CURRY AND SPICE: GULA MELACA PUDDING

DESSERTS MADE AT HOME ATTRACTS ME THE MOST!

I work out different ideas and produce sweets & desserts in my convenience!This way, I use way less amount of the sweeteners!Presently,I am looking for a stevia plant to get home! Stevia at the stores are quite pricey, also they may not be in the purest form! I liked the idea of extracting stevia powder from it's leaves but the number & amount of sweets or desserts I would make may require a lot of it!Same is the case with Agave & Taikoo Golden Syrup, I am not comfortable with their price tag! There enters Gula Melaka, this island & it's neighbour's love, widely used!In our twelve years of stay here, I did not buy!Last week; I got one though I have our most favourite date palm jaggery in stock!The other jaggery varieties I alway stock are coconut rock sugar & sugarcane jaggery!I must tell none of these are suitable for a diabetic except for the stevia! But I wished to make a good use of the Gula Melaka in a recipe that tasted near to our loving liquid date palm jaggery!

OUR FRIENDS JUST ARRIVED WHO LAST VISITED US IN 2016!

They reached here Wednesday morning, there was only chat sessions going on; in the evening we went for a cable car ride from Mount.Faber to the Sentosa island!It was my first ride because I never agreed to it,I fear heights! Today, they insisted me to accompany & I agreed to get their company but the ride? It was a terrible experience for a weak heart like me!

At a certain point, I felt I would not see the son & the rest of the family anymore! T & Dibs were scaring me saying the floor had to have of glass; the other lady Smita was cooler than I had been in the situation!Back in 2016,their daughter accompanied them, our son too joined; we travelled to the Malaysia too! T & Dibs are friends of many decades! I enjoyed walking in the beach most today, it was the sunset time & the atmosphere was right to make us happy!We did not stay there for long!Back home, the chat session went on & your's truly is writing her blog at an unearthly hour!She has to take Smita for some shopping on Thursday daytime, her husband is here on work!It is not compulsory to write a blogpost but consider it my contribution to the CNY celebrations!

WHAT IS THIS GULA MELAKA PUDDING?

Gula Melaka is a kind of Palm Sugar derived from the sap of the coconut palm or other palm varieties!Wiki says it originated in the state of Malacca in Malaysia & hence is called Malacca sugar in English!I liked it & found it nearer in taste to our beloved "khejur gur" that is the most important part of this post! Although supposedly I am to get my this year's "patali gur"stock sooner from the Rajdhani Stores, I would not mind keeping a "Gula Melaka" bottle in my pantry, way better than having honey, no I am not fond of it! Actually,I was aiming at doing a Gula Melaka vegan, gluten-free patishapta crepes!That did not work out, may be I used a bit more water in the rice paste! I did not take the hassle to correct them, straightaway cooked this gluten-free, vegan pudding with gula melaka, one tablespoon of sugar, rice paste, shredded coconut, green cardamom powder!I named the dessert GULA MELAKA PUDDING!You can top it with dry fruits or you may not! The dried figs came from Lahore!

INGREDIENTS :

SHREDDED COCONUT : 2 COFFEE MUG

RICE GRAIN : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

GULA MELAKA / LIQUID PALM SUGAR : 150 ML

SUGAR : 1 TBSP

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 2 TSP

OIL : 1 TBSP

I USED ROASTED DRIED FIG, CASHEW NUT, PISTACHIO TO GARNISH

PROCEDURE :

This is Gula Melaka which in English is Gula Malacca because this sweetener was made in Malacca at first, says the Wiki!

Actually, my intent was to prepare a Bengali style crepe with using the Gula Melaka to sweeten the dish! It did not work out as planned, I cooked an easiest but yummy pudding / halwa!

I started with a different plan, hence soaked some idli rice! For this pudding, readymade rice flour would work!