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Tepung pelita
Pandan pudding with coconut cream
Tepung pelita: banana-leaf cups of pandan pudding under salted coconut cream
Tepung pelita, 'lamp' kuih, gets its name from the little square banana-leaf boxes it is set in, which look like old oil lamps, and every Ramadan bazaar from Melaka to Penang has trays of them chilling on ice. Each cup holds a soft green pandan layer under a thick, salty-sweet white coconut layer; you eat it with a spoon or straight from the leaf. Small ramekins or silicone cups work if you have no banana leaves. Chef's tip: pour the white layer only once the green one has set a skin, or the two colours bleed into each other.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the pandan layer
- 8 pandan leavescut up
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 ¾ oz rice flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 3 ½ oz caster sugar
For the coconut layer
- 1 ¼ cups coconut cream
- ½ cup watersecond measure
- 1 ⅜ oz rice floursecond measure
- ¾ tsp salt
- 12 banana leaves12 cm squares folded into boxes and pinned, or 12 small ramekins
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Blend 8 pandan leaves with 1 ¾ cups water and squeeze through a sieve to get green pandan water.
Step 2: Whisk the pandan water with 1 ¾ oz rice flour, 2 tbsp tapioca starch and 3 ½ oz caster sugar in a saucepan until smooth.
Step 3: Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 6–8 minutes until the mixture thickens into a glossy, smooth paste that pulls from the sides.
8 minStep 4: Spoon into the 12 banana leaves cups to come halfway up. Leave for 10 minutes to set a skin.
10 minStep 5: Whisk 1 ¼ cups coconut cream, ½ cup water, 1 ⅜ oz rice flour and ¾ tsp salt in a clean pan and stir over a low heat for 4–5 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon heavily. Don't let it boil hard, or the coconut oil separates.
5 minStep 6: Spoon the white layer gently over the green to fill each cup. Cool, then chill for at least 2 hours. Serve cold within 2 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 140 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tepung pelita take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 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.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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