Semolina Pudding Burmese Food

SEMOLINA PUDDING (BURMESE)

Steps:

• Place the semolina in a large and heavy saucepan.
• Stir in the coconut milk gradually, keeping the mixture free from lumps.
• Add the sugar, put over medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. (For those familiar, this is similar to how you would make polenta.).
• When the mixture boils and thickens, add a small amount of ghee or butter at a time and continue cooking until mixture becomes very thick and pull from the sides of the pan. (not certain about exact cooking time, but with polenta, this takes 10-15 minutes).
• Add salt and ground cardamom and mix well.
• Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time.
• Stiffly beat the egg whites and fold in .
• Turn the mixture into a buttered 8 or 9 inch square cake pan or ovenproof dish and smooth the top.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they are golden.
• Sprinkle liberally over semolina mixture.
• Bake in a moderately slow oven 320-325°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until well risen and golden brown.
• Cool in the dish, then cut into large diamond-shaped pieces.

BURMESE SEMOLINA CAKE (SANWEI MAKIN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160˚C / 320˚F and a deep baking dish greased with butter or coconut oil.
• Pop the semolina in a large saucepan over a low to medium heat and dry fry until golden brown (around 5 to 10 minutes). Keep stirring and avoid leaving it unattended or it may burn or cook unevenly.
• Once it's toasty, add in the brown sugar, coconut cream, water, eggs, butter and salt and mix well. You might need a whisk to break up any clumps. The batter will be quite thin at this stage so don't worry.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium high heat and stir continuously. It will start to thicken quickly. Once bubbles start rising through the mixture you can reduce the heat down to low and continue to stir until the mixture thickens and starts to pull away easily from the side of the pan (around 8-10 minutes).
• Once thickened, transfer the batter into baking dish and smooth the surface with an icing spatula or the back of a spoon.
• Sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds or desiccated coconut and pop in the oven. Bake for around 30-40 minutes until the top is dark golden-brown and the cake has set.
• Slice into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.