Kolak pisang ubi

Name: Kolak pisang ubi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 400 ml water; 120 g palm sugar; 2 pandan leaves; 0.5 tsp salt; 250 g sweet potato; 200 g pumpkin; 400 ml coconut milk; 3 ripe plantains or saba bananas

Banana and sweet potato dessert

Kolak: banana, sweet potato and pumpkin in palm-sugar coconut milk for breaking the fast

Features:

In the last hour before maghrib during Ramadan, Javanese pavements fill with takjil sellers, and a bag of warm kolak is the first thing many families eat when the call to prayer ends the fast. Plantain or ripe saba bananas, sweet potato and pumpkin simmer in palm sugar and pandan until tender, then coconut milk turns the syrup creamy and caramel-brown. Serve warm or chilled. Chef's tip: add the bananas last; they collapse into mush if they cook as long as the sweet potato.

Total time: 35 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

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Ingredients

Serves4

1 ¾ cups water
4 oz palm sugarchopped
2 pandan leavesknotted
½ tsp salt
9 oz sweet potatopeeled, cut into 2 cm chunks
7 oz pumpkinpeeled, cut into 2 cm chunks
1 ¾ cups coconut milk
3 ripe plantains or saba bananaspeeled, cut into thick diagonal slices

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Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Simmer 1 ¾ cups water, 4 oz palm sugar, 2 pandan leaves and ½ tsp salt in a pot over a medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Strain if your palm sugar is gritty.
4 min
Step 2: Add 9 oz sweet potato and simmer until a knife meets slight resistance, then add 7 oz pumpkin and cook until both are just tender.
12 min
Step 3: Pour in 1 ¾ cups coconut milk and bring back to a gentle simmer, stirring.
Step 4: Add 3 ripe plantains or saba bananas and simmer until they are soft and glossy but still hold their shape.
5 min
Step 5: Remove the pandan and serve warm, or chill and serve over ice.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 420 kcal
Protein: 4 g
Carbs: 68 g
Fat: 18 g
Fibre: 6 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does kolak pisang ubi take?: About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegan?: Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of palm sugar?: Caster sugar, same amount.
What can I use instead of sweet potato?: Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).

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