Kuih talam pandan is a common traditional Malay kuih which can be easily bought from the morning and night markets as well as cafes and in eateries in the shopping malls. It is made up of 2 layers - white on top and green at the bottom. The top layer is made from rice flour, corn flour, sugar, pandan juice and thick coconut milk while the bottom layer is made from wheat flour, tapioca flour, sugar and thin coconut milk. Some people add mung bean flour to the batter. Mung bean flour acts as a binder, a thickening agent and a flavour carrier. Kuih talam pandan is soft and creamy. However, some people also add alkaline water to make the kuih more elastic.
Ingredients:
Bottom Layer:
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 40 g tapioca flour
- 175 g sugar (195 g for a sweeter kuih)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 250 cup of water
- 10 pandan leaves
- 300 ml thin coconut milk
Top Layer:
- 110 g rice flour
- 50 g corn flour
- 20 g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 750 ml thick coconut milk
Method:
- Prepare a pan 8 inch x 8 inch. Line the pan with a piece of non-stick parchment paper or a piece of food grade plastic for easier removal of the kuih later.
- Prepare a steamer with enough water to last 1 hour.
- Prepare the bottom layer:
- Wash and cut pandan leaves into smaller pieces. Grind/Blend them with 250 ml of water. Sieve to obtain the pandan juice.
- Add all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, sugar and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix.
- Add pandan juice to the dry ingredients. Mix till there are no lumps left in the batter.
- Add thin coconut milk to the batter. Use a whisk to mix them till the batter is smooth.
- Sieve the batter into a pan.
- Heat up the batter on very low fire, stirring the batter all the time so that the batter does not become lumpy.
- When steam rises from the batter, turn off the fire.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Steam the batter for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the top layer:
- Add rice flour, corn flour, sugar and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix.
- Add the thick coconut milk to the dry ingredients. Use a whisk to mix them till the batter is smooth.
- Sieve the batter into a pan.
- Heat up the batter on very low fire, stirring the batter all the time so that the batter does not become lumpy.
- When steam rises from the batter, turn off the fire.
- Open the cover of the steamer after 20 minutes. The green layer should have hardened.
- Use a fork to score the top of the green layer. This is to ensure that the white layer will stick to the green layer.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Steam the batter for 30 minutes till the kuih is cooked.
- Remove the pan from the steamer and let the kuih cool down.
- Use a plastic knife to slice the kuih.
- Enjoy.
