TRADITIONAL SNACK : TEMPE KEMUL

This is a traditional snack from my home town 'Tempe Kemul'.
It's made from tempe and a yellowish dough.

These are the spices to make yellow dough.
There are coriander, garlic, salt, kencur (Kaemferia), tumeric and kemiri (Indonesian hazelnut).

All the spices will pounded using traditional stone mortar and pestle until we get a smooth texture.

We use the mixing of  white rice flour, cassava flour and wheat flour with the same component.

Put some water and chopped garlic chives into the mixing of the flour and then stir well until we get a bit liquid dough.
The garlic chives make the aroma become so special.

Then we put in the cut tempe into the dough, then fry it on a hot cooking oil until it's dry and crispy.

Now, these snack are ready to be served.

Enjoy with our family on our tea time during the rainy season.

Ehmmm.... yummy...

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 7

GREY

This is one of unusual food color, but popular as traditional food color, especially in Central Java.
Maybe this color is not appetizing, but the taste is very delicious.

Ciwel

There are so many Javanese traditional snacks and drinks that have deep grey color.
We have ciwel, jenang saren, and dawet ireng. 

Ciwel is made from cassava.
The grey color agent  is made from oman (rice straws) or merang (rice shell).
The rice straw is burned, then diluted in water and strain.
Wait for about 15 minutes.
We only use the clear water and throw the sediment.
So we get the deep grey color agent.
In other place, people use burned dry banana leaves for the dye.
The taste is so delicious.

Dawet ireng (wikipedia)

Have a colorful weekend with your own food.
I hope you enjoy this series, and see you on the next monthly series.
Thank you visiting.

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 6

PINK-PURPLE-VIOLET

This is the favorite color of my daughter.
So cheerful...
We use red amaranth, beet root or ubi ungu (purple sweet potato)

Ubi ungu (okezonet.com)

Ubi ungu have deep purple color, so when we boil or steam it, the water will turned purple.

They have high antioxidant.

Keripik ubi ungu/purple sweet potato chips (wikipedia)

Sometime we use the basic material as an ingredient on the recipe, so we get the color the ingredients.

We also use red amaranth to get pinky color.
We boiled the red amaranth or just pouring hot boiled water on it.

Look... the leaves loose their pinky color, and now have a green leaves.
The pigment is moved to the water.

 

Look the pinky water...
So cute and have so many health benefits.

This is my pinky rice.

BLUE

This color is so popular in South East Asia.
We use kembang telang or butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea) to get the blue color agent.

We can use both of fresh and dried flower.

You can check my old series 'FEEL BLUE'.
This is my blue dishes.

Put some lemon juice, the blue water will turns purplish.

How about your pinky and blue food?
Have a colorful weekend.

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 5

BROWN

Brown is an usual color in so many traditional foods and drinks.
In Indonesia the brown color is came from cocoa powder, soy sauce, palm sugar, shallot & onion skins, teak leaves,  guava leaves and caramel.

On savory dishes, we use soy sauce.
Cocoa powder is the most popular food stuff to make sweet dishes; cake, drink, ice, pudding, cookies and many more.

Cocoa powder

Traditional Indonesian foods use gula jawa (palm sugar) to get brownish color.

Gula Jawa in tubular shape

Gula jawa still in the molds

We usually boil some chicken eggs with shallot skin to get the brownish skins egg.

 

Look the difference...
Egg that has boiled in plain water have brighter color.
The egg that has boiled in water with shallot skins have darker color and more tasty.

 

If we do some little knocks on the egg skins when the egg still boiled, we will get a beautiful pattern on the egg inside.

 

Gudeg (identity food from Jogyakarta) use guava leaves or teak leaves to get red-brown color.
Gudeg is a dish that made from immature jackfruit.
The fruit is chopped and cooked for a long time, about eight hours in crockery pot.
The taste is sweet and sticky.

Gudeg Komplit (Wikipedia)

Do you have traditional brown foods?

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 4

RED

We use so many fruit, leaves, tuber or lumber.
For savory foods we usually use beet root, chilli or tomato juice.
To make sweet dishes we use strawberry, roselle and kayu secang  (Caesalpinia sappan).

We use roselle and kayu secang in so many herbal drinks.
It gives bright red color.
Fresh roselle calyces will give red color and a little bit sour taste.

Secang (Caesalpinia sappans).

Secang is usually planted as a hedge in so many state woods.
It's look like a little tree or shrub.
The skin is thorny.

