Serves 4
½ cup sago*
1 pear, unpeeled, cored and grated
3 cups unsweetened pear juice
⅓ cup fresh pomegranate juice (about 1 large pomegranate)
1 tbsp finely shredded fresh ginger
6 green cardamom pods, bruised
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp crushed black pepper
½ cup grated jaggery or brown sugar
1 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
1 Heat sago, pear, pear juice and pomegranate juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 20 minutes or until the sago is clear and soft. Remove from heat and stand for 10 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, place ginger, cardamom, cumin, pepper, jaggery and ½ cup water into a saucepan. Heat over a low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, cooking for 5-10 minutes, without stirring, until mixture thickens and is syrupy.
3 Serve sago topped with syrup and pomegranate seeds.
*Sago is a starch made from the sago palm. Available from most major supermarkets.