Kuih Kasui

It's been a long time since I last put up a recipe. It's not that I have not been cooking - I have been cooking quite a bit lately - but it's because of the orders I get.

Yes, I have been doing some catering (with a friend) lately and have been taking orders too for my baking!

How exciting is that? :)

Well, very, very exciting - for me, at least.

Due to the nature of the business, I am more inclined to cook more Malaysian flavours nowadays - my friend is an expert in Beriyani Johor so I guess that is our speciality at the mo, but we also cook all sorts of stuff so anyone out there who may be interested in our catering, big or small, feel free to contact me via this blog or email!

That's my bit of advertising done.

I know that some people may think that one shouldn't share recipes if one is in the food business but I believe that all beneficial knowledge should be shared and spread around...after all, all this knowledge is from Allah and it won't be any use to any of us in the hereafter right? On the contrary, lagi banyak dapat pahala if we share our knowledge together, I think... :)

So here's my Kuih Kasui recipe for you to try.

The recipe originally came from an aunt who is a connoisseur of malay foods but I have tinkered with it a little as her recipe was not exact , as normally old recipes are and I think the result is pretty good.

The trick for the kasui is to make sure the batter is not thick AT ALL. Otherwise the kuih will be pretty hard and tak sedap.

Here's the recipe:

1.5 cups plain flour
1.5 cups rice flour
0.5 cup tapioca flour/ tepung sagu
0.25 cup sugar
2.5 cups water
1 Tbs lye water/ air kapur/ alkaline water

*1 cup brown sugar/ gula melaka
*2 cups water

Boil * until dissolved and leave to cool.

In a medium size bowl, mix all the other ingredients, blend well (in a blender or just use a whisk, which I did). Add the cooled sugar mixture, mix well and sieve into another bowl. Let rest for half an hour.

Heat up the steamer. Make sure your apam moulds are oiled lightly before pouring the batter into them so that the kuih will be easy to take out. Pour the batter into the moulds using a measuring cup - it's easier that way. Cook for about 20-25 minutes.

If you use a tin, you have to wait for the kasui to cool before cutting it I think. But if the mould is used, you can straight away use a knife/ spoon to scoop it out really, without ruining the kuih much.

Don't forget the coconut on top. That should be steamed too for about 10-15 minutes (to make it last longer) with a little bit of salt. If you use dessicated coconut, steaming is a very good way to soften the coconut bits and transform it into something similar to freshly grated coconut.

Good luck!