Sweet Potato Balls in Coconut Sugar Syrup

In Indonesia, sweet potato is really really easy to find. I believe we have plenty the whole year round. And there are many types of sweet potato, we usually call it by the colors. White sweet potato, yellow (it is actually a bit orangish-peach), purple and by it regions, e.g cilembu.

Now let's talk about sweet potato balls. This sweet dessert is very popular during the holy month of Ramadan. It taste good, sweet and down to earth kinda food. A perfect treat after a day of fasting. 

As per today, you can have a kilogram of yellow sweet potato for less than a dollar! And with a kilogram, you can make 2-3 dessert with sweet potato.

Sweet potato balls, or we usually call it candil or biji salak in Indonesia, is easy to make. If you want to make it even faster, buy the sweet potato a day before. Steamed until soft, mashed it until smooth, and then divide into several  packages and store in airtight container or plastic bags. Put it on the freezer, so whenever you want to make anything with sweet potato, you just need to thaw them. Simple.

What you need :

300gr sweet potato, wash, peeled, and diced
30gr sago flour
pinch of salt

for the sauce :
200 gr coconut sugar, coarsely chopped
2 pandan leaves / screwpine leaves
3 cup of water/750 ml
dissolve 1 full teaspoon of sagoo in 50 ml water

for coconut milk :
100-150 ml coconut milk, made from half coconut + 100 ml water
or you can use instant coconut milk
1 pandan leave
pinch of salt

Sauce : Bring water, coconut sugar, pandan leaves to the boil over medium heat. Strain.

Sweet potato balls : Steamed the diced sweet potato until for tender. Approximately about 20-30 minutes. Transfer into a bowl, mash while still hot. Add sago and salt, knead to a soft dough. If you like you it to be more chewy, add more sago powder. Take a small pinch of the dough and form into balls. Adjust the size of the balls according to your liking. Repeat until the dough is finished. Set aside.

Bring the coconut sugar syrup to boil over medium heat. Put all balls into the coconut sugar syrup. Wait until all balls float. Wait for another 5 minutes. Add sago water and keep stirring until it thickened. Remove from the heat.

Coconut milk: Bring to the boil the coconut milk, continuous stirring needed. Add pandan leaf and salt. Remove from the heat.

Serve sweet potato balls with coconut milk.