MOCHI GNOCCHI COCONUT PUDDING ~ BUBUR PULUT a' la GNOCCHI

Two of the most harrowing events happened within the past week.  Where fear and gratefulness merged.

 ~ Our cat Sweetie went missing. 

Thank God, at 2 am 2 nights later, she returned. A little scruffy, damp and hungry but complete and safe. The home was whole and warm again, hearts were lifted, joy was etched on faces, Sweetie tailed closely behind N, later to morph into aloofness and surely promises were made to selves to cherish her more than ever before.


~ I could not sign in to my blogger account.

It was an agonizing night, repeated re-setting of passwords, punching of unnecessary keys, head waggings, head aches, furrowing eyebrows, deep breaths, even deeper frustrated sighs and when by a mere miracle I succeeded it was a feeling of release and humbleness that I felt ~ after a long, solitary confinement in that black hole of Blogland that had, for hours, not a crack of light in sight. And then the final sense of complete charge and control over this little area of my life. Woo hoo. 

Life is back to its normal and comfortable disarray.

In between those events I had made a mochi gnocchi-shaped pudding. It was quite by accident that I gave them the adorable 'gnocchi' (pronounced n'yo-kee) imprint. A fork happened to be within reach. It was addictive to sculpt the form. The dough was made of glutinous rice flour or mochi mixed with coconut milk, a little sugar and a pinch of salt. A very forgiving dough.

This is  dough that can never go wrong. This is also a typical South East Asian dessert the gnocchi shape of which gave the dessert a little twist (literally almost). It would have otherwise been rolled into little balls and left at that. Its satisfyingly chewy, with a caress of sweet, soaked in creamy. A little palm sugar syrup (or maple syrup) dribbled over the top would have added a lovely and tasteful finale.

The recipe ~

250 gm glutinous rice flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup coconut milk minus 2 T, preferably fresh ( I used packet)
2-3 T castor sugar
a pinch of salt
2 T pandan juice (3-4 pandan leaves chopped and blended with a little warm water in a blender and then strained) OR a few drops of green colouring 

Coconut syrup :

250 ml coconut milk the consistency of fresh milk
50 gm sugar or more if you would like it sweeter
a pinch of salt
1 pandan leaf tied in a knot

Place the glutinous flour, add sugar and salt and pour in almost half of the coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of the pandan juice in a medium bowl. Mix with your hand and add some more coconut milk and pandan juice as you go along until it becomes a soft, smooth and ball of dough. Add pandan juice until you get the shade of green that pleases you. You may or may not use up all the liquid. The amount is just a guide. Add more if necessary.
Roll the dough into little balls about 1 cm  in size and then press it against the back of a fork and roll it off. Finish off the rest of the dough. Bring a pot of water to a boil and throw in the mochi gnocchi a batch at a time. When the mochi gnocchi floats to the top skin them off and do the rest of the dough. Keep aside on a plate.

The coconut syrup :

Bring all ingredients into a pot. Place over a small heat and stir constantly until the mixture becomes quite warm and the sugar has dissolved. This must be stirred and not left to boil otherwise the coconut milk will 'break' and separate causing oil to rise to the surface. Taste and adjust for sweetness.

To serve :

Place a few or as many mochi gnocchi in a serving bowl and pour the coconut syrup over it. Serve warm or at room temperature or even chilled.