michelle picker cooks

Turmeric, a member of the ginger family, grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Slightly bitter, musky and earthy tasting, it adds an interesting dimension to this dessert from David Thompson’s Thai Food.

For the black rice pudding, soak ½ a cup of black sticky rice and ½ a cup of white sticky rice overnight. Place in a heatproof bowl and steam for 3 hours, making sure to replenish the water often. If you’re in a hurry, try a pressure cooker. When the rice is soft stir in 1 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and some pandanus leaves. Allow to rest until the sugar has dissolved and the pandanus leaves have released some flavour. For the grilled bananas, cut your bananas lengthwise and steep in some water acidulated with lime juice. In a wide saucepan combine 1 cup of coconut cream, a pinch of salt, 1 cup of palm sugar (or coconut sugar), 1 knotted pandanus leaf and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh turmeric (if you can’t get fresh turmeric, use one teaspoon of ground turmeric). Now grill the bananas briefly and immerse in the sauce for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, remove the bananas and grill again until golden. Serve with the rice pudding and the coconut and turmeric sauce.