Heri Sisworo
Jambi is a province in the central part of Sumatra. Just like most of the province in the area, Jambi is predominantly Melayu. As a consequence, you can find lots of Melayu dishes here. One of them is reflected in the many Jambi traditional cakes.
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Strictly saying, some of the cakes in Jambi can also be found in other places. However, just like other culinary delights from Indonesia, each region has its own flair and characteristics, the same can be said about Jambi traditional cakes. Here are some of them.
Dodol Nanas
Similar to most dodols from other areas, the main ingredient for this cake is sticky rice flour and palm sugar. The cooking process is long and requires a lot of mixing. In Jambi, in particular, the main flavor being used is pineapple (nanas). The cake is really sweet with a chewy texture. The other unique feature of this dodol is that it is usually has a ball shape.
Kubang Boyo Cake
The main ingredient of this cake is sticky rice flour and pandanus pasta. The filling is usually grated coconut with palm sugar. The pandanus leaves give the cake its green color. The shape of the cake is really simple, with a ridge on the top. The cake is then put in the pool of coconut milk, making it looks like the back of a crocodile on the water. Kubang Boyo does mean the soaking place for the crocodile.
Srikaya cake
Srikaya or sugar apple is a rather popular fruit in the South and Southeast Asia. However, Srikaya cake doesn’t have srikaya at all as an ingredient. The main ingredient is actually fermented rice. Pandanus or suji leaves are acting as coloring agents, giving the cake its green color. The srikaya part in the name actually comes from this color.
Padamaran Cake
This cake is used common rice flour and coconut milk as the main ingredients. The cake has a green color thanks to the use of suji leaves. Interestingly, the wraps do not cover the upper part of the cake. Instead, it uses a bowl made from banana leaves. The topping is really simple; palm sugar syrup or kinca.
Gandus
This is a savory and sometimes a bit. The main ingredients are rice flour, sago flour, salt, and coconut milk. The batter is put into a square or round mold. Once cooked, the topping is added. The topping is simple; a combination of fried shallots, chili pepper, leeks, and celery.
Muso Cake
This cake is for chocolate lovers out there. You can say that this cake has two layers. The outer layer is chocolate and the inner layer is green sticky rice. First, you make the chocolate bowl and then you put the green sticky rice batter in that bowl. This cake usually has a rather crunchy chocolate outside and chewy cake inside.
There are a lot of Jambi traditional cakes that you can try. Even though they are all rice-based cakes, they are different enough to have for variation. Visiting Jambi truly can be a great culinary adventure. Next
