Make the caramelised pumpkin first: transfer the pumpkin cubes and sugar to a cooking pot over medium-high heat, pour in the water so that it just covers the pumpkin (add a little more water if needed), and stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.

When the pumpkin begins to caramelise and the water is all but gone, remove the lid, turn the heat up to high, and stir so that it caramelises but doesn’t burn, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Move onto the sago pudding: to a pot of 750 ml of boiling water, add the sago pearls, and turn on your timer/stopwatch. Boil the sago for around 10-12 minutes on high, ensuring a rolling boil is maintained, and stir every couple of minutes until the sago pearls are transparent.

At around 12 minutes, reduce the heat to low and put the lid on the pot, but continue to check on the sago pearls and stir thoroughly every minute or so, to ensure the pearls don’t stick to the pot.

By 15-16 minutes, the sago should have thickened up nicely. If the white dots have almost disappeared and the sago is coming away from the sides of the pot when you stir it, it’s almost ready. Turn off the heat, put the lid on the pot, and let the sago steam.

At 25 minutes, the sago pearls should be done: the sago should be dense and all the white dots should have gone.

Transfer the caramelised pumpkin to the pot of sago pearls, along with the coconut cream, grated coconut, and salt. Stir carefully so that everything combines and the sago turns orange, but the pumpkin does not break apart too much. Try it and if needed add a little sugar to your taste.

Garnish with a little grated coconut and perhaps a swirl of coconut cream if you like, then serve immediately while it’s still warm.