Tender Coconut Lychee Pudding With Crushed Praline Topping

This is yet another culinary blueprint from my sis- in- law, Annies' SOAR (stash of awesome recipes). If you don't know who Annies is by now, then you should check here. Being a cooking connoisseur has given her an edge on the finest recipes and a keen eye for the best of taste techniques and pairings. This pudding is one of her expressively yummy endeavors.

Though we call it pudding, it is not of the ranks of the readymade gelatinous creams that come in frighteningly convenient plastic tubs. No, this is of different caliber. A creamy existence of magnificent flavor comes packed in this sweet fare. It is also a chockablock of tastes and textures. The name of this enchanting delight?  Tender coconut and lychee pudding. Oh yes, it's mere utterance should take you to a place of exquisite pleasure.

As the name suggests, there is a synergy of tastes that draw from the duo of dynamic fruits in this dish; the tender coconut and the lychee fruit.

Unlike mature, hard coconut flesh, the green baby coconut yields a tender, translucent meat. Since coconut trees are harvested on a grand scale in Kerala, numerous dishes, and many desserts comprise this seeded fruit. Not meant to confuse, the one in the picture above is not that of tender coconut, instead it's a brown mature kinsman. Since it was imperative to make a pretty picture, I had to use it as  some nifty prop material.

Lychees are a sweet, white fleshed fruit that comes from the tropical tree native to most of Southeast Asia. They are wonderfully fragrant with a delicate bite.

The merging of young coconut with sweet lychees yields a remarkably delicious combination in the pudding. Although, densely studded, it is unbelievably light.

If you can manage to get fresh tender coconut and the water from it, good for you! Supposing you succeed in getting your hands on fresh lychees as well, then extol your good self, and get ready to accomplish mega flavor with this already crazy good recipe. Me? I had to avail of the option of scoring a multitude of canned goods from my Asian market. They worked out very well, and did not limit the flavor capacity of this luscious treat. Hedged in with condensed milk and a topping of toasted sugar,  tender coconut lychee pudding is channeled right up there to the royalty of desserts. Aptly in unison with the Queen's jubilee weekend, I should say.

Ingredients:

The goods came from these cans 

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 can condensed milk
• *1 cup fresh tender coconut water (If canned, use 1/2 to 3/4 c) 
• 3/4 cup tender coconut meat, chopped 
• 3/4 cup lychees chopped
• 1/2 cup lychee syrup
• 1 pkt  gelatin ( around 2 tsp)
• 1/4 cup praline

Method:

• In a bowl, combine all ingredients except 1/4 cup milk, gelatin and praline. 
• Warm milk in microwave and sprinkle the gelatin into it. Stir to combine and dissolve gelatin. 
• Add gelatin mixture to the coconut/ lychee mixture. Mix well. Refrigerate till firm. 
• Serve with praline topping.

Praline Topping Ingredients :

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup chopped cashews
• 1 tbsp softened butter

Method for the praline:

As pralines can refer to a variety of confections, here the mention is being made to the hardened caramelized sugar mixture with or without nuts. The method of prep I give here is almost identical to a sesame chikki, just with the addition of a slab of butter along with cashews I had on hand. 
If you've never tried your hand at it, heads up alert : it's easy and dangerously addictive. In this case, make sure to use for pudding topper, not a mouth filler. Else you'll end up making a second batch, like I did. 

• Line a 9 X 13 baking sheet with parchment paper
• Over medium heat, place sugar and water in a deep sided saucepan. Melt sugar and cook stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
• Increase heat to medium-high, bring to boil , without stirring and allow mixture to reach a deep golden brown.
• Remove from heat and swiftly mix in the cashews and the butter.
• Spread out evenly onto lined baking sheet. Allow to cool.

• Break apart into small shards, or crush in between parchment folds if you want it to resemble powder.
• Sprinkle on pudding when ready to serve.

Notes:

Though the recipe calls for fresh tender coconut water, and you only have the option of canned, which tends to be sweeter, taste test and add accordingly.

This was taken in the evening when we actually had it, the light giving way to a difference in pudding color.

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Grab hold of that bigger picture ~
"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)