The other day, I was struck by this need to have pulut inti.
Pulut inti is a traditional Malaysian dessert of steamed glutinous rice with a sweet coconut topping, usually wrapped in a banana leaf. It’s like a small packet of delicious sticky goodness 🙂
Growing up in Malaysia, I remember my local kuih-muih (dessert) lady with her array of kuih-muih in front of the grocery store. She had pulut inti, colourful agar-agar, kuih lapis, kuih gulung, and the list goes on. The whole point of kuih-muih is that they are bite-sized. I find glutinuous rice, pandan, coconut and agar-agar feature very heavily in these desserts. I really enjoy eating these little morsels of deliciousness, as they are not overwhelmingly rich, or sickeningly sweet. There’s a delicate balance of flavours going on there, where savoury meets sweet.
As I cannot get pulut inti here in Canberra, I decided to make my own. It wasn’t hard, but I did need to invest in some tools like a coconut scraper ($17), which you can get from a well-stocked Indian grocery store. I also used a chinese steamer basket and banana leave (frozen or fresh), you can get these from an Asian grocery store. The one thing I was not successful in obtaining was the pandan leaves. I still went ahead and made the pulut inti without it, it was tasty, but I think it does need the pandan leaves. So if you can find them (from Asian/Indian grocery store), definitely use them.
Enjoy!
Serves: 8 people
Prep-time: 4 hours for soaking + 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup glutinous rice (220g)
½ tsp salt
7/8 cup coconut milk (210ml)
1 pandan leaf (cut into 5-inch lengths)
1 large banana leaf to line steaming rack
8 pieces banana leaves (7-inch x 6-inch, thoroughly washed, wiped dry, and cut down to size before use)
Sweet Coconut Topping
¼ cup water (60ml)
¼ cup gula melaka / palm sugar (50g)
1 pandan leaf (cut into 5-inch lengths)
1 cup grated coconut (white part only) (100g)
1 tbsp butter (14g)
1 tsp corn starch mixed with 2 tbsp water
Tools:
Coconut scraper
Steamer basket
Instructions:
- Wash and drain glutinous rice 4 to 5 times until water runs clear. Cover glutinous rice with water and allow it to soak overnight or at least 4 hours.
- Line a steaming rack with banana leaf. Make sure it is large enough to cover the base and also slightly up the sides of rack. Place pandan leaves on top.
- Drain glutinous rice. Mix in salt and transfer to steaming rack. Pour ¾ cup coconut milk onto rice. Cover and steam over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove lid and fluff glutinous rice with fork. Sprinkle the 2 remaining tablespoons of coconut milk onto rice. Cover and steam for another 5 minutes.
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Sweet Coconut Topping: Combine water, gula melaka, and pandan leaf in a small pan over medium heat. When gula melaka has melted, add grated coconut and butter. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cook for another minute. Remove pandan leaf and allow it to cool.
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Putting it together:
- When glutinous rice is cool enough to handle, pile about a quarter cup cooked rice onto a piece of prepared banana leaf. Top with a tablespoon of sweet coconut topping.
- Bring the long edges of banana leaf to meet in the center with one edge overlapping slightly on one end. Criss-cross the flaps in the center by placing bottom flap on the top on the opposite end. Fold both ends under to form a pyramid shape package.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Thats sounds delicious. You are so hardworking Shal !
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Looks amazing!!! I bet it tastes better 😍
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