Jumping into the Deep End - Sabudana Kheer

I jumped into the deep end with careless abandon. I was maybe 5 or 6 years old and had taken a few swim lessons. As a master of the pool, I thought I could fearlessly swim on my own. But within a few seconds, I began to sink despite paddling furiously. I quickly realized I was in trouble. My Mom watched me from the edge, about to jump in, but then another swimmer grabbed me and pulled me to the edge of the pool.

Poet and Flower's kindergarten teacher commented that children view life like a pool. I have found this idea fascinating. Some kids take a look and jump right in. They don't really think about the consequences and figure either way it will be ok. Other kids study the situation, assess the risks, and then jump in. And other children simply say, I'm sitting on a lounge chair while you jump in. Every little person has their own perspective and thoughts.

Poet and Flower are twins, but they cannot be more different. Flower will assess the situation (just slightly) and jump in. Poet, who most closely resembles my husband, takes the cautious route. He will carefully survey the situation, he may walk around the pool a few times, and then he will dive in wholeheartedly. And true enough, that is how they each approach life, each with their level of caution and introspection.

We each also approach food and cooking in the same way. I have never met a recipe that I don't want to try. And I've had my share of food fails, like wild rice that never cooked or way too spicy noodles. But, I'm happy to have tried making each dish. My most recent food disaster was trying to make the Gujarati dish, handvo. It is supposed to be spicy lentil and rice cake but I ended up with a gloppy soggy mess. I am still working on it and perhaps it will pop up on the blog one day soon.

This week I made sabudana kheer, a tried and true recipe. It is an Indian dessert made with tapioca pearls or sagoo. It was one of my Mom's favorites, and she would make it often. As kids, we would call it eyeball mitah or dessert. The glisten of the tapioca looked like little eyeballs, and this would endlessly frustrate my mother. Simmer the tapioca with milk, sugar and cardamom, clove, and cinnamon. It is quick, easy, and a lovely dessert.

I have never thought of a pool as a social experiment, but now it makes a lot of sense to me. Watching two tiny humans navigate the world will always amaze me. And to see how they choose to jump (or not jump) into the pool as they grow will be a constant source of wonder.

Sabudana Kheer

A Indian dessert made with tapioca pearls or sagoo. Simmered with milk, cardamom, clove and cinnamon, its a quick and easy dessert. You can easily make it vegan by using almond milk or soy milk.

Serves 6 generously

• 1/2 cup sabudana or tapioca pearls
• 1 cup water
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 4 cardamon
• 4 cloves
• 2 tablespoons ghee or neutral oil
• 4 tablespoons whole almonds

1. Rinse the sabudana in cold water.
2. Soak the almonds in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Then remove the skins and cut them into slivers. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the sabudana and water.  Bring to boil, constantly stirring. Then simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add 2 cups milk and again bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, and simmer until the sabudana are cooked - about 10 to 12 minutes. The center will not be firm or chewy.
5. In saute pan, heat ghee over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, cardamon and clove, and saute 30 seconds until fragrant. Then add the almonds and saute for one minute.
6. Add the cooked sabudana, sugar, and 1 cup milk. You can adjust the milk to make it the consistency you would like. Bring to boil, mix well.
7. Cool and serve.