Onde - onde

Have you seen this ‘chubby round cake’? 
This cake’s name is Onde-onde. The history said that Onde-onde came from China. Visitors from China brought Onde-onde into Indonesia and then it is spread to the whole Indonesia. If you are looking for Onde-onde, you can find it in the cake shop or cake seller on the sidewalk. In Indonesia, this cake is commonly special from Mojokerto. People outside Indonesia call it as Sesames Ball.

 This ‘chubby round cake’ is made of wheat flour or sticky rice flour. The batter is used as the wrapper. Then there is pounded green peas as the fill. And something that makes Onde-onde become special is the sesames that are mixed with the batter.

There are many variants of Onde-onde. A few description that you have read is the ordinary Onde-onde or people often call it ‘Onde-onde Kacang Hijau’. The other variants are made of various fill as the replacement of the green peas, such as red beans, mixed fruits, green peas with cheese or chocolate, chicken, etc. Or one variant that the unique one is Onde-onde without fill. The name is ‘Onde-onde Ketawa’ or ‘Onde-onde Pecah’. This kind of Onde-onde is the simplest. It is because you just need to rub the rounded batter with sesames, without fill it with anything. It would make the shape of this Onde-onde is like a blossom flower, not like a ball. But now i'll give you the receipt here they are

Ingredients:

• 14 oz glutinous rice flour
• 10 oz sweet potatoes
• 3 tbsp pandan juice [screwpine leaves] [Substitute: Essence of Coconut mixed with 1or 2 drops of green food coloring]
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp water
• 4 oz gula Melaka [Malaccan sugar] [Substitute: gula Jawa; palm sugar]
• 2 cups fresh grated coconut [Substitute : Unsweetened desiccated coconut or dried coconut flakes]

Method:

1. Break up the gula Melaka into small pieces
2. Peel, cook and mash sweet potatoes
3. Sieve glutinous flour into a large bowl
4. Add mashed sweet potatoes and pandan juice
5. Mix well to combine and knead into a dough
6. Form dough into small balls, about 1 inch diameter 
7. Make a hole in the center of the ball and fill with a small piece of gula Melaka  
8. Roll again to make it into a small ball
9. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the dough balls.
10. When they float to the surface of the water, remove and place on a draining tray or sieve
11. Add salt to the fresh grated coconut. Mix well
12. Roll the cooked onde-onde glutinous balls over the coconut
13. Onde-onde is best served warm - pops in your mouth with a sweet sensation of oozing gula Melaka  syrup! 

 By : Nanda Eka Pratiwi