We had beautiful weather in Seattle this weekend. I went hiking on Saturday with my friend M.  M is one of those exercise freaks who wears a pedometer every day and goes to the gym for fun. When it is raining outside, she sometimes goes up and down the stairs in our office building to get her exercise! M sits on the third floor and I am on the first floor, and she always offers to come down for coffee (we have coffee together at least twice a day) since that gives her an opportunity to climb the stairs. I on the other hand take the elevator on the rare occasions that I offer to go up.

I think I spend more time with M daily than I do with Siv, but unfortunately none of her bad habits have rubbed off on me so far. But I recently realized that it is time to stop complaining about my shrinking pants and admit the fact that there might be another explanation for me not being able to get into them. So I’ve decided to be a little more active this summer, and the weekend hikes are part of this summer resolution. Since M is just looking for an opportunity to be outdoors, she was more than happy to take me up on the offer. So the first hike was yesterday, it was a lot of fun, hard at first, got easier after the initial huffing and puffing. But the sad realization that I am way out of shape struck me this morning when my legs just refused to cooperate when I tried to get out of bed. My lower body hurts like hell, guess I’ve got long ways to go.

Anyway, I spent the whole day indoors today, even though the weather was pretty nice outside. Siv is feeling all better now, he even started playing cricket. So home alone on a Sunday, I just lazed around the whole day using my sour legs as an excuse. I fixed myself a sandwich for lunch, but by tea time I was craving something sweet. I didn’t feel like going down to the coffee shop, so after a pantry raid, came up with this quick and easy dessert. I don’t know how many calories are there in it, I used light coconut milk so hopefully the calories are less than what I burned yesterday.

Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients

Method

Place the cardamom pods and ginger slices along with the water in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove and discard the cardamom and ginger. Bring the water back to a boil. Add the tapioca pearls and cook for about 12 minutes(or according to the directions on the package). Add the coconut milk and honey and cook stirring for about 4 more minutes till the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat and add the fruit pieces. Serve at room temperature sprinkled with the cardamom powder.

This is my entry for Sunita’s Think Spice event, this month’s theme is Think Cardamom and is hosted by EasyCrafts.



Comments

52 Responses to “Cardamom Flavored Tapioca Pudding with Toddy Palm Seeds”

  1. arundathi on May 18th, 2008 10:34 pm

    Hmmm Climbing the stairs for fun? I try to avoid those people as much as possible - they dampen my appetite! LOL! Congrats on the hike :) And the celebratory drink looks delicious!

    :D I have known her for 16 years now… so I have learned to ignore such idiosyncrasies ;) and Thanks….

  2. Raaga on May 18th, 2008 11:45 pm

    Hey… lovely pudding… I spent the weekend trekking in the mountains, rock climbing, rappeling and kayaking… every muscle insists on giving attendance today

    Okay Ms.show off… fine, fine I get it… :) :)

  3. Srivalli on May 19th, 2008 12:31 am

    Goes to the gym for fun! cheese I try not to meet such ppl :evil: Living with one is enough to scare me for life! :oops: …and who is this Raaga, :idea: I don’t know her! :razz: …

    yeah your drink lives up to name!..and is this not going to the think event, girl you are not thinking properly.. :party:

    :) yeah exactly, who is this Raaga????? :mad:
    Thanks for the reminder about the think event, I have been so out of it lately, haven’t been paying much attention to events… :(

  4. swati raman on May 19th, 2008 12:51 am

    ummm there u r… even i loved my treks.. d few that i had… and iam also trying to love using the stairs as much as possible…
    i love that pic sig… and guess what happened .. garg read that comment of urs that hes lucky…. and he says…’oye isne to mera naam badal diya’ ;) ‘mera naam lucky nai’ :D he enjoys acting like that so much … :) just wanted to share this with u …

    :D That is funny…. Now onwards I am going to address him as Lucky… :)

