Sweet Corn & Coconut Pudding

Blogging Marathon# 26: Week 3/ Day 3
Theme: Pick 1 ingredient and Cook from 3 books -- Dessert
Dish: Sweet Corn & Coconut Pudding

I have been watching a lot of Indian cooking shows lately and it looks like 'sweet corn aka American corn' is the latest 'hot' ingredient. Recipes ranging from breakfast upma to filling biryanis/ kurmas and desserts are being made with this versatile ingredient. Though I found it hard to find a dessert recipe with corn in my cookbooks, I would have definitely found a dessert recipe on one of the cooking shows.

Today's recipe is from "Viva Vegan" cookbook by Terry Hope Romero. Majarete is a light sweet pudding from the Caribbean island nations and some South American countries. This recipe is based on majarete found in the Dominican Republic, which is corn based, creamy and coconut scented with vanilla and cinnamon.

Ingredients:
Fresh Corn kernels - 3cups
Coconut milk - 1 14oz. can
Sugar - 2/3 cup
Cinnamon sticks - two 3" pieces
Salt - ½tsp
Almond or Rice or Soy milk - ½cup
Corn starch - 2tbsp
Yellow Cornmeal - ¼cup
Lemon zest - ½ of the lemon (I used lime zest)
Vanilla extract - 1½tsp

Method:

• Grind corn kernels along with coconut milk and sugar until smooth; it's OK if some corn texture remains.
• Pour into a saucepan, add the cinnamon sticks and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.
• In a measuring cup, whisk almond milk with corn starch and then stir in the cornmeal.
• Pour into the simmering corn mixture and whisk rapidly until smooth. Add the grated lemon zest and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring constantly, until the pudding resembles polenta like consistency (thin upma like). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and remove the cinnamon sticks.
• Pour into individual ramekins or a large single serving glass bowl, sprinkle with ground cinnamon and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve slightly warm or let cool completely for a thicker pudding.

I chilled my puddings and served them slightly warm by microwaving them for just a few minutes.

Lets check what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 26.