IFP: Cantik Manis

hello.. i hope you enjoyed your weekend happily, just like i did.. :) and here we are on the busy Monday again. today, i am going to show you a traditional Indonesian sweet again, named 'Cantik Manis'. if i want to translate it in English literally, it will become 'Beautiful and Sweet'. i don't really know why the people called this sweet as 'Cantik Manis' but i personally thought maybe because of its so-girly-color. it has soft pink color or sometimes white with some colorful dots.

Cantik Manis is basically made from mung bean flour and coconut milk, so yes it is gluten-free i guess.. CMIIW :p any of you wondering where the dots come from? it comes from colorful sago pearl, mine has green and red color. sometimes the mixture turns into soft pink color because of the sago pearl, just like mine.

do i love this sweet? hmm.. yes of course! i love almost everything made from coconut milk. moreover, it is pink and sweet. so, i don't think i have an excuse to say that i don't like this traditional Indonesian sweet. and anyway, i also wanted to remind you, that i will be hosting this Indonesian Food Party round up. so, for any of you, wherever you are, indonesian or not, who are interested on making and posting any Indonesian recipe, post it! after you posted your indonesian dish, send an email to indonesianfoodparty@yahoo.com including your post URL, a photo of your dish, and some comments about your dish. i can't wait for the potluck guys! :)

 Cantik Manis

modified from Femina Cookbook Series, Indonesian Dishes and Desserts

100 gr colorful sago pearl
750 ml coconut milk
salt to taste
2 strips pandan leaf
150 gr sugar
100 gr mung bean flour

directions:

1. boil the sago pearl in plenty of water until they start to float on the surface. drain and rinse the sago pearl in cold water. drain and set aside.
2. boil 500 ml of the coconut milk altogether with salt, sugar and sago pearl.
3. mix 250 ml of the remaining coconut milk with mung bean flour. pour the mixture into the saucepan and bring to a second boil, stirring continuously. lower the heat and simmer until flavors have combined. remove.
4. the cakes should be wrapped while it is still hot. put 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into a banana leaf wrapper and fold it closed. cool and serve when cakes are at room temperature.

what happened in my kitchen?

• i didn't use the banana leaves wrapper, i spread the mixture on ungreased baking pan, leaving it to cool to room temperature then cut it into the same size. some of them i cut it with cookie cutter, that's why you can see those heart and flower shapes.

hmm, i think that's all for today, see you again later.. :)

thanks for reading!

don't forget to join this April- May IFP okay.. :D

Much Love,

Monica Adriana