  5. sra on May 19th, 2008 12:51 am

    Welcome to the club, Sig! I’ve been exercising for 12 years but had to take a break the last few months - not only did I gain weight but it’s like starting all over again, with the attendant aches and pains.
    Glad to hear Siv is fine. What do you mean by toddy palm seeds - those transparent jelly-like fruit? I really miss them when summer comes round.

    hehe, I just read your post, one of the reasons I avoid the gym, I don’t want anybody measuring the convexity of any of my body parts ;) Good luck with the new fitness regimen…

    Yep, toddy Palm seeds are the jelly like fruits. Taati munjalu :) Okay, I got that from Mahanandi. I miss the fresh ones too…

  6. Meeta on May 19th, 2008 1:36 am

    I like going to the gym - but having said that I have not seen one in weeks :eek: But I can totally understand about the shrinking pants - they do!! Must be the washing machine! Puddings like this never have an effect on our bodies! (I am in total denial!!

    :) Weeks???? That is not too bad… Anyway glad it is not just me whose pants shrink, that too at the dry cleaner’s!! ;)

  7. Purnima on May 19th, 2008 1:46 am

    Sig, that glass surely looks very tempting ! Sago at bottom reminds me of the payasam! For post hiking pains, best remedy to get rid is a handful of sea salt in warm bathtub, sit in this water upto neck, relax for half an hour, come out and watch the pain disappear! :smile: try on next hike, u wd love hiking daily then (even if that means coffee wt M on 3rd floor :grin: . Glad that ur Hub is now doing 5n! Take care!)

    Thanks Purnima… Hmm… the sea salt in the bathtub remedy is new to me, will try that next time… :)

  8. Nirmala on May 19th, 2008 2:05 am

    The best remedy for thsi pain is (bit rude but excellent) walk or jog with those paining legs for atleast 30 minutes. Your muscle should know that this is a basic excercise that it is supposed to get used up to ;)
    And the pudding is so inviting!

    Are you serious????????? :) Anyway I did go out for a brisk walk today, and it was good… Hope my muscles learned the lesson by now….

  9. sagari on May 19th, 2008 2:40 am

    pic looks sooooooo tempting sig

    Thanks Sagari!

  10. sunita on May 19th, 2008 3:03 am

    Sig, glad to know about your hiking…will get better dearie…I used to go to the gym regularly, but have been out of touch for months now…and yes, my trousers are shrinking too :wink:

    Tyhne pudding looks lovely…now what about sending it to Easy Crafts for this months ‘think spice-cardamom’ :grin:

    I too used to go regularly, but once you stop it is so hard to get back into the rhythm… The outdoor activities are much more fun… :)

    BTW, I forgot all about the think spice event, haven’t been paying much attention to events lately… Thanks for the reminder, I’ve sent it across :)

  11. Asha on May 19th, 2008 3:13 am

    Good Monday morning!:))

    Love that dessert.I found a Toddy palms in Chinese store, loved it.

    Happy Monday to you too Ash… I too get my canned toddy palms from the Chinese store, never seen the fresh ones here..

  12. indosungod on May 19th, 2008 3:25 am

    lovely tapoica pearls, the pudding looks delicious with the floating toddy palms, miss them - must be in season back home.
    You know what Sig, we have a friend who lost 150 lbs climbing up to his apt in the 14th floor, he was 300+ and we saw him after a year he was unrecogonizable. I am not hinting at anything here ;)

    :) Wow, 300+ lbs and 14 floors… that is some determination… :) And yeah, I got the hint…

  13. shilpa on May 19th, 2008 3:51 am

    Ohh we tried going to Gym. One day I go and next couple of days I can’t move a muscle :roll: . so I take rest and go again after few days. So it is not helping me at all.

    Good to know you have someone to go for hiking. It must be great. Tapioca pudding looks great. When I saw the picture, I thought you served it with ice cubes. Toddy palm seeds..wow..I love them. Saw them in B’lore but didn’t get time to taste them :(.

