I finish my four courses of Asian Inspiration this month with a simple pudding.

I have never used tapioca before, after being personally less than enthusiastic from my mother’s description she recalls from her London-hot-school-lunch-days.

But then motivated by Ellie’s post earlier in the year, by a silky looking tapioca pudding (with banana spring rolls, a sweet kaffir lime syrup and crunchy toasted coconut flakes!), I was instantly converted.

(Sorry, Mum.)

I made a few twists to Ellie’s recipe, the most obvious omitting the banana spring roll and instead pairing the pudding with a green mango fritter.  I stuck with the tradition of serving the green mango with salt and chilli by sprinking a healthy dose on the fritters once cooked.

The inherent sweetness of the pudding (from the coconut milk as well as the lime syrup), is the perfect balance to counter the spicy, salty flavour of the fritter.

But the best part?  It is so simple.

{ Coconut lime tapioca pudding with chilli salt green mango fritters } Adapted from Ellie of Almost Bourdain.

* Ingredients *

Tapioca
1/4 cup tapioca / sago pearls
1 cup water
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/3 cup coconut cream

Syrup
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
Zest of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1 lime

Fritters
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup iced water
1 green mango, sliced
1 teaspoon coarse salt, ground
1 teaspoon chilli flakes, ground

* Directions *
To make coconut tapioca pearls, boil the water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add tapioca pearls and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the tapioca pearls are cooked and translucent. Add sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and stir in coconut cream. Mix well, cool to room temperature and keep in fridge until needed.  To make the lime syrup, add the sugar, lime juice and water to a saucepan and stir to dissolve.  Heat over medium heat for 3-5 minutes without stirring.  Take off the heat, add the zest and set aside to cool.  To make the fritters, combine the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the iced water.  Mix until combined, and then pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Heat up a small saucepan of oil.  Dip pieces of the sliced mango into the batter and then fry in the oil until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).  Drain on paper towel.  Sprinkle with the chilli salt while hot.  To assemble, place the tapioca pudding in the bottom of a glass and drizzle with syrup.  Serve with the warm fritters.

Serves 3-4