Saturday, January 22, 2011

Papaya in caramelised sugar syrup

There are times when you have a papaya that's not fully ripe. You can't eat it raw, and neither can you cook it,  it will be sweet to taste.

I found a recipe for Lechosa, or Candied papaya which is a Puerto Rican / Caribbean desert. It is a very good alternative to a baked dessert and tastes awesome! I altered the recipe I had found to suit my ease and taste (It used way too much sugar!)

Ingredients-
1 whole papaya, peeled,deseeded and cut into 1" slices
1 cup warm water
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1" cinnamon stick

Directions-
In a large non-reactive bowl, dissolve the baking powder in the water and soak the papaya in this water for 15 mins or so. This helps in tenderizing the papaya. Rinse and wash the papaya. In a wok, add the papaya and the sugar and the cinnamon stick. Cover and simmer flame. Stir occasionally. The papaya will leave its own water and cook with the sugar.  Let the syrup thicken or caramelise. I let it caramelise (I used a non-stick pan). Take off the flame and let stand for 5-10 mins before serving.

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