Royal pudding (puding raja)

This dish was created for the royal family of Pahang and in Malaysia uses small, sweet bananas. In Australia we don't have as many varieties of banana readily available as there are in Malaysia, so this uses the common Cavendish banana sweetened with a drizzle of honey.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 litre canola oil, for deep-frying
• 250 ml (1 cup) ghee
• 10 Cavendish bananas
• 60 ml (¼ cup) Western Australian jarrah honey
• 150 g (1 cup) roasted macadamia nuts
• 100 g (⅔ cup) roasted unsalted cashews
• red and green glace cherries and prunes, to serve

Custard sauce

• 1 egg
• 200 ml condensed milk
• 340 ml can evaporated milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Jala emas

• 6 egg yolks
• 125 g caster sugar
• 1 pandan leaf, knotted

Cooling time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. For the custard sauce, beat the egg and condensed milk together. Add the evaporated milk and vanilla. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, whisking regularly. Strain and allow to cool.
2. For the jala emas, place the egg yolks in a piece of muslin and squeeze through into a bowl. This mixes the yolk without incorporating air. Pour into a squeezy bottle or a small jug. Place the sugar, pandan leaf and 500 ml (2 cups) water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove the pandan leaf. Pour the egg yolks in a thin stream into the simmering water, gathering them when they have set. Set aside to cool.
3. Place the oil and ghee in a large saucepan and heat to 170˚C. Deep-fry the bananas in batches until golden brown. Drain well.
4. To arrange the pudding, place the bananas in a serving dish. Pour over the honey, then the custard sauce. Arrange the jala emas on top and decorate with the nuts, cherries and prunes.

 

Join Adam & Poh on a Malaysian-Australian eating adventure in Adam & Poh's Malaysia in Australia.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.