Wedang gedang is a traditional drink from Yogyakarta, especially around the area of Mount Merapi, where a hot drink like this really hits the spot for people who go to Mount Merapi to enjoy a good hiking or just getting away from the hustle and bustle of the big city life. Wedang gedang can be easily replicated at home, since the main ingredients are palm sugar and pisang kepok (saba banana), with cinnamon, clove, and pandan leaf, which I hope is easy enough to find. If pandan leaf is not available, I think it is best to skip. I am aware that there are pandan extract and pandan paste in the market, but either of these will give green color which is good for certain desserts like cakes, but it will look horribly wrong for drinks such as this.
- 1 liter water
- 125 gram palm sugar (or to your taste)
- 2 pandan leaves (Indonesian: daun pandan), knotted
- 1 inch cinnamon stick (Indonesian: kayu manis)
- 2 cloves (Indonesian: cengkeh)
- 6 saba banana (Indonesian: pisang kepok), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces diagonally
- Boil water, palm sugar, pandan leaves, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a pot. Once all the sugar has dissolve, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add saba banana into the pot and bring back to a rolling boil. Once the banana has softened slightly and turns a darker shade of yellow, turn off the heat, serve immediately.
Wow, interesting drink, looks like kolak but without coconut milk and more spices right. Gonna have to try this!!!