PENERAM
The Indians call it adhirasam while the Malays refer to it as denderam, peniaram or cucur peneram. This
sweetmeat originated from South India and is widely eaten during celebrations
such as weddings and Deepavali.
How the Malays adopted adhirasam and changed the name to denderam, however, remains a mystery. Despite its unique
back story, denderam is a must in many homes during the Hari Raya
celebration.
This traditional kuih has now been commercialised, like many others,
and can be found at R&R stops, pasar malam and
shops all year round. And now there is a ready-made adhirasam mix, a foolproof method to get your dish
right.
The main difference between adhirasam and denderam is that
the Indian version uses dried ginger and cardamom powder with rice flour and
brown sugar while denderam is much simpler as only
rice flour and gula melaka or palm sugar are used.
This South Indian specialty is made with rice flour
and brown sugar cooked with Pandan leaves. As a street food, it’s usually made
onsite from rolled out dough, cut with a makeshift cookie cutter, and deep fried,
as the Peneram tastes best when fresh from a sizzling wok. You can also find
these tasty donuts being pre-made and packaged by locals at their homes, and
sold at various shops.
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