In the past, sweet puddings were not a part of traditional menus in Indonesia. The main course was generally the last served.
In Java, the tumpeng selamat, a rice cone dish served at birthdays and weddings, is an example of a traditional meal still being served. In West Sumatra, nasi kunyit with singgang ayam is another example.
However, on modern Indonesian menus foreign overtones have gradually emerged. Appetizers and soups are often now served before the main meal and sweets are served after the meal. As the eating habits of Indonesians changed, puddings started to appear on menus around the country.
However, in traditional villages in Indonesia, puddings are still seldom eaten. At special events, fruit is only served as a side dish. At traditional Betawi weddings, banana bunches hanging from the ceiling are a symbol of unity and are not eaten.
The first time the puding or poding emerged in Indonesia was most likely during the period of Dutch rule when the most famous Dutch puddings were adopted across the archipelago.
Today the Dutch chocolade pudding is known as poding cokelat in Indonesian and the maizena pudding is known as poding masena.
The most popular pudding in East Indonesia is the Manadonese coconut pudding, known in Dutch as klappertaart, which means coconut tart.
Another well-known pudding in Indonesia is the schuimpudding. Internationally known as the bavarois, it involves adding stiffly beaten egg whites to basic pudding ingredients to create a foamy structure.
This type of pudding was popular a few decades ago and is now being replaced on the menus of up-market caterers with lighter sweet puddings. These days this pudding is only served at events attended by hundreds of people.
In Indonesia the bavarois is covered in a sauce made from milk and wheat called vla, which is also of Dutch origin.
Other puddings the Dutch introduced to Indonesia include the tapioca pudding, the coconut-based cocos blanc manger, the brood pudding made from white bread, the diplomat pudding made from agar-agar (gelatin made from seaweed) and the cabinet pudding.
From the British we adopted the Christmas pudding or the plum pudding, known here as pudding Natal. This pudding is especially popular in predominately Christian areas of Indonesia.
Looking further into the history of the pudding in Indonesia, the Dutch also introduced the famous puding Nesselrode to the country.
This pudding originates from Russia and is made from custard, pure chestnut cream and Maraschino liqueur. My late grandmother told me it was considered one of the most elite puddings in Indonesia at the beginning of last century.
Why was it was called the Nesselrode pudding?
Graf (count) Karl Robert Nesselrode (1718-1862) was a Russian diplomat from a German aristocratic family who worked as a chancellor for Tsar Nicolaus I. Count Nesselrode was interested in the country‘s culinary arts and worked with the palace‘s cook to create the pudding, which they named puding Nesselrode.
The history of the pudding in Indonesia is indeed interesting. Due to the fact Indonesians generally have a sweet tooth, puddings have become very popular throughout the country.
RECIPES
1. Puding kelapa
A coconut pudding from the eastern islands
Ingredients:
200 g brown sugar
600 ml milk
4 slices of white bread, 200 g
1 tbs corn flour, 10 g
2 eggs, 100 g, beaten
1 tbs butter, 20 g
A pinch of salt
« tsp vanilla powder
250 g fairly young coconut, scraped
2 tbs butter, for greasing, 40 g
Method:
1. Mix brown sugar and milk. Bring to the boil over medium flame until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove flame and let cool.
2. Add brown sugar liquid to bread, corn flour, eggs, butter, salt, vanilla and 150 g young coconut slices.
3. Cook over low flame while stirring until thickened.
4. Take an oven proof dish, grease with butter and pour the liquid into it. Put the rest of the young coconut on top and bake in a medium oven until brownish. Let cool and serve.
Makes: 6 servings
2. Puding coklat saus buah
Remembering the puddings of the Dutch
Ingredients:
A sachet of chocolate colored agar-agar
800 ml water
5 tbs chocolate powder, 50 g
200 g granulated sugar
A pinch of salt
200 g fruit cocktail, from tin
3 tbs sweetened condensed milk, 60 ml
2 tsp colorless agar-agar, 10 g
200 ml water
Sauce:
8 tbs sweetened condensed milk
1 egg yolk
200 ml water
2 tbs corn flour
50 g granulated sugar
A pinch of salt
200 g fruit cocktail, from tin
Method:
1. Mix chocolate colored agar-agar with water, chocolate powder, sugar and salt. Bring to the boil while stirring.
2. Take a form with a hole in the center and wet with water. Pour the agar-agar mixture into the form and let cool until hardened. Remove from form.
3. Meanwhile, mix fruit cocktail with sweetened condensed milk, colorless agar-agar, and water. Let come to the boil.
4. Pour mixture into the form, let cool and when solid take it out and put it on the chocolate colored one.
To make the sauce:
5. Mix sweetened condensed milk, egg yolk, water, corn flour, sugar, and salt. Stir well.
6. Bring to the boil until done and thickened.
7. Take from flame and let cool. Serve with the pudding and garnish with the fruit cocktail.
Makes: 10 servings
3. Puding panggang
Baked pudding, Jakarta style
Ingredients:
450 granulated sugar
100 g margarine or butter
5 eggs, separate yolks and whites, 250 g
70 g wheat flour, sifted
3 sachets colorless agar-agar
1200 ml water
100 ml sweetened condensed milk
1 tbs butter, for greasing, 10 g
3 tbs powdered chocolate
Method:
1. Beat 225 g sugar and margarine or butter until whitish
2. Add egg yolks and continue beating. Add flour and stir well
3. Beat egg whites until stiff
4. Mix colorless agar-agar with 225 g remaining sugar and water, bring to the boil.
5. Pour the liquid into the batter while beating
6. Add beaten egg whites and sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Divide into two portions.
7. Take a suitable form, grease with margarine or butter and pour one part of the batter into it
8. Mix remaining batter with powdered chocolate and pour over the first one.
9. Bake in a medium hot oven until done and brownish.
Makes: 12 servings.
4. Puding teler
An addictive pudding
Ingredients:
1 kg avocados, ripe, mashed
250 g nangka (ripe jackfruit), cubed
800 ml water
1 sachet colorless agar-agar
250 g granulated sugar
A screw pine leaf, 25 cm
A pinch of salt
300 g young coconut flesh, scraped
Ice cubes to your liking, pound
Method:
1. Mix water and colorless agar-agar, sugar, screw pine leaf and salt
2. Bring to the boil and add avocado flesh and jackfruit. Remove from flame.
3. Take a suitable bowl and pour the avocado mixture into it. Freeze until quite solid.
4. When serving cut crisscross marks on top and add scraped young coconut and pounded ice cubes.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com (13 Agustus 2007)
