Ramadan: Butir nako emas, sweetmeat originating from Thai royal court in high demand

By Nur Athirah Azman

KOTA BHARU, April 14 (Bernama) -- With a golden yellow hue and shaped like jackfruit seeds, the ‘butir nako emas’ are in high demand for breaking of fast, especially among Kelantanese.

The sweetmeat maker from Rantau Panjang in Pasir Mas, Suri Wan Ali, 36, said the ‘butir nako emas’ or ‘biji nangka emas’ originated from the royal court of Thailand.

Suri said previously, ‘butir nako emas’ were only available in Rantau Panjang but due to the high demand for it, she also produced this dessert in Kota Bharu since three years ago.

“My mother, Wan Ramlah Wan Harun, 60, learned to make it from her late father, Wan Ali Wan Harun who came from Golok, Thailand, using the original recipe from the Thai royal court since 30 years ago.

"As the demand has become so high in  Kelantan and only available in Rantau Panjang, I decided to open a branch here," she said when met at the premises in Jalan Tok Hakim, here, today.

“This kuih is difficult to make as it requires patience and concentration as well as time-consuming, that is, it takes two days to get really beautiful ‘jackfruit seeds’ (biji nangka emas).

The basic ingredients for this kuih are green peas, dhal, coconut milk, sugar syrup and egg yolks.

“Firstly, you need to steam the green peas and dhal and then these are mixed well with coconut milk and made into oval shape like the jackfruit seed.

"The process continues by dipping the kuih in egg yolk and then placed in the warm syrup and after being cooked, it is again soaked in the syrup so as to have a golden yellow sheen," explained the mother of two.

Suri said the ‘butir nako emas’ were being sold at RM100 per tray of over 60 pieces.

She said the onset of transition to the endemic phase had been very fruitful for her business, being run together with her husband, Sani Ismail, 66, as they’ve had their hands in meeting the demand for the kuih from customers.

"This Ramadan, the orders have been five-fold domestically and also come from outside the country such as Brunei. There are customers from Kuala Lumpur who personally come here to get this kuih that they’ve ordered," said Suri who is assisted by six workers.

Besides ‘butir nako emas’, Suri sells 25 types of kuih such as ‘mokeng’, 'kuba guling', ‘sekaya labu’, ‘sekaya nangka’, 'koleh tahi minyak' and ‘koleh ubi keledek’. 

-- BERNAMA