Pengat Pisang (Bananas in Sweet Sauce)

Pengat pisang would be one of my many favorite local desserts. Its simple delicious and pretty fast to cook. I especially love the taste of the sauce. It has a real unique taste to it after all the flavors have infused together. Before the recipe here is a little information to this very deliciously sinful desert. Pengat means sweet sauce therefore this recipe in English is ‘bananas in sweet sauce’ There are a variation of pengat desserts from this region. Some use tapioca while others has a mixture of beans, jelly, yam etc etc . My all time favorite would be the pengat pisang

I used pisang nipah for this recipe …. The Malay word for banana is pisang. As for nipah its actually a type of palm hence it translates to ‘palm banana’. This is the only banana I have tried to make this dish with and I don’t think I would ever change it. But I think any cooking banana would do for this recipe so if anyone has tried the alternative please do share… Pisang nipah is also delicious when made into banana fritters. A simple recipe of dipping it in batter and frying it. I like the very ripe pisang nipah. It has a natural sweetness to it compared to other bananas.

The banana ‘Pisang Nipah”

The banana flesh ….

The palm sugar used for this recipe has been melted which makes it easier to cook. To make the palm sugar syrup all you need are blocks of palm sugar and water. Cook it until you get your desired consistency. The amount of sugar to water should be about 3:1 to get the right consistency.

I like mine in between thick and runny. Once its cooled , run through a strainer to remove the husks and put in a bottle and store in the fridge so when you want to make a desert that calls for palm sugar syrup you already have it handy.

Pengat Pisang (Bananas in Sweet Sauce)

Ingredients:
10 pieces ripe bananas
2 pieces pandan leaves
1 ½ cups coconut milk
¾ cups water
A pinch of salt
1 ¾ cups palm sugar (gula melaka)

Directions:
1-Remove banana peel and make a little slit on the banana flesh.
2-Put the bananas and a little water (enough to cover the bananas) into a pot
along with the pandan leaves. Cover and cook for about 10mins.
3- Next add in the coconut milk, palm sugar & salt. Stir until the ingredients
are mixed well.
4- Let it simmer for about 5mins and then turn off heat.

Adjust the sweetness and thickness of the dish to your own liking. And when its done this is how it is …

Happy Trying another yummy desert from Asia!