    :) I know what you mean… getting into a regular exercise routine is so hard… You can find the canned toddy palm seeds in the Asian stores, next best thing to the fresh version…

  14. Mishmash! on May 19th, 2008 4:06 am

    u get palm seeds there? fresh? lucky u!!i once bought the canned variety, out of my ‘kothi’, but that was horiible as it was canned in sugar syrup! those colored tapioca pearls always attract me….this sounds easy to make…let me see if i can have a colourful pudding :D

    :) No, not fresh… Canned…. I love them so much that I wash off the sugar syrup before eating them… I love the colorful tapioca pearls in fresh fruit juice from the Asian stores too, that is the bigger variety… Can’t wait to see your colorful pudding, bet it will be a work of art…

  15. Siri on May 19th, 2008 4:58 am

    I love trekking and just enjoied mine at Smoky Mountains.. :smile: Our place sucks.. we just dont have any trekking fields here…wish I was in CA now.. :drool: Good going gurl and ur tea look so inviting! :grin:

    Siri

    I’m sure there must be one somewhere near you.. Here in Seattle, we are surrounded by nice hiking trails… :)

  16. Siri on May 19th, 2008 4:59 am

    sorry, spelling mistake.. its was - ‘ur pudding looks so inviting’.. :cool:

    :) you must’ve been thinking of the bubble tea probably….

  17. Aparna on May 19th, 2008 4:59 am

    Never knew a pudding like this. I don’t think I can even find the ingredients here.
    Living in Goa isn’t the same as holidaying in Goa!
    As for climbing stairs, I do it a lot. You see, its the only way I can reach our flat on the second floor.:) No lifts here:(
    Who knows maybe I’ll be a few kilos lighter soon (I wish)!!

    You are just saying that to make us all feel better… Goa, girl, how bad can it be?????? :) And good for you, you are forced to climb the stairs everyday, I’m sure you are going to lose some kilos soon :)

  18. richa on May 19th, 2008 5:31 am

    hmmm.. what if i use pineapple, goes well with coconut milk anyway, i think will do that :grin: loved the sweet!!

    Pineapple or mangoes will be great too… :)

  19. molly on May 19th, 2008 7:16 am

    Thanks for your previous post on antibiotics and its sideeffects-scare. It helped me a lot by not freaking out upon seeing the side effects my son is suffering from after taking his antibiotics.

    Glad to hear that it helped you Molly, hope your son feels better soon!

  20. Uma on May 19th, 2008 7:20 am

    So you have a friend who likes to climb stairs and go to gym for fun! I have a husband like that, who loves to walk a lot and do all the work that burns calories! Ha ha ha! :sad:

    The pudding looks so delicious, Sig! Love that instant dessert. :smile:

    :) That is awesome Uma, hope he forces you to do it too… or at least you can make him do all the cleaning around the house, house work burns a lot of calories ;)

  21. rosie on May 19th, 2008 7:53 am

    hey i live in seattle but am new to the area. where did you go hiking if you dont mind sharing the location? i’ve been craving to hike lately with my little 1…

    Hi Rosie, we went to Rattlesnake ridge It is a relatively easy hike with a beautiful lake near by.

  22. ranji on May 19th, 2008 7:58 am

    this is soooooo delcious sig!!!very creative..

    Thanks Ranji!

  23. Rajitha on May 19th, 2008 8:01 am

    gotta give it to you….hips and thighs hurtin..but cooking is on in full swing :mrgreen:

    Anything for a dessert, and it was easier than dressing up and going down ;)

  24. JZ @ Tasty treats on May 19th, 2008 9:27 am

    I dont even want to comment on how “healthy” I am!:wink: pudding sounds great, looks fantastic!!! kothi varunnu!!

    :) lol… thanks JZ!

  25. Laavanya on May 19th, 2008 10:20 am

    What a motivation your friend M is… good for you.
    This pudding looks delicious and I love the ease with which you’ve whipped this up.

