Watalappam

Watalappam is a sweet aromatic pudding popular in Sri Lanka. Roshani Wickramasinghe’s selected version uses Kithul jaggery, coconut milk and eggs, with cardamom, vanilla and roasted cashews, and is chilled before serving.

The author describes Kithul jaggery’s flavour as sweet with earthy, smoky undertones. She favours cardamom for this recipe and seeks a custardy pudding with small syrup-filled holes rather than a foamy surface.

The grated jaggery is dissolved in coconut milk; gentle warming is an offered aid, followed by cooling the mixture. Seeds are removed from the cardamom pods and ground, while the eggs are whisked by hand until their yolks and whites are evenly mixed.

The same jaggery mixture, ground cardamom, vanilla and salt are whisked into the eggs. The mixture is sieved into a dish, leaving room for it to rise, then covered with foil and steamed.

The author’s pot arrangement keeps the dish on a rack above the water. Once the pudding has cooked through, roasted cashews are added on top and the whole watalappam is chilled before serving.