Kuih Cucur Badak

the cucur badak fried for bekal. the karipap ikan is made by my friend shidah




of all the kuih melayu, i like currypuffs, kuih cucur badak and serimuka. which means it is an imperative that i become a connoisseur for these kuihs and know how to make them, and make them well.

i tried to make cucur badak several attempts, but although those were edible, it was nowhere near perfect. or at least, my standard of perfection. the sweet potatoes were always too soft, although the filling was okay.

i couldnt remember how, but a few days ago i had this craving for cucur badak. i did my research through my small library of recipe books, and after ditching Betty Saw's recipe (because nowhere was sweet potatoes stated, probably it was a misprint) i finally settled for a recipe in Berita Publishing's Traditional Malaysian Cuisine. and i must say, after making it, the recipe was not bad, the most important thing is, the skin made of sweet potatoes was just nice, and the filling was tasty. okay, i know i didnt have the pic of my cucur badak, i keep them in the freezer for any emergencies. here's the recipe for it.

skin

300g sweet potatoes
a pinch of salt
water
1/2 cup flour

boil until the potatoes are cooked. scrape the skin and mash the potatoes. add 1/2 cup of flour and knead until soft. divide into equally sized portions (you can make about 6-8 depending on the sizes)

Filling

1/2 grated coconut
to be ground together:
20gs dried shrimps (i used fresh ones. don't grind the fresh shrimps with the spices)
1 stalk lemon grass -
2 fresh red chillies
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots

1/2 tsp turmeric powder (i used fresh turmeric)
salt and sugar

mix all the ingredients together and fry in 2 tbs of oil until dry (usually until the coconut is light) take 1 portion of the sweet potato mixture and flatten slightly. put in 1 tsp of the filling in the centre and seal. heat oil and fry the cakes until golden.