Yesterday was Nyepi here in Bali, it is the day of silence when you stay in reflect on the year that has been and the year to come, in the lead up to the Hindu new year.
We strictly followed the rules but had planned ahead to make a small Balinese feast for ourselves in our villa in Penastanan.
Our dessert was Dardar Gulung, startlingly green pandan flavoured pancakes with coconut filling topped with coconut cream and coconut sprinkle.
Having tried these in restaurants before I thought it was time to make them whilst I have easy access to fresh pandan leaves abundant here in Bali, even with the limited kitchen equipment in our holiday villa.
To make the pandan extract is easy, you just chop up the leaves.whizz with water and then strain and let sit to seperate the extract from the water.
Anyway, I just asked the nice people at the local organic juice store to do it for me!
Definitely worth the effort if you can get your hands on fresh pandan leaves.
Ingredients:
For about 10-12 pancakes
125g plain flour
6 tablespoons pandan extract (4-5 fresh or frozen pandan leaves) or 2 teaspoons pandan essence available in Asian grocery stores
300ml milk
1 beaten egg
Pinch of salt
1-2 tablespoons coconut or other vegetable oil
For filling:
150g freshly grated coconut or shredded desiccated coconut
50ml water
50 g palm sugar or brown sugar
For serving:
Thick coconut cream
1-2 tablespoons coconut filling reserved
1. To make pandan extract yourself you will need 4-5 fresh or frozen pandan leaves, chopped into small pieces and then whizzed in a blender with 1 cup of water. Then strain and allow the mixture to settle so extract sinks to bottom. Pour off the weak green water at the top and use the bright green extract at the bottom.
2. Put flour, pinch of salt, beaten egg, milk and pandan extract in a bowl. Whisk until flour has dissolved, mixture is smooth and there are no lumps of flour. Just remove any small lumps that are left if needs be.
3. In a small non-stick frying pan, pour in 50ml water, sugar and simmer until sugar dissolves and then add the coconut and cook until coconut browns and is lightly caramelised. Set aside in a bowl while you make pancakes. (I didn’t have brown sugar but using palm sugar or brown sugar is even better)
4. Dip a pastry brush into oil and lightly brush small non-stick frying pan, heat pan over medium heat, then add enough batter mixture 3-4 tablespoons to lightly coat pan with batter.
5. Cook on on side until pancake starts to bubble, then carefully flip to. Cook lightly on the other side. Be gentle or the pancakes will fall apart.
6. Repeat until you have 10-12 pancakes.
7. Put 3-4 teaspoons of coconut mixture at the top of a pancake., fold over sides and roll to make a neat package.
8. Place 4-5 parcels on a plate, drizzle with coconut cream and leftover coconut filling if you have some. Serve to enjoy deliciousness.
