Desserts Recipes - Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

• 900ml/1 1/2 pints/3 3/4 cups coconut milk

• 1/2 small pumpkin, seeded and cut into bite size cubes

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into bite size pieces

• 1 pandanus (screw pine) leaf

• 150g/5oz/3/4 cup palm sugar (jaggery)

• 2.5ml/1/2 tsp salt

• 3 bananas, cut into thick diagonal slices

Serves 4-6

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Method:

1. Pour the coconut milk into a heavy pan and bring it to the boil. Stir in the pumpkin, sweet potatoes and pandanus leaf.

2. Continue to boil for 1 minute more, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the pumpkin and sweet potato are tender but not too soft.

3. Using a slotted spoon, lift the pumpkin and sweet potato pieces out of the coconut milk and put them on a plate.

4. Add the sugar and salt to the coconut milk and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the sweetened coconut milk to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Add the bananas to the sweetened coconut milk and simmer for 4 minutes. Put the pumpkin and sweet potato back into the pan and gently mix all the ingredients together.

6. Remove the pandanus leaf and serve warm on individual salad plates.

A favorite among many Malays and Indonesians this dish can be served as a sweet snack, or as a nourishing and warming breakfast.

Variation: Orange and pumpkin go well together. Toss the mixture with orange segments, instead of banana, just before serving, if you like.