By Erda Khursyiah Basir
KUALA LUMPUR: Dodol or better known as penganan by the Negeri Sembilan community is a Hari Raya staple food, often served to family members, friends and guests.
Making the chewy and caramel-like sweet Malay traditional treat requires strength, consistency and a high degree of patience. It is no easy task as it goes through meticulous and rigorous methods, with five to seven hours to cook this dessert.
Furthermore, the cooking process needs a special skill in controlling the heat, a stirring and manual mixing technique which is cooked using a huge wok. It is traditionally cooked over firewood that will produce a special smoky aroma that creates a nostalgic and distinct flavour of dodol.
Gotong royong
For Negeri Sembilan folks, dodol making is a family gotong-royong activity, with proper planning ahead to ensure that every member has a task at hand.
Some family members will prepare the ingredients, starting with old coconuts and santan in large quantity. Others include glutinous rice, white sugar together with a ‘secret recipe’ made from gula enau (palm sugar) which sets Negeri Sembilan’s dodol apart from others with its unique aroma.
Back in the old kampung days, ‘sahur’ (supper during Ramadan) was a hive of activity with family members using the coconut grinder to grind white coconut kernel pieces into coconut flakes. The flakes are then squeezed to obtain coconut milk. Once ready, those in charge will prepare the fire. After Subuh prayers, a huge steel wok is placed over firewood before tossing all the ingredients inside.
Beginning with a watery texture, the mixture has to be gently and continuously stirred until thickened. The process of stirring the mixture to get the dodol just the right consistency is a test of patience for the ‘stirrer’ who would pass the baton to another, amid the blazing sun and burning firewood.
Family heritage
Dodol, the nostalgic and evergreen Malay traditional delicacy, has been listed as one of the endangered heritage foods in Malaysia. Preserving the all-time favourite during Hari Raya is part of sustaining the Malaysian culture.
Determined to preserve the traditional menu from losing its “lustre”, Nor Akmar Atan, affectionately known as Kema, 36, decided that the best way is to continue the legacy of dodol-making inherited from her grandmother or Wan (Wan refers to grandmother among Negeri Sembilan folks).
“I was born and bred in Negeri Sembilan and and grew up in Kampung Keru, Batu Kikir, Jempol. I studied Sotware Engineering at UniKL and underwent practical training for four months in South Korea.
“Before this, I was working in the automotive sector for seven years and later decided to quit my job in 2021 for a short break and started to fully focus on making penganan. In fact, it was more of taking care of my mother, Mariam Duaji, 71, and father, Atan Wahab, 74, as I am the youngest among six siblings and was still single then.
“I used to help my mother stir the dodol since I was 17 years old. Then, it was more of being forced to help as among us, only my fifth brother and I are skilled at stirring the dodol.
“But when my brother had other commitments, it was my duty to help my mother. Every raya or whenever we received orders, I would give my mother a hand,” she shared.
During my final year at UniKL I already owned a car and was selling dodol to pay for my monthly car instalments. I started selling penganan with my office colleagues and close friends,” she told Bernama recently.
Kema, who is fluent in the Korean language said, she gained satisfaction from selling penganan that transcends three generations labelled ‘Kema Jual Dodol’, adding that what kept her going is the positive feedback from customers, whom among others remarked, “this dodol tastes like my grandmother’s cooking” and “this dodol tastes like the good old days”.
“I believe this penganan has its own fans and is marketable. My late Wan cooked the penganan for the family and neighbours.
“Every time she started stirring, children from our kampung would gather at Wan’s house to eat the penganan,” she said, adding that her recipe was slightly modified to get the best taste and texture.
Dodol making process
Sharing insights into the process of making the family’s penganan at her parents’ house in Kampung Keru, Kema who was married at the end of 2022 said, she used gula enau (a sweetener obtained from the mangrove palm nipah) and is wrapped with leaves as besides its sweet aroma, the penganan is tastier and creamier.
According to Kema, one huge wok (‘kawah’) can produce 15 kg or 30 containers, and each container is sold at RM17.
Hard work pays off when she earns a profit of about RM4,000 monthly from the sale of penganan as the delicacy can still be produced through the traditional method.
“It takes at least four hours to cook the penganan and needs continuous, non-stop stirring. Once you stop, it is feared that the mixture may get burnt due to the high sugar content. So far, my husband is helping me out together with an assistant.
“Demand for penganan would usually increase three folds during festive seasons and our customers are from across Malaysia including Sabah dan Sarawak. For those whom we can’t deliver, their orders will be sent through the postal service.
“To date, delivery is only limited within Malaysia as penganan is non-durable as we do not use food preservatives to retain its original taste,” she said, adding that, delivery services are provided for customers in Negeri Sembilan and Klang Valley, depending on the distance and quantity.
Commercialising the dodol
Kema’s penganan can last for 10 days without becoming mouldy if kept outside, and if placed in an airtight container in the fridge, it can last for two months.
So far, one type of dodol is produced that is, original dodol flavour or what is known as ‘penganan gula enau.’
“I don’t produce other flavours such as durian, etc. But we usually receive requests for moist penganan, that is penganan which has not been thickened. We produce penganan based on demand and hence our customers will receive new penganan that has been cooked for a day or two.
“Previously, I used to cook thrice a week, but have now reduced to only weekends as I have just returned to work in the automotive field, with penganan as my alternative job,” she said, adding that she also received orders for wedding events, etc.
Among the challenges, Kema said logistic and delivery issues especially to Sabah and Sarawak, given the longer delivery time needed to these states, could affect the quality of penganan received by customers.
“I harboured a dream to commercialise my family’s penganan gula enau to bigger markets starting from my own village. I also want to help children from this village get job opportunities,” she said.
Those interested can place their penganan orders via Facebook Nor Akmar Atan or Instagram @kemajualdodol. – BERNAMA
