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Indonesian Coconut Milk Drink

Origin: Overall Indonesia

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g fresh self made rice flour or finished product
  • 100 g tapioca flour (replace with cornstarch if not available)
  • 750 g cold water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 8-10 pc jackfruits (canned jackfruit from asian shop), chopped in small dice
  • 1-2 l icy water

For colouring

  • 10 pc pandanus leaves, finely chopped (replace with green food's colouring if not available)
  • 100 ml cold water

For coconut milk

  • 800 ml thick coconut milk
  • 250 ml cold water
  • 1 pc pandan leaf, tied in knot

For palm sugar syrup

  • 250 g palm sugar, shredded
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 pc pandan leafs, tied in knot
Indonesian Coconut Milk Drink

Indonesian Coconut Milk Drink

This is the most popular drink in almost Indonesian regions and listed as one of 30 Indonesian Culinary Icons. Sold in traditional markets, by food street hawkers until 5 stars restaurants around the country. Dawet which's also known as cendol is now seemed to gain more popularity among the foreign tourist. I've seen cendol is served in many international hotels in Jogja and Bali.
This sweet drink always remind me back about my childhood time in my hometown, a small village in Kediri, East Java Province. My late mother often brought us this sweet drink together with other sweet desserts or traditional snacks after she's finished her work as a kiosk owner at a traditional market in our villages.
The combination between the droplets of green rice flour jelly, sweet palm sugar syrup and pandan leaf's flavour is just perfect! Especially in a hot dry season.
It needs lot of steps and passions to make cendol but I post this recipe with a hope it will attract you to try at home or just to satisfy your curiosity 😉

Instructions

  • Making a natural green color: (Skip this steps if you use food colouring).
  • Wash the pandanus leaves or pandan leaves, cut or finely sliced, put in a blender or stand mixer.
    cut pandanus leaves
  • Add 100 ml cold water & blend until the leaves turn to fibres & the water becomes green.
    blend pandanus leaves
  • Strain the mixture with kitchen sieve, squeeze the fibres/pulp with your hand if necessary to obtain the pandanus juice. Discard the pulp. Set aside
    squeeze pandanus leaves
  • Making cendol batter: Mix rice flour, tapioca flour, salt and baking soda into a large bowl.
  • Add half the part of 750 ml of water to the flour mixture and mix throughly to obtain a smooth and thin batter forms. If necessary strain the batter with the kitchen sieve to remove any lumps. You can also mix the batter using hand mixer/blender or food processor.
    flour mixture
  • Put the remaining water into a large or shallow pan, add the pandanus juice or food coloring, stir to mix and bring to boil.
    pandanus juice for coloring
  • Add the flour batter and cook over low heat. If you make dawet in large quantities, it is better to heat the batter in a non-sticky wok for easier mixing and stiring the porridge.
    add the batter
  • Stirring the batter continuosly until you get quite a stiff porridge.
    Stirring the batter
  • Onced the porridge is done, continue to cook until you get a well cooked porridge with shiny and elastic consistence. This is important to obtain an elastic droplets/cendol which're not broken or sticking to each other.
  • Prepare the icy water in a large bowl or deep sauce pan.
    Prepare the icy water
  • Use a sieve with quite large holes, spoon the porridge onto the sieve and press the porridge through the holes with a spoon into the water in the bowl.
    press the porridge
  • Repeat the step until the porridge is done.
    porridge is done
  • What you get through the sieve is droplet forms which called dawet or cendol. In Indonesia people use a special cendol mold to make the droplets.
    green droplets
  • Making Coconut Milk: Cook coconut milk, salt and pandan leave on medium heat until the coconut milk is warm, it doesn't need to boil.
    coconut milk
  • Making Palm Sugar Syrup: Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer and stirring occationally until the sauce becomes thick. You can also transfer the syrup into a jug.
    palm sugar
  • Slice the jackfruits into small cubes.
    Slice the jackfruits
  • Serving Method: Prepare a serving glass. Add about 3 tablespoons of cendol and a tablespoon of sliced jackfruits. Add some amounts of coconut milk, then the palm sugar syrup. Top up with ice cubes if you prefer. Stir well before serving Your Coconut Milk Drink.
    serving coconut milk drink

Notes

  • In Indonesia cendol also made in red colour. Choose the colour you prefer.
  • If the cendol/dawet will be directly served, drain the droplets and divide the cendol equaly in the serving glasses. If the serving to be postphoned, keep the cendol together with the icy water in a fridge. Don't drain and fridge otherwise cendol will be broken or stick to each other.
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Keyword coconut milk, coconut milk drink, dessert, drink, Indonesian, pandanus leaves, sweet

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