I Dreamt of Bubur Sumsum

This dessert always reminds me of Ramadhan. It's made from rice flour and coconut milk, eaten cold with aromatic sugar syrup. My mother used to make this dessert when we were young, she told her daughters that all young women must learn how to make this pudding, kalau tak pandai buat malu aje! But although the ingredients are quite simple, the pudding is a bit tricky to make. One must vigilantly stir the mixture on low heat until it becomes thick and "custardy".

I made a batch for tonight's iftar, it's been so long since I last made it. I forget that it must not be made at the last minute, because it must be thoroughly chilled before being served. I started my project at 4pm, quickly mixed and immediately chucked it in the fridge. To my dismay when I took it out of the fridge, the top of the pudding had cracked! Like cheesecake, it must be cooled thoroughly at room temperature, THEN only transferred to the fridge to avoid the cracked surface. Kenapalah tak ingat masa buat tadi...

Anyway, here's the recipe for this refreshing traditional pudding. Tweaked the recipe to my own taste, do give it a try!

Bubur Sumsum

Pudding:
1 cup rice flour
200ml thick coconut milk
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
2 star anise
1 (approximately 3") cinnamon stick

Boil all the ingredients for syrup until sugar is dissolved. Chill.

Mix all ingredients for pudding in a pot or in my case I prefer the kuali. The trick to a smooth pudding, use a handwhisk to stir while simmering on low heat. Stir until thick custard consistency. Quickly pour into a heatproof dish. Smooth surface with a spatula. Let cool to room temperature before tranferring to the fridge (to avoid my mistake!). Serve cold, scoop with a serving spoon into a bowl, pour cold syrup over the pudding.