Hi,

I had friends who ask me recently about the blue colouring that is found on nonya kuehs and kueh chang babi.  I find that this would be something good to share.  The Bunga Telang or Blue Pea Flower [ Clitoria Flower ] is a common ingredient used as natural food dye for making our nonya kuehs.

The Bunga Telang or Blue Pea Flower is a creeper and today it can be seen growing on fences of most primary schools.  Once you grow the seeds, the creeper plants grows very fast and in about one to two months, it starts blooming all year long. The more you pluck the flowers, the more flowers will bloom.  The Bunga Telang or Blue Pea Flower likes rich and moist soil. It needs lots of sunshine to grow well.  However, scorching sunlight can cause the leaves to dry up fast.  According to my grandmother, the fruit of the blue pea flower is poisonous.  So it is inedible, surprisingly, the blue pea flower is edible.

Usually the colours of the blue pea flower can be harvested in 2 manners.  Freshly pluck, pound it then add some water to get the blue colouring out.  Next, dry up the excess flowers you have.  When you need to use it, soak it in hot water and then mashed it up to get more colours out.  Dry blue Pea Flower can be kept in cool dried place for a long time.

One of the most simple nonya kuehs you can make with the bunga telang is the kueh tai.  I feel it is like a "Cheating" version of a kueh salat. (heehee)  The method I use to make this kueh is a little shortcut but it works somehow. ;)


1kg glutinous rice grains
A bowl of Bunga Telang
500 ml water for rice
300 gm grated coconut to squeeze the milk out for rice with one
        bowl of water
A pinch of salt

1. Pick out the plain rice grains (if you have the time) and other impurities which are often mixed with glutinous rice gains.  Usually I would spend more money to buy grade A glutinous rice so less work for me to select the plain rice grains.  (More expensive but WORTH IT)

2. If you have dried Bunga Telang mixed it with about half a cup of hot water and after a while, you squeeze the flowers to get the blue colouring. Lastly you strain it.

3. Usually to cook the glutinous rice, you pour in a portion of the bunga telang water into the rice, with the coconut milk added inside, a pinch of salt and 500gm of water.  The level of the gravy mix should be well above the rice about 2 to 3 cm.  After soaking for an hour or so, put them into the rice cooker to get cooked.  When its half cook here is the sticky part, stir the rice evenly and cook in the rice cooker again.

4.  Another sticky part, once the rice is ready, I love to use a square deep tray, I usually will put banana leaves cut into the shape of the tray, then I will press the glutinous rice tightly onto the tray.  About 4cm deep.  This will make it easy for one to remove the glutinous rice later.  Then I will used the balance concentrated bunga telang and sprinkle sparely in areas to give it s lapis lazuli effect.  Then I steam it again for about 1/2hour.

5. After steaming, leave it to cool till room temperature.  Next thing to do, use a plastic knife for cutting birthday cake and cut the sides along the square tray.  Tricky part, but a wide tray on top of the square tray, flip it over.  Hit it hard to let the kueh drop onto the wide tray.  After that, use another wide tray, put it on top of the banana leaf portion and flip it again.  Then cut into the sizes you want.

8. Usually I would use this and serve with our nonya pandan kaya.  So its like a cheating version of kueh salat.  Likewise, the balance kueh tai, you can reuse and make them into KUEH INTI.

Happy trying out.

Cheers.

Jyun