Purple Sweet Potato Biji Salak
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A classic recipe with a twist, this Purple Sweet Potato Biji Salak is basically chewy purple sweet potato tapioca balls served with sweet palm sugar porridge and drizzled with savory coconut milk.
Although Ramadan is over halfway done, I feel like it is a great time to share some Indonesian takjil recipe. In Indonesia, people usually first take a hot or cold drink and eat sweet snacks (takjil) during “buka puasa” or opening of the fast, known as Iftar. This is done to allow the tummy to slowly get adjusted to food and supply energy.
Do you still remember my previous recipe? For me, Ramadan is not complete without eating biji salak. Biji Salak is sweet potato – tapioca balls served with palm sugar porridge and coconut milk. The sweet potato balls are soft and chewy while the sweet palm sugar porridge is balanced with savory coconut milk.
This year, I wanted to bring this classic biji salak recipe with a little twist in it. How about making it purple?
About Purple Sweet Potato Biji Salak
A few days ago, I saw some purple sweet potatoes online and could not resist buying them home. Purple sweet potatoes are basically sweet potatoes with a deep purple flesh. Therefore, I thought that it would be great to substitute the sweet potatoes in Biji Salak and it works! That is how I get the brilliant pop of purple color to my sweet potato balls.
How does Purple Sweet Potato Biji Salak taste compared to the classic one? It actually does not taste that different, but it does taste slightly less sweet than the sweet potato one. In terms of texture, these purple sweet potato tapioca balls are not as smooth as the other one because purple sweet potatoes are denser and drier than the regular sweet potatoes. What I love the most about this recipe is how vibrant the color is. Next time, I should try making biji salak with two kinds of sweet potatoes. That must look pretty considering how colorful they are.
How about you all? What do you eat during this Ramadan? I hope you enjoy the recipe and please tell me how it goes if you make one.
More Indonesian Dessert Recipes
While you are here, don’t forget to check out these delicious Indonesian dessert recipes!
- Palm Cheese Cookies
- Klepon (Pandan Glutinous Rice Balls with Palm Sugar Filling)
- Putu Ayu (Steamed Pandan Coconut Cake)
- Kue Lumpang Ijo (Pandan Sticky Rice Cakes)
- Pandan Coconut Ice Cream
Ingredients
Purple Sweet Potato Balls
- 1.1 lbs (500 gr) purple sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
- 1 cup (125 gr) tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
Palm Sugar Porridge
- 4 cups (1000 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 gr) gula Jawa/palm sugar/gula Melaka, shaved and minced
- 1/4 cup (50 gr) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 pandan leaves, knotted
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 3 tbsp water
Coconut Milk
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) thick coconut milk
- 2 pandan leaves, knotted
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Steam the purple sweet potato for 15-20 minutes until the purple sweet potatoes are tender. Check this by poking the sweet potatoes with a fork/skewer.
- While the purple sweet potatoes are being cooked, prepare the palm sugar porridge by adding water, palm sugar, granulated sugar, pandan leaves, and salt into a medium pot. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Strain to remove pandan leaves and any residual from the palm sugar. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add coconut milk, salt, and pandan leaves. Simmer with low heat while stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- After the purple sweet potatoes are cooked, put them in a medium bowl and mash until smooth while still warm. Add tapioca flour and salt and knead the dough with hand until fully incorporated. Roll the dough into 1-1.5 inch balls with your hands and put them on a clean tray.
- In a medium pot, add enough water to reach half of the pot. Let it boil and add sweet potato balls into the water. Cook until the sweet potato balls float to the top. Using a strainer, transfer the cooked sweet potato balls into the palm sugar water.
- Bring the palm sugar water to boil. In a small bowl, mix tapioca flour and water until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the palm sugar water until the porridge thickens and starts to bubble. Remove from the heat.
- To serve, ladle some sweet potato balls along with the palm sugar porridge into a serving bowl. Drizzle with a generous amount of coconut milk.
