289) PADIMAS

PADIMAS

SWEET PINEAPPLE DELIGHT

A MANGALORIAN KONKANI DESSERT

Ingredients:

     1)    Fresh fully ripe pineapple chunks devoid of peel and core – 300 gm.

     2)    Sugar – 450 gm.

     3)    Bombay rava (fine wheat semolina) – 500 gm.

     4)    Dalda (refined hydrogenated vegetable oil) or ghee (clarified butter) – 100 gm.

     5)    Cashew nuts – 50 gm.

     6)    Kismis (Sultanas or dried sweet seedless green grapes) – 50 gm.

     7)    Cardamom – 7 pods

     8)    Saffron – 2 pinches

     9)    Water – 1 litre

To cook:

          Slice the pineapple chunks into thin pieces of around 3 mm. thickness. Transfer to a bowl and tip in the sugar and the saffron. Mix well, cover and set aside for 2 to 3 hours, taking care to stir it every half hour for the sugar to soak in uniformly.

Shell the cardamom, crush the seeds and set aside. Set a deep pan on high heat. Tip in the dalda or the ghee (they give distinctly different flavours to the Padimas; so choose the one you like best). Put in the cashew nuts and stir till they are roasted golden brown.

Now tip in the sultanas and stir for a minute. Lower the heat, lift out the cashew nuts and the sultanas and set aside. Tip in the Bombay rava into the pan of hot oil and stir. Simultaneously, set a pan containing a litre of water on the other stove on high heat. Stir the rava continuously on medium heat till the water comes to a boil.

The rava will be lightly roasted by now. Pour in the boiling water and stir for a minute, still on medium heat. Now tip in the sugary pineapple and stir nicely, taking care to break all the lumps and to mix it thoroughly. When well mixed, tip in the fried cashews and the sultanas.

Sprinkle the crushed cardamom seeds and stir well. The ingredients should have mixed in fully by now and the Padimas will feel heavy and difficult to stir. Switch off the heat.

Your delicious Padimas is ready to enjoy. Serve hot or chilled.

Bon appétit!!!

Tip:

          Next time you make Padimas, try using broken wheat or thick upma rava in place of Bombay rava. Enjoy Padimas with different taste, different texture!