!! The texture turned out really smooth and has a really nice apple flavour with hints of the sweetness from the dates… and that sweetness is like a really subtle and soft caramel 🙂

I would realllly love to hear what you think about this recipe, and I would love you to know what kind of recipes you want to see! 🙂