Version from Aceh, Indonesia
Keukarah — Aceh, Indonesia
A crisp, lace-patterned fried snack from Aceh, made by dripping thin rice-flour batter into hot oil so it sets into a golden, open-work nest.
- 20 min
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 8
- Servings
- Medium
- Difficulty
Keukarah is a fried snack from Aceh shaped like an open lace nest rather than a solid cake: a thin rice-flour batter is dripped into hot oil in overlapping lines that fuse at the edges but stay latticed and airy in the center.
It is reported from across Aceh province, where it is made ahead of festive occasions such as Eid and wedding gatherings, stored in tins and served as a dry, crunchy sweet alongside tea or coffee.
Rice flour is mixed with water, a little sugar and sometimes turmeric for color into a thin, pourable batter, which is drizzled from a coconut-shell dipper with small holes, or from a cone, into hot oil in a circular, overlapping pattern; it fries quickly into a crisp golden lattice that is lifted out and drained before it can brown further.
The lace-like open structure, achieved by drizzling rather than pouring the batter, is what sets keukarah apart from other Acehnese fried rice-flour snacks that are shaped flat or rolled solid; its shelf life as a dry keepable sweet also marks it apart from snacks meant to be eaten the same day.
Preparation
Whisk the rice flour, water, sugar, turmeric and salt into a thin, lump-free batter.
Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan until hot but not smoking.
Dip a small perforated ladle or cone into the batter and let it drip.
Drizzle the batter over the hot oil in overlapping circles to form a lattice.
Fry until the lattice turns golden and crisp, then flip it carefully once.
Lift the lattice out with a skimmer and drain it on paper.
Let it cool completely before stacking or storing in a tin.