Kayu secang

Kayu secang is well known as a spice and medicinal stuff.
We use kayu secang to treat cough, diarhoea, wound, and also as anti bacteria.
There are wedang secang, wedang uwuh and bir plethok that made from kayu secang.

Wedang secang

The color is really beautiful.
And the taste is so spicy. 
If we reduce kayu secang in the ingredient, we will get the bright pinky red color.

Manisan kolang kaling

 

ORANGE

Orange color is come from carrot juice.

Carrot contains Beta-carotene that produce red-orange pigment.

We use carrot juice to make cake and pudding. 

Do you cook red-orange dishes too?

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 3

GREEN

Green is a natural color.
We usually use so many leaves to make green color agents.
The color agent is called Chlorophyl.

Klepon; a Javanese traditional snack

Here, there are pandan leaves, katu, green amaranth and suji  leaves.
In so many savory dishes, such as green noodles, we use katu (Saoropus androgenus) and green amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves.
And for sweet dishes, we use pandan (Pandanus  amarilyifolius) and suji (Pleomele angustifolia syn Dracaena angustifolia) leaves.
Both of them have cooling effect for the body heat.

Pandan

To make liquid extract, we use blender or food processor to get the juice, then strained.
So the extract is already to be used.
Pandan leaves are used fresh or dried, and are commercially available 
They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor traditional foods, especially sweet dishes and cakes.

The leaves are sometimes steeped in santan (coconut milk), which is then added to the dish. 

Pandan leaves

Pandan leaves may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. 
The leaves usually  be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice.
The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as cake and sweet beverages. 
Bottled pandan extract is available in shops or groceries.

Suji leaves

We have a lot of traditional foods on green.
This is Dawet Ayu, an identity drink from Banjarnegara.

Dawet Ayu

Our family are really love this drink.
We use juruh (palm sugar syrup, santan (coconut milk) and 'cendol'.
Cendol is made from tepung gelang or tepung ketan (glutinous rice flour).
Gelang is flour that made from Aren log (Arenga pinnata).
 

Cendol; the main ingredient in Dawet Ayu

Both of Suji and pandan leaves are the green coloring agen for cendol.
So we get the green color, sweet flavor and smell good.

Do you have 'green food'?

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 2

YELLOW

This is a common traditional  food color  in Indonesia.
So many traditional foods have yellow color.
The main food coloring is made from kunyit (Curcuma longa syn Curcuma domestica).

Old kunyit rhizome

It's well known as tumeric.
In Central Java it's called kunir.
We use Curcuma rhizome fresh or dried.
It give a bright yellow color in our food.

Fresh kunyit and old kunyit as a seedling

Kunyit usually use in so many medical purpose. Its use as a coloring agent.
Its active ingredient is curcumin and it has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy  smell.
Curcumin has been a centre of attraction for potential treatment on so many diseases, including cancer, diabetes, allergies, arthritis and other chronic illnesses.

Kunyit is mostly used in savory dishes.
Most kunyit that is used in the form of fresh rhizome or powder. 
There are so many traditional foods in yellow.

Spices for 'Tempe Kemul'

Actually yellow color is just a 'bonus'.
The main purpose we use kunyit is as 'bumbu' (spice/seasoning)The most popular is 'nasi kuning' or yellow rice.

Nasi kuning for my daughters birthday

Nasi kuning for my husbands birthday

Nasi kuning for my sons birthday

 Nasi kuning is a main food that must in any events (ceremony) such as inauguration, birth, wedding, birthday, and other. 
I always make it in every my family members birthdays. 

Lunch box for Independence Day Celebration

And the other, our favorite  'yellow food' is 'Tempe kemul'.
This snack is an typical food from my home town, Wonosobo.

Tempe Kemul

Do you have traditional 'yellow food' or favorite food in yellow? 

NATURAL FOOD COLORING PART 1

I think we all love eat something that taste delicious.
Of course!
But it will more appetizing if it have nice color.

Es cincau

Natural agent give more than color, but also flavor for our food.
The food will more tasty.

Kolak campur

We have so many traditional foods that use natural food coloring.
The natural food coloring are made from so many plants.

Katu leaves for green color

There are so many parts of plant that we use.
Leaves, flowers, rhizhome, fruits, and many more are common materials that we use.

Manisan pala (candied nutmeg pulp)

We have a lot of ethnic groups with their own culture make our country more colorful, especially on food.
Through this series I will share you about our colorful traditional food.
I hope you all will share about your own traditional food that use natural food coloring. 
Please enjoy this series.