Heart v tastebuds

PART 1: Sago and coconut pudding with lychees, from Melissa in New Zealand

Dear Melanie,

I confess it gives me a certain amount of cheeky giggles knowing I am asking you to make this recipe. It’s for a sago pudding with coconut and lychees, sent to me by Melissa in New Zealand.

“I have included a recipe that my mother used to make for me,” Melissa wrote in her letter. “My mother is of Malaysian decent, and one of my fondest memories is the variety of deserts and puddings she would make.”

Then she wrote, “This recipe is one of my favourites, and I am excited to share it.”

Oh Melanie, what are you going to do with this? Knowing you as I do, I suspect that as you read this your heart and your tastebuds will be doing battle, torn between identifying with Melissa and those special memories of her mother’s food, made with love… and your own aversion to these carby little pearls of sago.