Sweet Puddings: Indonesia

By Barrie | August 20th, 2007 | No Comments

In the past, sweet puddings were not a part of traditional menus in Indonesia. The main course was generally the last served. In Java, the tumpeng selamat, a rice cone dish served at birthdays and weddings, is an example of a traditional meal still being served.

In West Sumatra, nasi kunyit with singgang ayam is another example as gastronome and epicurean el supremo Suryatini N. Ganie explains.

However, on modern Indonesian menus foreign overtones have gradually emerged. Appetizers and soups are often now served before the main meal and sweets are served after the meal. As the eating habits of Indonesians changed, puddings started to appear on menus around the country.

However, in traditional villages in Indonesia, puddings are still seldom eaten. At special events, fruit is only served as a side dish. At traditional Betawi weddings, banana bunches hanging from the ceiling are a symbol of unity and are not eaten.

The first time the puding or poding emerged in Indonesia was most likely during the period of Dutch rule when the most famous Dutch puddings were adopted across the archipelago.

Today the Dutch chocolade pudding is known as poding cokelat in Indonesian and the maizena pudding is known as poding masena.

The most popular pudding in East Indonesia is the Manadonese coconut pudding, known in Dutch as klappertaart, which means coconut tart.

Another well-known pudding in Indonesia is the schuimpudding. Internationally known as the bavarois, it involves adding stiffly beaten egg whites to basic pudding ingredients to create a foamy structure.

This type of pudding was popular a few decades ago and is now being replaced on the menus of up-market caterers with lighter sweet puddings. These days this pudding is only served at events attended by hundreds of people.

In Indonesia the bavarois is covered in a sauce made from milk and wheat called vla, which is also of Dutch origin.

Other puddings the Dutch introduced to Indonesia include the tapioca pudding, the coconut-based cocos blanc manger, the brood pudding made from white bread, the diplomat pudding made from agar-agar (gelatin made from seaweed) and the cabinet pudding.

From the British we adopted the Christmas pudding or the plum pudding, known here as pudding Natal. This pudding is especially popular in predominately Christian areas of Indonesia.

Looking further into the history of the pudding in Indonesia, the Dutch also introduced the famous puding Nesselrode to the country.

This pudding originates from Russia and is made from custard, pure chestnut cream and Maraschino liqueur. My late grandmother told me it was considered one of the most elite puddings in Indonesia at the beginning of last century.

Why was it was called the Nesselrode pudding?

Graf (count) Karl Robert Nesselrode (1718-1862) was a Russian diplomat from a German aristocratic family who worked as a chancellor for Tsar Nicolaus I. Count Nesselrode was interested in the country’s culinary arts and worked with the palace’s cook to create the pudding, which they named puding Nesselrode.

The history of the pudding in Indonesia is indeed interesting. Due to the fact Indonesians generally have a sweet tooth, puddings have become very popular throughout the country.

Suryatini N. Ganie