    Thanks Laavanya… The real motivation is the mirror, but M helps too ;)

  26. Kalai on May 19th, 2008 2:32 pm

    Great to hear that you were hiking with your friend. Really glad that Siv’s doing so much better! That pudding just looks so inviting! Will have to try it out one of these days. Nice entry! :)

    Thanks Kalai, do try, it is a very easy dessert… :)

  27. DK on May 19th, 2008 5:08 pm

    Tapioca pudding is my fav! Love the ingredinets thats gone into this one :)

    I luv hiking…which one was it? Have u gone to Ebay landing..that one would be a good one to start with when you are out of shape and helps to slowly get back to the groove! I know it did for me!

    My worst hiking so far has been Mt Sai! It killed me totally while on the climb back!

    Oh yeah, you ex-Seattlite… :) It was Rattlesnake Ridge… No, I haven’t been to Ebay landing, will check that out. I’ve been to Mt.Sai though, that is a toughie.. :)

  28. sukanya on May 19th, 2008 6:01 pm

    Hi Sig….
    That was a different recipe. Never tried tapioca pearls, Is it sago?… :drool: Looks so good. Nice click.

    Thanks Sukanya! Sago and Tapioca are different, tapioca is made from cassava roots. Here is a link that talks about the differences between the two.

  29. Easycrafts on May 19th, 2008 6:33 pm

    Quite an unique and creative one…thanks for sending it to the event :(Martini):

    Thanks for hosting EasyCrafts!

  30. Jyothsna on May 19th, 2008 7:18 pm

    Ah, I know how badly those legs ache after exercise!! Blame it on the elevators…. I’ve forgotten where the stairs are! :) Btw, what are toddy palm seeds?

    :) I know, if the elevators didn’t exist there wouldn’t be so many fat people on earth ;) Toddy Palm seeds are what they call Nongu in Malayalam, the transparent white palm fruits.

  31. varsha on May 19th, 2008 11:07 pm

    Awesom Sig.. :drool: first i thot its cold coffee. :razz:.I think milk+lil honey wud hav been grt..but yup..calorie matters.. :razz: ..Inspired by u..I hav also put some not-at-all-spic-n-span things in ma page.. :mrgreen: do peek smtimes..tc..

    :) Once in a while we can ignore the calories, huh? Now I will go check out what you got cooking… :)

  32. nags on May 19th, 2008 11:10 pm

    what an exotic title! lovely pic too, sig :)

    Thanks N, welcome back!!

  33. Suganya on May 20th, 2008 12:41 am

    Wow, you ‘ve managed to reply to every one of the comments above ;). And exercise are cycles … they come and go.

    :) unfortunately the weight manages to stick around…. the pounds keep coming, never goes away…

  34. Padmaja on May 20th, 2008 1:08 am

    Wow!! Sig, Let that keep going and you will be pretty surprised to see tha same shrinking pants getting loose!!
    Even I am not a strict sports regime now a days, walking everyday for couple of miles and badminton 3 times a week.Lovely pudding to cheer up!!!

    That is awesome… good that you are keeping this up… Hopefully I can stick to the routine too…

  35. Maheswari on May 20th, 2008 9:29 am

    So tempting pic..Sig..Meaning to try tapioca in other ways than usual curry and papadams.This one is a must try.Me too trying to get into the gym , which is just oppo: to my apt, for the pasr 6 monthes :wink:

    Thanks maheshwari… I guess it is not the distance to the gym that is the problem… :) Good luck with that, I personally hate gyms too, would much rather be outside..

  36. Pravs on May 20th, 2008 10:49 am

    yummmmmmmmmy !!! i want that now !! :drool:

    :) come on over…

  37. archana, mama of twins on May 20th, 2008 9:24 pm

    sorry to hear about siv’s health.. glad to hear you are back on track.. the dessert looks so tantalizing.. i want to tried.. i love toddy palms fresh.. i have yet to try in can..

    Thanks Archana…. The canned ones is not too bad, especially since we can’t get the real ones…:)

  38. Raaga on May 22nd, 2008 12:59 am

    Bad girls you all… first that Nandita thinks I’m going on a “picnic” and then you all write me off… shun me… all because I was doing my job!!

