Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Milk is a traditional recipe that East Indians make on Maundy Thursday, a day before Good Friday. This is also a Sweet Potato Sago Dessert that has the creaminess of coconut milk and the sweetness of jaggery.
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. It is the day of the Last Supper of Jesus with Jesus washing the feet of his disciples or Apostles. This day is of significant importance as it is the beginning of the Easter Triduum that commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We have been making this Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Milk recipe, which we call Chach, every year ever since I remember. It is a recipe where we cook sweet potatoes in coconut milk and then sweeten it with jaggery and have it on Maundy Thursday. The next day Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence.
The recipe though simple and unique is extremely delicious. It is a kind of kheer or sweet porridge or you could also call this Sweet Potato Sago Dessert. This dessert is loved by kids and adults as well. We never fail to make this at least once every year and look forward to it.
Read more about Maundy Thursday -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_Thursday
Ingredients for the recipe of Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Milk
- SWEET POTATOES – These are available locally throughout the year and we call this Ratala locally. Select the medium variety of sweet potatoes, not too thick and not too thin for this recipe.
- COCONUT MILK – Extract the milk of one whole coconut and separate the thick and the thin coconut milk. To extract the thick coconut milk, grate the fresh coconut and add one cup of water to it. Blend this in a blender and then extract the thick coconut milk. Similarly, add another 3 cups of water to the same blended coconut and blend well to get the thin milk.
- JAGGERY – Use the regular jaggery as a sweetener for this recipe of Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Milk. You could also use any jaggery that you have but it may alter the colour of the Chach.
- SAGO – Sago is Sabudana or Tapioca pearls. These are small white beads that turn transparent during cooking. Sabudana, as we call it locally is used in most Indian sweet desserts, especially kheer. You could omit Sago in this Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Milk recipe but this gives and nice texture to this dessert.
- CARDAMOM – We use cardamom powder to flavour most of our Indian sweet dishes. For this recipe too, you can add a teaspoon of cardamom to make it more flavourful.
How to make this Sweet Potato Sago Dessert
STEP -I
- Select good quality potatoes that are firm. Wash them well to remove all the soil and then lightly scrape off the skins. After this, cut the sweet potatoes into round slices of 1/4 centimeter thickness. Immerse the cut slices in water to prevent them from discolouring.
- Also, soak one cup sago/sabudana in sufficient water for at least one hour.
- Extract milk from one whole freshly grated coconut. Separate the thick and the thin extract, You must have 1 cup of thick coconut milk and 3 cups of thin coconut milk.
STEP II
- Transfer the sweet potato slices into a large vessel and add the three cups of thin coconut milk. Place this vessel on medium heat and let the sweet potatoes cook till they are half done.
- Now drain the sago and add it to the sweet potatoes. Then allow the sago to cook till it turns transparent.
- When the sago is transparent add the jaggery. Now the jaggery will melt and the colour of the porridge also changes if you are using darker jaggery.
STEP III
- After the jaggery melts and the potato and sago are cooked, add the cardamom powder.
- Allow the dessert to simmer for a minute or two and then switch off the flame.
Watch the video here
Serving Suggestions
Serve Sweet Potato Chach or Porridge, either hot or cold. Have this not only on Maundy Thursday but throughout the year when sweet potatoes are available in plenty.
Other Traditional Recipe you may like to Try
TRADITIONAL RICE PUDDING RECIPE (ATOLA)
Printable Recipe
SWEET POTATO AND COCONUT MILK RECIPE | SWEET POTATO SAGO DESSERT
Ingredients
- ½ kg Sweet Potatoes wash & cut into 1 cms slices
- 1 whole Coconut Extract 1 cup thick milk & 3 cups thin milk
- 1 cup Sago/Sabudana soaked for 1 hour
- 350 gram Jaggery
- 1 tsp Cardamom Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Into a large vessel add the sliced sweet potatoes and the thin coconut milk. Place on medium heat and cook till the sweet potatoes are half done. Add salt.
- Now drain and add the sago/sabudana and cook till the sago turns transparent.
- When the sago is transparent add the jaggery and cook till the jaggery melts.
- Add cardamom powder and simmer for one to two minutes and switch off the flame.
Notes
- I added organic jaggery hence the colour is a little darker. Adjust jaggery to suit your taste.
- Do not overcook, else the potatoes will break.