©2003 Ashy Macbean.
The proper way of doing this would be to use rice flour but I don't usually have any lying around. There's a type of Russian porridge made from semolina and pumpkin so I figured using the same ingredients in different proportions, along with some coconut milk, would make a nice pudding even if it wasn't exactly the same as the Thai version. I was right on both counts. I made a very nice pudding and it wasn't quite the same as the stuff you get in Thailand (but it was fairly close). Here's how I did it.
Ingredients
400-450g of pumpkin
1 cup semolina flour
A cup and a half of coconut milk
2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
Half a cup of sugar
A pinch of salt
Peel the pumpkin and cut it into large pieces. Slice the pieces about 1 cm thick and steam for ten minutes. You can make a steamer by sitting a sieve or colander on a pot containing about five cm of water. Put the pumpkin in the sieve and cover with the lid from the pot.
Mash the pumpkin and mix with the semolina, sugar, coconut milk and one dessertspoon of coconut. Lightly grease a deep bowl and put the mixture in it. Sprinkle a little salt and the rest of the coconut on top and put the bowl in a large pot. Pour water into the pot until it comes half way up the side of the bowl. Put the pot on a fairly high heat and when the water starts to boil, turn the heat down just a little and cover the pot. Steam the pudding for 35 to 40 minutes then leave the pudding to cool. It will firm up and you will be able to cut it into slices. It's good for breakfast and snacks and because it's fairly solid, you can take it as part of a packed lunch.
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