Mango coconut khir

Rice pudding is a much-loved dish in many cultures; you can have it hot from the oven and sprinkled with nutmeg or topped with jam in the UK, spiced with bay leaves, camphor or fragrant with cardamom or rosewater in India, or made with coconut milk in Thailand. In the Middle East it can be made with cinnamon and date syrup (doesn't that sound good?) and elsewhere in South East Asia it is made with bananas or coconut. You can eat it hot and gloopy, or cold and set, for breakfast or dessert. This rice pudding is a real blend of cultures; mango, coconut milk and coconut sugar from the tropics, damson jam from our garden and sushi rice from Japan. It works, though, coming together to make a seriously delicious dessert. I served it chilled, cos that's how I like my rice pudding.

Half a cup of sushi rice cooked in a cup of water, or however much you need for it to be all absorbed by the time the rice is cooked
The flesh of 5 medium- sized mangoes
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
3/4 cup coconut sugar

• First cook the sushi rice until it's nice and soft and all the water has been absorbed.
• Add the coconut milk and coconut sugar, mixing well over a gentle heat.
• Blend the mango flesh to a purée and add to the pan.
• Heat through and combine thoroughly; you may need to adjust the sweetness according to the mangoes you use.
• Cool it down , then chill in the fridge to serve. Decorate with fresh fruit and / or add a swirl of jam; I used home made damson jam.

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