Do the ChaCha~

*shakes butt to a chacha tune* ....*laughs* the dance isn't exactly what I was referring to. I'm not too confident with the spelling of Bubur cha cha...I've heard it range from bo-bo's to mou-mou's *shrug*
I'll stick with bubur(pronounced boor boor) as it means porridge in Malay; which describes this yummy dessert's consistency.Bubur cha-cha is a 'Nyonya'( mix of Malay+Chinese) dessert which can be eaten hot or cold. It usually consists of sweet potato and yam cubes cooked in coconut milk and sago. I'm personally not too big a fan of bubur cha-cha as its sugar and coconut cream proportions from a single harmless looking bowl could possibly wipe out 2 days worth of my suffering at gym! Why today then?
I blame the rainy+cold morning weather....the 1/2 cup of coconut milk sitting in my refrigerator going to waste..and my Malaysian classmate from Uni that has intentionally provoked my cravings for something sweet and Malaysian. I was so eager for bubur cha-cha early this morning that I totally ignored the fact that I had 'barely any/enough' ingredients to work with at home. Instead of slogging out to the Asian mart in the stormy unforgiving weather; I decided to simply improvise with what I could dig up in my pantry.

• I didn't have yam- I omitted, sweet potato, jackfruit and chestnuts will suffice
• I didn't have red sago pearls- I used black tapioca pearls instead; I could have made them on my own, but I didn't quite like the idea of red food coloring.
  
• I didn't have coconut cream- I omitted (WoohOoo low-fat bubur!) *grin*
• I didn't have enough coconut milk - 1/2 tin left :( , my bubur wouldn't be as thick/creamy
  

For those who love "Authentic" recipes with traditional ingredients. Please do not attempt this recipe! Haha. It's not going to taste like your grandma's lovely bubur cha-cha. But if you're not too picky, watching your weight, looking for a "stir+scoop" bubur chacha recipe and lazy like I am .... this is for you;

1/2 cup uncooked tapioca pearls (used in pearl/bubble tea)
1 tin light coconut milk
1 tin jackfruit sliced into thin strips
1/2 tin water chestnuts roughly chopped
5 long strips screwpine leaves (pandan) tied into a knot
70gms palm sugar (gula melaka)
4-5 cups water
500 gms sweet potatoes peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
500 gms yam diced into 1 inch cubes as well (I didn't have any unfortunately)

Cook yam+sweet potatoes in a microwave steamer on high for 3 minutes. Combine water, sugar and pandan leaves into a large pot and bring to a fierce boil on high heat. Throw in everything else except the coconut milk. Cook for 5-6 minutes until pearls are black, shiny and cooked through. Stir continuously with a large wooden spoon on medium heat. Remove pot from stove and immediately add in coconut milk. Incorporate with a couple gentle swirls of the spoon and it's done! Do not attempt to eat the screwpine leaves...I only had it in the photographed bowl for decorative purposes *heh*