Inti Kelapa (Sweet Coconut Filling)
Inti kelapa or sweet coconut filling is inseparable with most of Malay kuih or cakes.
Kuih koci, made of glutinous flour mix with coconut milk for the skin, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to cook, kuih onde-onde, also made of glutinous flour or mashed sweet potatoes for the skin, coated with white sesame and fried until golden brown and pau (steamed bun), a soft and fluffy bun-like dish made with a combination of pau or all purpose flour, yeast, water, sugar, oil and salt for the skin and steamed to cook are among Malay delicacies that use inti kelapa.
I still remember when my elder brother ran a small bakery, my mum used to make her homemade inti kelapa for making coconut buns.
I was just graduated and still yet to land a job at that time, so I was helping my mum to make inti kelapa.
From there, I learned how to make a delicious inti kelapa that is moist and the coconut filling not scattered when we eat the kuih or bun.
Inti kelapa manis or sweet coconut filling can be found in two versions - the dark brown and white colored.
Dark browned inti kelapa is the one that use palm sugar (gula Melaka) as sweetener while the light colored one is made of white sugar.
I'll make inti kelapa particularly when our family is having kenduri or thanksgiving ceremonies, to make kuih koci to serve the attending guests.
Inti kelapa can lasts for several weeks, when kept in the freezer after it was prepared.
But I personally prefer the freshly made inti kelapa for the filling of my kuih pau and kuih koci.
Inti kelapa is best when prepared with mature coconut, but not too young or old.
The coconut flesh is soft but tender, compared to old, mature coconut that we use to buy in the local market.
But it's pretty hard to obtain it, unless you grow your own coconut tree behind your house. 😆😆
Usually, I bought grated coconut that is already packed in plastic, weigh about 250 grams each and keep them frozen until I'm ready to use.
Grated coconut can lasts up to 2 months if we keep it frozen.
Pandan leaves when added during the cooking of inti kelapa lets the pleasant pandan aroma to permeate into it, adding more flavors.
The use of good quality of palm sugar, or gula Melaka may also play an important factor to produce a delicious sweet inti kelapa.
You may incorporate palm sugar with gula merah (brown sugar), to gets a darker colored inti kelapa.
Adding flour into inti kelapa will helps it to stick together, so it easier to handle and prevent it from scattered when we eat the kuih.
The inti kelapa recipe that I'm going to share today is not too sweet, it suites to our preference.
If you want your inti kelapa to be sweeter than this, feel free to add more sugar into it.
INTI KELAPA (SWEET COCONUT FILLING)
Ingredients:
250 grams of grated coconut
2 pandan leaves (knotted)
1/4 cup of brown sugar (gula merah)
1/3 cup of gula Melaka (palm sugar) - crushed
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
Methods:
In a pan, mix palm sugar, brown sugar, salt, water and pandan leaves. Simmer over medium heat until the sugars dissolve. Strain if necesary.
Add in grated coconut and mix to combine.
Lastly add in flour and cook until the water dry and the inti kelapa detach easily from spatula.
Let it cool completely before use.
Keep the leftover in a container and refrigerated or frozen until the next use.
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