Kuih Kaswi

Kuih kaswi are rice cakes made with palm sugar. The ingredients are mixed into a batter and poured into small cups (traditionally, it is done with Chinese tea cups). When served, the cup is removed and the rice cake is topped with grated coconut flesh.Like most Malay kuih, this dessert needs the use of alkaline water in it. The purpose of the alkaline water is to add an extra bounce to the bite in the kuih

RECIPE

Ingredients A

2 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar (but I used palm sugar instead)

5 cups water

1 tablespoon cornstarch (instead of lime/alkali water)

1 teaspoon Nescafe (to add aroma)

Ingredients B

Dessicated coconut

Salt

How to make it:

Preheat your steamer. Grease a 24 cm form with some oil and place it in the steamer. In another pan, dilute the sugar with 2 cups of water on the stove. Leave to cool slightly. Filter if you have to.

Mix all the Ingredients A together in a pan, add the sugar, then mix well on a low fire until the mixture just starts to thicken and lump. Pour the mixture into the form and leave to steam for about 30 minutes.

Take the form out of the steamer and leave to cool. Mix the dessicated coconut with salt to taste. Cut the kuih kaswi into squares (oil the knife first to avoid sticking) and roll gently in the dessicated coconut. Be careful as the kuih is soft!

Note: When using dessicated coconut from packets, the dryness of the coconut might be quite a scratch in the throat. So what I did was to add the salt to the coconut, and steam it for about 15 minutes or so to add moisture to it. But just make sure that no water wets the coconut.