Papaya Pudding

Most of my recipes have either come from mom, inspired by mom, learning inspired from some of my favourite chefs from around the world or my loved ones/friends. But like I have mentioned time and again from the inception of this blog, although my recipe creations have been 'inspired' by some of my heroes/heroins, a lot have been experimented and re experimented.

This is one such simple recipe. It was meant to be a papaya juice/milkshake but ended up being a pudding and a very good one at that. What is comforting to know, is that Our Good Lord already blessed us with some naturally sweetened produce, so I did not use even an ounce of sugar in this pudding. For a 5 year old to say "its superb mama" with zero sugar in it, is commendable, not on my part but on our Lord's part for creating such naturally sweet and lovely produce for us.

Although the Fall season is in, Papaya bears fruit almost all throughout the year. It is either spherical in shape or pear shaped and has a world of health and nutritional benefits.

(This wasn't the exact Papaya I made the pudding with as I had forgotten to snap a picture before attempting this make. The skin has to be less of to no greens and more of yellow.)

Dad and Mum have a spectacular collection of homegrown fruits, veggies, herbs, flowers, etc. Some trees have been there for many, many decades since grandma used to live in the same home while we were overseas.

Dad and Mum have been living next door to Dad's cousin and I just learnt that Geeappapa (Geemon) and Pushpa aunty's papaya tree just fell owing to the heavy rains and it was full of lovely papayas. When I was at home a week ago Dad gave me two varieties of papaya, one was planted by my dear mum and has borne such lovely papaya fruit and really big sized ones as well. Dad sent a couple of papayas to my sisters overseas as well. We all wanted to have mum's first crop of papaya produce. We miss her very dearly.
It is still very green and raw, but I wait on with bated breath for it to ripen so I can create something special in mum's honour. I almost have an idea what it is going to help me create in the weeks to come.

The other papaya is a longish, less broad. The pulp when the fruit is fully ripened has a very sweet and somewhat nutty taste when over-ripened. So while I waited for this papaya to ripen, it actually over-ripened overnight although it did take quite long to reach that state. I am not sure why it does that. I feel this variety of papaya actually taste better in a mashed form than when chopped up into slices.

Cinnamon has a unique quality of taking the place of sugar and beats the artificial sweeteners any day. You may want to try cinnamon as a healthy substitute even in your every day coffee or milk. It has so many nutritional/health benefits as well.

When I mentioned a few thoughts ago that this recipe is a simple one, you cannot imagine just how simple it is! Let me tell you now how simple it is,

You need:

• A medium sized papaya (preferable the longish variety as shown in the picture above), chopped
• 2-3 tbsp of milk powder of your choice
• 2 tsp of cinnamon powder (I like my a little less than finely powdered)
• 1 cup of cold water
• Finely chopped almonds or cashew nuts (optional)

The Make

Serves 3 adults | Preparation time: 5 mins | Resting time: 3-4 hours minimum

1. Pulse the papaya pieces,1 tsp cinnamon, milk powder and water in your standing grinder or juicer for  20 counts on high and 10 counts on low. Rest and repeat twice.

2. Stir in the optional almonds or cashew nuts into the mixture at this stage if using (I did not use it this time).

3. Transfer to a large serving bowl or individual serving cups. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

4. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon on top of the serving bowl or in each serving cup.

Serve cold. Bon appetit. (Trust me if a 5 year old who does not really fancy papaya much loved this so would your loved ones/kids)