Age is catching me up fast! Rakhi Poornima.. the Sibling's Day is mid of this month and oh! I thought it is today. I always prefer or like to share a sweet or dessert recipe on any occasion, I enjoy doing so. Then this morning, I discovered today is 5th August, Rakhi Poornima is on 15th. I was thinking of reserving this dish for a later share and blog about something else today. I had to keep few things on my mind, it has to be something which our loving island would have no problem to eat, my men have to enjoy it, my family back in India should like it, it should be a tribute to the people I owe my love for cooking to and it need not be "authentic Bengali". Considering all these factors, I thought of sharing this healthier sweet recipe COCONUT PINEAPPLE SANDESH today so that you can try them for the oncoming occasions.
I can say even the non sweet lovers would enjoy it because we get good quality pineapples here & you need little sugar to be added to sweeten a dish with it. Here it is a vegan, gluten-free sweet which took me a little over an hour to complete. I work and experiment a lot with coconut after relocating to this island because you get shredded coconut at every nook and corner of our island. I will be more praiseworthy of this island this week, the reason most of you know. The best thing about this island is that it gives utmost safety and security to us. The only drawback of it is that us foreigners, the Dependant Pass holders hardly get a decent job, neither get a sit in their prestigious universities for many of our kids.... not everyone scores a perfect 44/45, 43/45 in IBDP. Our son is not the kind who would dedicate himself totally into studies, say 18hours a day to get into a "good" local university, he is far away from Kolkata style of education, that no play / entertainment and 10 private tutors for a total of 8 subjects theory. We tried to get private tuitions for English and Mathematics for him but he strongly refused. He follows / solves online questionnaire without any human guide. Then you get to hear about gunning down innocent lives in that crazy land. I feel like standing alone in the middle of an irruptive volcano, I am completely devoid of sound sleep. I am self centric and focussed on our son's non-abrupt higher education for the next five years. No, I am absolutely not great and benevolent like some who once preferred doing social service at the cost of their kids' future. I wish to be known as what I am... an unadulterated version of the self should go viral.
Look at what Cristine prepared for me a while back. I asked her for some 'chirey badam bhaja' with green tea, she made 'chirer upma' for me....
What she cannot do is "jhaley noon e thik kora".... but she does it for us with a smile, I must be grateful. I may not be the ultimate in cooking, but I just cannot false praise a poorly tasted dish. I have the ability to declare in public the husband's cousin's wife living quite a distance from Kolkata cooks extremely well when it comes to Bengali dishes.... the warmth of that humble home is what I find praiseworthy when it comes to the husband's side of the family. Oh My! she is not in my friend's list as yet.... No hurry, it is not a necessity. I better share this easy sweet recipe with coconut and pineapple as main ingredients COCONUT PINEAPPLE SANDESH.
I value honesty & warmth in any relationship, trying to avoid complicated selves because I think if one has to down play others to praise themselves, they really have something wrong inside. The kind I am, I can only be formal with such kinds at this age. I have never seen a Partha Dey or a Madhuchanda Dey Ghosh or their likes speak low of others to exhibit what exclusive material they are.... If you speak of that Bengali guy in Houston, one Amit Bhaduri is perhaps the only guy in that land who does not know how to hold a ladle as yet, his clinical psychologist wife sacrificed a lucrative career to build a beautiful home. I really do not know when we will be able to sit together again but my loner husband needs them once in a while to unwind himself. I feel good when Partha too says the same. One need to meet these people and learn some good lessons in life.
INGREDIENTS :
SHREDDED COCONUT : 250GM
PINEAPPLE PASTE : OF 1 MEDIUM SIZED {FRESHLY MADE]
SUGAR : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP
GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1TSP
PROCEDURE :
We will extract the juice of a pineapple first using a blender or juicer. Then, I decided not to extract the juice but use the entire paste!
NOTE : For this you are to choose a good quality, ripe, sweet pineapple! Some turn out to be a little bitter!
We will now heat a clean wok atop the gas stove. We will add the shredded coconut to it & stir cook for 8-10 minutes at minimal heat!
We will add the pineapple paste to it & fold in well! We will stir cook for 15-16 minutes & add the sugar!
We would fold in well & stir cook at minimal heat for 20-25 minutes, until it becomes sticky!
We will add the green cardamom powder and stir cook for 5-6 minutes more! The melted sugar & the oil released from the shredded coconut would together get a sticky dough! We should be done!
We will transfer the entire amount to a plate and make into desired shapes, then either roll them on chopped dry fruits or garnish them with the same. I kept them as it is!
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