With the summer heat (which I don’t mind really) after the long winter and the freaky cold spring, here’s a simple but delicious tea time snack or dessert. You’ll find similar recipes which calls for honeydew or winter melons. But not being able to find any that were ripe enough, I decided to substitute with cantaloupes which surprisingly turned out REALLY well! The recipe below serves 5.

Ingredients:

1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 cup sago (soak for half an hour)
2 cups water added to half cup thick coconut milk
3 tbsp sugar (or according to taste)
pinch of salt

Preparing the cantaloupe:
Cut the cantaloupe into 4 equal pieces. Puree one slice in the blender without adding water. Cut the other 3 slices into small cubes. Mix the puree with the diced and refrigerate till needed.

Preparing the sago:
Put the soaked sago into a pot of water (about 4 cups) and boil until the sago turns transparent. Under a cold running tap, pour the sago into a fine mesh sieve and use your fingers to swirl the sago around a few times. Pour the sago in a bowl and set aside. 

Points to note when cooking sago:

• Stir constantly so that it does not stick to the base of the pot or burn.
• If the sago has turned almost transparent but there is still a small dot which is opaque. You may turn off the fire and continue stirring. This will also help the sago cook.
• If you think there is inadequate amount of liquid for the sago to cook, add boiling water into the pot. Do not add cold water into the pot.

Preparing the coconut milk:
In a pot, add the coconut milk, water, salt and sugar. Under low heat, bring to a boil. Turn off the flame when you see at least 2 bubbles. (Do not boil the coconut milk too long because it will curdle and not look smooth.) Add the sago and stir a bit. Leave it to cool before refrigerating.

• If you prefer a thicker coconut milk, reduce the amount of water to 1 cup.
• Add more sugar if you want a sweeter coconut milk sauce.

To serve:
Put a few spoonfuls of the cantaloupe mixture into a dessert bowl, spoon the coconut milk with the sago over the fruit and serve cold.