    :D Your JOB????? that sounds like a fun job… We are just teasing you girl, there is no reason other than a little j… ;)

  39. Purnima on May 22nd, 2008 8:53 am

    :(Yes): Replied to all!!! I m going to faint, Sig!
    Was back here to say I had those alternate days in huge qties when I was preg!! Hope u both are doing good now! … Take care.

    :) I haven’t been able to reply to individual comments lately, so I am doing it whenever I can… :) And thanks, we are both doing well now… :)

  40. Purnima on May 22nd, 2008 8:55 am

    Oh! Pls read ‘I had fresh TADGOLAS’ in huge quantities !! HEEEE Typo!

  41. Inji Pennu on May 22nd, 2008 5:40 pm

    What is toddy palm seeds? Do you have a picture?

    That is our Nonku… I don’t have a picture, but Indira does…

  42. musy on May 22nd, 2008 6:39 pm

    Lovely pudding, Sig! Love the use of toddy palm seeds! Where did you get those from? They are such a treat in summer-time :)

    hugs,
    musical.

    I got the canned ones from the Asian store… We don’t get the fresh ones here :(

  43. Mamatha on May 22nd, 2008 7:36 pm

    Ooh.. what can possibly be go wrong with this recipe? There’s nothing there to not like. How did the Nungu taste? I once got canned ones and found the texture to be a bit too firm and chewy unlike the melt-in-your-mouth fresh ones.

    I have been buying canned nongu since last year and never had a chewy one! It is a little syrupy, but I just wash them off…

  44. Naina on May 23rd, 2008 8:58 am

    Sig! You are now the recipient of the yummy blog award. You probably already have a zillion of these but hey one can never have too many. I was supposed to pass this on to 4 other people and you’re one of them. Congratulations! I love your recipes. Check out my blog for more info. on what you have to do.

    Thanks Naina! That is very kind of you!

  45. Cynthia on May 23rd, 2008 3:03 pm

    The important thing is that you are moving, it’s always hard at first and then gets easier. That said, I hate exercising but do it because each day is a day older :oops: :grin:

    :) yeah, the older by the day part is the motivation… :) I am sure going to try to get through the hard part.

  46. mandira on May 23rd, 2008 7:06 pm

    Sig, sorry to hear about Siv and glad that he is all better now. That tapioca pudding is to die for… can you pass me that, I’ll go exercising later :)

    Thanks Mandira…. and LOL, that sounds just like me, just that I never get to the exercise part… :)

  47. lissie on May 23rd, 2008 10:10 pm

    hey sig, thats a lovely pudding! :razz: enjoy the summer and get into good shape :cool:

    Thanks lissie… :) and yes, I will try :)

  48. Harini on May 24th, 2008 5:03 am

    Hey! :(Yes): for this one! Looks very inviting! I am part of a cycling group, and my vacation stint of 3 weeks is rubbing off…I don’t know whether I will be going for the weekend cycling trip tomorrow:). Bad habits are so easy to develop..

    :) LOL, so true, bad habits are so easy to develop… the good ones takes too much work and dedication… Cycling group sure sounds like fun, hope you are back into the rhythm!

  49. swati raman on May 24th, 2008 1:10 pm

    where r u … how r u ,, hows siv… and lucky doesnt mind if u call him lucky.. provided u dont forget his real name.. hahaa.. ok .. theres just another drink .. if u like…

    :) I am here, just a bit busy… will be around to check out your drink soon….

  50. Swati Jain:Sugarcraft India on May 26th, 2008 1:02 am

    Hi Sig, I am back after my short escapade..
    The pudding really looks nice..I love coconut milk..Be it in anything!!

    Hi Swati, welcome back! :)

  51. Susan from Food Blogga on May 29th, 2008 3:18 pm

    Now, that’s a tapioca pudding I could get excited about!

  52. Archana on June 17th, 2008 4:20 am

    Delish, I think I am first time at your blog, you have some interesting recipes here. BTW, i am hosing a ONE DISH MEAL EVENT. I would love for you to take part. Check my site for more details.

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