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Putu piring
Palm sugar steamed rice cakes
Putu piring: steamed rice flour discs with a molten palm sugar centre and salted coconut
Long lines form outside the putu piring stalls around Haig Road and Geylang Serai, especially in the evenings of Ramadan, for these soft white discs steamed one by one in shallow cone-shaped moulds. Each one hides a centre of gula melaka that melts into a dark, smoky syrup, and the cakes come off the steamer on a pandan leaf with a heap of fresh grated coconut, lightly salted, on top. The texture is crumbly and light, and the salt in the coconut keeps the palm sugar from cloying; eat them hot, with a cup of teh. The usual mistake is chopping the gula melaka too coarsely, so the big chunks never melt and stay grainy; shave or chop it fine. Chef's tip: steam the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and a pandan leaf for a few minutes first, so it stays fresh-tasting and keeps longer.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the rice flour
- 9 oz fine rice flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup pandan water4 pandan leaves blended with 150 ml water and strained; add gradually
For the filling
- 4 oz palm sugar (gula melaka)finely shaved or chopped
For the coconut topping
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pandan leafknotted
To serve
- 6 pandan leaves (optional)cut into squares
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Toss 5 ½ oz freshly grated or frozen white coconut with ¼ tsp salt, add 1 pandan leaf and steam in a heatproof bowl over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Cool and discard the leaf.
5 minStep 2: Dry-toast 9 oz fine rice flour in a wok over a low heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until it smells nutty but stays white. Cool completely.
6 minStep 3: Mix the flour with ¼ tsp salt. Sprinkle in ½ cup pandan water a spoonful at a time, rubbing it in with your fingertips, until the flour feels like damp sand and holds when pressed.
Step 4: Sift the flour through a medium sieve into a bowl and keep it covered with a damp cloth.
Step 5: Bring a steamer to a steady boil and lay a damp muslin cloth over the rack.
Step 6: Spoon flour loosely into a putu piring mould (or a small, shallow, sloped tart tin) until half full. Scatter 2 tsp of 4 oz palm sugar (gula melaka) in the centre, then cover with more flour and level the top without packing it down.
Step 7: Place a square of muslin over the mould, flip it onto the steamer cloth and lift the mould off. Repeat, leaving space between the cakes.
Step 8: Steam for 5–6 minutes, until the cakes are set and matte and a little dark syrup shows where the sugar has melted.
6 minStep 9: Slide the cakes onto 6 pandan leaves or plates, pile the salted coconut on top and serve hot, while the centres are still molten.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does putu piring take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 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 (gula melaka)?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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