Here in KL, I personally find it difficult to find decent Terengganu food close enough to my house. Food from Kelantan, our neighboring state, is aplenty, but not those from my own home state. Until one day, my mom told me about Mok Teh Nasi Dagang, a shop my brother frequently orders from, . This shop’s best-seller is of course their Nasi Dagang, but they also sell all sorts of Terengganu snacks and desserts, one of them being tepung kapur.
As far as I know, tepung kapur is a Malay kuih only found in Terengganu or Kelantan. I thought it to be an East Coast thing, but apparently Pahang doesn’t have it. Many often mistake them for kuih kaswi, but while both are brown in color and are coated in grated coconut, that’s where the similarity ends. Unlike kaswi which is soft and jelly-like, tepung kapur is firm to the bite, and can be cut into distinct slices. The word ‘kapur’ refers to the slaked lime water used in the batter, and if anyone asks if this ingredient can be skipped, well, it ain’t tepung kapur with no kapur in it, friend.
There aren’t too many recipes online for tepung kapur, but I found a very helpful guide by Malina Lina Pg. She gave various options for wrapping the tepung kapur, and my method of choice is wrapping with banana leaves in cylindrical, candy-shaped casings. I made this recipe before using sous vide bags lined with banana leaves, because I didn’t have enough leaves for making full casings. I’ve modified the wrapping method here and there, because I had some health-related concerns with her method, e.g. boiling rubber bands or takeout plastic packaging.
Because this kuih uses very few ingredients, I made some effort to acquire very good ingredients. I used Madam Yap filtered palm sugar from the state of Melaka, said to be the best in Malaysia. I also used fresh pandan leaves from my garden. The results really did not disappoint. If you want to try this rare Malay kuih, do check out this recipe!
Jump to RecipeStep by Step
In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the water, gula melaka, Thai red sugar, salt, and pandan leaf.
Bring to a boil, stirring, until all the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour.
Strain the sugar mixture into the bowl, a little at a time, while stirring to combine.
Add the slaked lime water. Stir until smooth and no lumps remain.
Wrap the tepung kapur. First, cut three or four banana leaves into 10-inch long sheets.
Over an open flame of your stove, heat the banana leaves until the bottom parts completely darken and the leaves are soft and pliable.
Wipe clean each leaf using a damp paper towel.
One sheet at a time, roll into a cylinder. A toilet roll core works really well as a guide. Make sure the roll overlaps at least 2 or 3 layers, to prevent any leakage.
Tie off one end very tightly using a kitchen twine.
Using a funnel, pour some of the batter into the casing.
Tie off the other end very tightly with kitchen twine. Trim off excess leaves. Repeat with the remaining leaves and batter.
Boil the tepung kapur parcels, until a toothpick pierced into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
When the tepung kapur is done, remove from the pot and drain on a wire rack. Let completely cool. This may take a few hours.
While the tepung kapur is cooling, prepare the coconut coating. In a heat resistant dish or bowl, add the shredded coconut, salt, and chopped pandan leaf. Toss until thoroughly combined.
Steam for 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
Using a lightly oiled plastic knife or bench scraper, cut the tepung kapur into thin slices. Plastic utensils are preferred, to prevent sticking.
Toss the slices in the steamed shredded coconut, and serve.
Tepung Kapur
Equipment
- 1 Steamer
Ingredients
- 450 ml water 2 cups
- 120 grams palm sugar
- 25 grams Thai red sugar 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pandan leaf tied into a knot
- 270 grams all purpose flour 2 cups
- 1 tablespoon slaked lime water
For the topping
- 100 grams white shredded coconut half a packet
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pandan leaf cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the water, gula melaka, Thai red sugar, salt, and pandan leaf.
- Bring to a boil, stirring, until all the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour.
- Strain the sugar mixture into the bowl, a little at a time, while stirring to combine.
- Add the slaked lime water. Stir until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Wrap the tepung kapur. First, cut three or four banana leaves into 10-inch long sheets.
- Over an open flame of your stove, heat the banana leaves until the bottom parts completely darken and the leaves are soft and pliable.
- Wipe clean each leaf using a damp paper towel.
- One sheet at a time, roll into a cylinder. A toilet roll core works really well as a guide. Make sure the roll overlaps at least 2 or 3 layers, to prevent any leakage.
- Tie off one end very tightly using a kitchen twine.
- Using a funnel, pour some of the batter into the casing.
- Tie off the other end very tightly with kitchen twine. Trim off excess leaves. Repeat with the remaining leaves and batter.
- Boil the tepung kapur parcels, until a toothpick pierced into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
- When the tepung kapur is done, remove from the pot and drain on a wire rack. Let completely cool. This may take a few hours.
- While the tepung kapur is cooling, prepare the coconut coating. In a heat resistant dish or bowl, add the shredded coconut, salt, and chopped pandan leaf. Toss until thoroughly combined.
- Steam for 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
- Using a lightly oiled plastic knife or bench scraper, cut the tepung kapur into thin slices. Plastic utensils are preferred, to prevent sticking.
- Toss the slices in the steamed shredded coconut, and serve.
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