Braised Banana with Palm Sugar and Coconut Gravy

*Kolak Pisang*

Description:Kolak pisang or braised banana with palm sugar and coconut gravy is a local dessert that is already familiar throughout this vast archipelago. Some hotels put this sweet dessert on their menu list. The filler may vary from one region to another. The fragrant leaf of a type of pandanus sometimes known as fragrant screwpine, this is tied in a knot and used to flavor desserts and cakes.

Ingredients

• 1 pandan leaf (screwpine leaf)
• 2 big cubes of Gula Jawa (Javanese Palm Sugar)
• 1 can of Kolang-Kaling (Toddy Palm Fruit)
• 3 large cassava
• 15 bananas
• 5 large sweet potato
• 1 can of coconut milk, add 2 cup of water
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of salt

Directions

1. Peel skin from sweet potato and cassava, wash clean, cut into small cubes, place in a boiling pan.
2. Peel the banana skin, make small cuts and place in the boilin pan along with sweet potato and cassava.
3. Cut half each kolang-kaling if desire, if not, leave it as its natural round, put into the boiling pan as well (without the water) .
4. Tie knot the screwpine leaf and add it into the pan.
5. Add sugar, salt, palm sugar, coconut milk, and the water into the pan .
6. Bring to boil everything inside the pan until cassava and sweet potato become tender, taste the soup if its sweet enough for you, turn off the stove.

Tips:

1. Serve warm or cold as desired.
2. Usually its hard to fine Javanese Sugar (Gula Jawa) in Western countries even though Gula Java means Palm Sugar, yet it is differ from the Palm Sugar in the Western Market, however, you can use Palm Sugar, as desired. Gula Jawa is mostly used to make this dessert nice attractive brownish in color.
3. In some countries, Kolang-Kaling is well knows as Kolang Kaling/Buah Atap/Atap Seed/Kaong/Tropical Food/Toddy Palm Fruit.