Clockwise for left: Kuih Koci, Kuih Koci Santan, Pulut Tai Tai and Kuih Talam. Recipes with this article: Pulut Tai Tai Kuih Talam Kuih Koci Kuih Koci Santan Tea-time treats By Amy Beh IT'S SUCH a treat to have home-made nyonya kuih for afternoon tea. In fact, nyonya kuih is great anytime -- for breakfast, desserts or snacks. If you're having the girls over for a cosy chit-chat, they would appreciate something sweet to chew on. Pulut Tai Tai Ingredients: 350g glutinous rice -- wash and soak for 4 hours Extract from one coconut: 1 cup pati santan 2 cups general santan 1/4 tsp salt 30 pieces bunga telang -- wash and pound the flowers to extract the blue colouring or a few drops of blue colouring if the juice from the flowers is not deep blue enough 2-3 pandan leaves Banana leaves Method: Place a piece of muslin cloth at the bottom of a porous steaming pan. Put the rice, pandan leaves and add half the general santan to the rice. Steam over rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes. Add the rest of general santan and continue to steam another 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the steamer and add the pati santan and salt. Mix well with a pair of chopsticks. Colour about 1/4 of the rice blue and return to the steamer to cook for 10 minutes. Line a square tin with greased banana leaves. Spoon in the cooked rice, alternating the blue portion with the white rice. Mix well. Press down the rice with a banana leaf. Cover the top of the rice with a banana leaf and weigh it down with a heavy object. Leave to cool. Cut into pieces and serve with kaya. Kuih Talam Ingredients for bottom green layer: (A) 70g rice flour 30g green pea flour 280ml water (B) 6 pandan leaves, cut into 3cm pieces 250ml water A few drops of green colouring 250g sugar 1/2 tsp alkaline water Ingredients for top white layer: (C) 50g rice flour 1 1/2 tbsp green pea flour 1/2 tsp salt 75ml water 225ml pati santan -- from 1 coconut Method: Mix (A) and leave aside to soak for about 10-15 minutes. Blend (B) in a liquidiser then strain to get the pandan juice. Mix (A) and (B) together. Add sugar and colouring. Cook over low heat and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until batter becomes fairly thick and translucent. Pour the hot sticky batter into a greased 20cm cake tin. Smoothen and level the surface with a spatula. Steam over rapid boiling water for 20-30 minutes. To prepare the white layer mix (C) ingredients together and soak for 10 minutes. Pour the topping layer over the cooked green layer. Steam again for about 10 minutes. Cool the kuih well. Slice into small diamond-shaped pieces. Kuih Koci Ingredients: Filling: 50g roasted peanuts, grind coarsely 100g grated white coconut 60g brown sugar 1/4 tsp salt 300g glutinous rice flour, sifted (A) 1 1/4 cup coconut milk 1/2 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp oil Preparation of banana leaves: Cut into 20 pieces of 10cm diameter rounds. Scald in hot water, wipe dry and brush lightly with oil. Method: Put peanuts and the rest of the filling ingredients in a kuali and stir-fry lightly over a low fire for about 10 minutes. Dish out and cool. Put glutinous rice flour into a mixing bowl. Add in (A) and knead well to form a soft dough. Divide the dough equally into 20 portions. Form each into round balls and flatten each piece with your palm. Add about 1 teaspoon of filling in the centre. Gather up the edges to seal the filling inside. Fold a piece of banana leaf into a cone. Put in the filled dough and wrap and tuck in the ends neatly. Arrange kuih on a steamer and steam over rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes. Kuih Koci Santan Ingredients A (Filling): 3 tbsp sugar 5 tbsp palm sugar 3 tbsp water 1 pandan leaf 275g grated white coconut 800ml water 550g grated coconut Ingredients B: 275g rice flour 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp green pea flour 1 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp sugar 4 pandan leaves Banana leaves -- cut into 25 pieces of 20x 23cm -- washed, scalded and wiped dry 25 pieces pandan leaves of 4cm length Method: Put the filling ingredients (A) in a pan and cook until the sugar dissolves. Add in the grated coconut and mix well. Remove from the heat and cool. Make small balls about the size of small limes and refrigerate. Mix the 800ml of water with the grated coconut. Squeeze out to obtain 1225ml santan. Combine (B) in a basin. Add in 425ml of santan and blend well. Leave aside to soak for about 10 minutes. Heat the rest of the santan and add in the pandan leaves. Do not boil. Remove the heated santan from the fire and pour it gradually into the soaked flour mixture. Stir well to blend. Cook this well blended mixture in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring all the time till the mixture thickens and turns gooey like a paste. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside. Place 2 tbsp of the cooked paste onto the centre of the banana leaf. Roll a ball of hardened filling in the paste and place it in the middle. Fold the leaf up into a parcel by wrapping the leaf towards the centre. Staple to secure. Steam the bundles over rapidly boiling water for 10-15 minutes.