Purple yam pudding, also known as rasavalli kizhangu koozh in Sri Lanka or ubi pudding in Southeast Asia is one of the oldest desserts from Jaffna (northern Sri Lanka), made from the naturally sweet purple yam. It is a seasonal yam, and we always made the most of it when it was available.

This pudding is gluten free, dairy free and also a vegan, with none of the added flavours or colouring that dominate modern day desserts. It’s strikingly colourful and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients to prepare, as you’ll see below.

Preparation & cooking time: 30minutes

Diet: Gluten free, dairy free, vegan                                    

Serving: serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g purple yam
• 200g sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2tbsp coconut cream
• 3 cups water
• Cardamom pods (optional)

(You can add 1 cup coconut milk instead of 2tbsp coconut cream, while reducing water by 1 cup to preserve the consistency)

Instructions

1. De-skin the purple yam and cut into small cubes of 1cm.
2. Boil in water with salt for until it is soft.
3. Add sugar with coconut milk and stir well for another 4-5 minutes.
4. Mash with spatula. If you want to get a creamy texture mash well. Or mash ¾ for a lumpy preparation.
5. You can serve this as a warm dessert or a cold dessert, after letting it cool down for a while, which also gives it a harder texture.
   
   Here I have served it warm, topped with some boiled purple yam cubes, which adds a nice crunchiness to this dessert.