'Musang King berendam': A special Ramadan menu in Kampung Chuchuh Puteri

KUALA KRAI: Durian, affectionately called the King of Fruits in South East Asia, is always in high demand whenever it is in season.

Seeing its potential, a traditional Malay kuih (cake) maker, Siti Khazanah Mohd Nordin, 52, came up with a new recipe using durian of the musang king variety called 'musang king berendam' in Ramadan last year.

Speaking to Bernama, Siti Khazanah said she was inspired by a popular traditional Malay snack, the 'badak berendam' (literally translated as soaking hippo, made with glutinous rice flour) to come up with the dessert.

She said she used the flesh of the musang king durian made into a paste instead of red bean paste used to make 'badak berendam' as the filling.

"I also put musang king paste in the topping," she said when met in Kampung Chuchuh Puteri here today.

Siti Khazanah said the ingredients to make the kuih are easy to find namely glutinous rice flour, gula Melaka (palm sugar), coconut milk and pandan leaves.

"There are three stages in the process of making the kuih. The first step is to cook the musang king durian paste until it is dried before the paste is made into small balls.

"The second step is to mix glutinous rice flour with water and to knead the dough thoroughly before boiling it," she said.

The cooked dough is then made into large round shapes before the small balls of musang king paste are inserted into them, she added.

Siti Khazanah said the third process is to prepare the topping by mixing the paste, coconut milk, gula Melaka and pandan leaves, adding that once it is cooked, the topping will be poured on the round-shaped kuih, soaking it, hence the name.

Siti Khazanah, who also owns a 16-hectare musang king durian orchard said the dessert she created is sold at RM5 per pack.

"I have received almost 100 bookings for 'musang king berendam' from the villagers for Ramadan," she added.

-- BERNAMA