Kananga Godshe

                    Kanang means sweet potato. Sweet Potato has powerful nutritional punch in it. They are high in fiber content. This veggie is inexpensive and has amazing nutrients needed for a healthy body. In olden days sweet potato creeper can be seen in backyards of houses. Our elders use to charr the sweet potatoes on charcoal and give to children as a evening snack. Charcoal roasted vegetable has a wonderful flavor.
         Today I want to give the recipe of payasam which is called godshe in konkani. The sweet potato cubes drenched in jaggery syrup and coconut milk garnished with cardamom and ghee is a wonderful winter dessert.

• Sweet Potato – 1 no (chopped)
• Jaggery – 3/4 th cup
• Coconut Milk – 1 cup
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Ghee – 1tsp

Method:-

1. Remove the skin of the sweet potato and chop them into squares. Immediately put them in water to avoid discolouration, otherwise it will turn black in colour.
2. In a cooking vessel add the chopped sweet potato cubes and enough water and cook till very soft. When touched should get mashed, that’s how we know it is cooked well.
3. To the cooked veggie add jaggery and wait till it is completely melted.(can powder the jaggery and add which dissolves faster)
4. Add coconut milk and cook on slow flame. Wait till the bubbles appear on the sides of the vessel.
5. Now switch off the gas. Sprinkle cardamom powder and teaspoon of ghee. The consistency of the payasam should be little thick and not watery. Serve warm or cold.

Note:-

1. Cook sweet potato very well, so that the payasam consistency is little thick. Otherwise it goes watery.
2. You can mash a tbsp. of cooked sweet potato and add to give a good texture to the payasam.
3. I have ground 1 cup coconut with 1/2 cup water to a fine paste and then strained it through a sieve and collected the coconut milk. You can  also use readymade coconut milk or powder too.
4. Few people add white rava to the cooked sweet potato before adding the jaggery, for the thick consistency of the payasam .But I like it this way.
5. Fried nuts are and ghee are optional. If you wish can garnish and serve