Malaysian Recipe : Onde Onde

Ingredients:

• 8 screw pine leaves
  
• 10 oz glutinous rice flour
  
• 1 heaped tbsp tapioca flour or corn flour
  
• Pinch of salt

• Few drops of green food coloring
  
• 10 oz grated coconut, mixed with a pinch of salt
  
• 5 oz palm sugar, finely grated and mixed with 1 tbsp castor sugar

1. Pound screw pine pieces till fine, add enough water to bring it to 7 fl oz. Add salt and green coloring. Strain and set aside.
2. Boil tapioca flour with 3 fl oz. water over low heat, stirring till almost transparent.
3. Pour the tapioca mixture immediately into the glutinous rice flour in a large bowl. Still till well absorbed and gradually add in the screw pine water to form a paste.
4. Place paste on a flat surface. Rub well to form a firm smooth dough. If dough is too soft, add in a little flour. Divide dough in 4 parts. Roll each part into a longish roll and cut into 12 pieces. Keep uncut dough covered with a piece of cloth.
5. Bring a big saucepan of water to the boil. Take 1 piece of cut dough and roll with palms of hands till well rounded. Fill with 11/2 tsp of the grated sugar in centre.  Put into the boiling water. Repeat process with the remaining dough and boil till each ball surfaces. Keep boiling for 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
6. Remove each ball with a tea strainer, dab strainer over dry cloth and roll onde onde in grated coconut. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Note: It is very important to keep the balls well sealed to prevent cracking whilst boiling. When onde onde floats to the surface keep boiling for at least 2 to 2 ½ minutes. This will keep the onde onde soft and at the same time turns the grated sugar syrupy.