Nagasari - Coconut and Rice Flour Cake Stuffed with Saba Banana

Nagasari, or Kue Pisang, is an Indonesian cake often found in traditional wet markets.

Nagasari has a distinct look, so they are easy to spot in the market. They are always wrapped in banana leaves and have a rectangular pillowy shape.

The leaves act as food wrappers, so please don’t eat the leaves. Remove the leaves, and you will see a white cake. If you take a bite, you will notice that it has a firm and slightly chewy texture, with a piece of banana at its center.

The recipe for Nagasari is easy, but for those who have never worked with banana leaves as food wrappers, there may be some hurdles to overcome. Don’t worry, since I have a detailed guide on preparing banana leaves, fresh or frozen, so you can confidently make Nagasari in your kitchen.

What do you need to make Nagasari?

• coconut milk (Indonesian: santan)
• rice flour (Indonesian: tepung beras)
• tapioca starch (Indonesian: tepung tapioka)
• saba banana (Indonesian: pisang kepok)
• banana leaves (Indonesian: daun pisang)
• sugar
• salt

Ingredients Buying Guide:

1. Coconut Milk

Use canned whole fat coconut milk or canned lite coconut milk. Boxed coconut milk (in the US) is too thin and runny for this recipe, so please avoid this.

2. Rice Flour

The most popular rice flour brand in the US is the Erawan rice flour, and it comes in a 1 lb plastic packaging with red lettering.

Besides rice flour, Erawan also sells glutinous rice flour in green lettering packaging and tapioca starch in blue lettering packaging. Please confirm that you are indeed buying rice flour and not the others.

3. Saba Banana

If you can’t find saba bananas, you can also use burro bananas or plantains. Your Asian grocery store may also offer other bananas suitable for cooking and baking

For Nagasari, you can use regular bananas (cavendish) if that is the most convenient one you can get.

How to prepare banana leaves for wrapping food?

You can use fresh or frozen banana leaves. If you live in Indonesia, other Asian countries, or Latin American countries, it should be easy to find fresh banana leaves in the market. If you are in the United States, your Asian grocery stores should have them in the frozen aisle.

Fresh or frozen, banana leaves need proper preparations before they are suitable for wrapping food.

1. If you are using frozen banana leaves, thaw the package until you can gently unfold the leaves without tearing them.
2. Use a ruler and scissors to measure and cut off needed sections. Refold and refreeze the unused portion.
   TIPS: Cut away the stiff ribs, and avoid using any dark brown edges.
3. Rinse the leaves under tap water and gently wipe both sides of the leaves with a kitchen towel to remove the white residue. Always wipe the leaves in the same direction as the lines of the leaves to prevent tearing.
4. Stiff banana leaves tear easily when folded, so you want to soften them before using. Pass any stiff leaves over a flame or a hot electric burner. If you only have an induction cooker, you can boil a pot of hot water and dip the stiff leaves for a couple of seconds to soften them. Be sure to dry the leaves with a kitchen towel.

Once the leaves are cleaned and softened, they are ready to use as natural food wrappers.

You can prepare banana leaves in advance and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days before using. You can also wrap them loosely in a platic bag.

How to prepare and cook Nagasari

1. Stir coconut milk and rice flour in a saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium heat while stirring the mixture continuously until it turns into a thick paste. Quickly remove the saucepan from the heat.
2. Stir tapioca starch and water into a smooth paste and pour it into the rice flour mixture. Add salt and sugar. Mix well.
3. Prepare a steamer over medium heat with about 2 inches of water.
4. Scoop two tablespoons of the rice flour mixture onto the center of a banana leaf, add a slice of banana and push it into the rice flour mixture. Fold into a nice packet. Repeat to make a total of 12 banana leaf packets.
5. Place the wrapped cakes into a steamer basket and steam for 25 minutes.
6. Remove the cakes from the steamer and set them aside to cool to room temperature before serving them.

FAQs

Can I use parchment paper instead of banana leaves?

Technically, you can, if all you care about is the role of parchment paper as a food wrapper. But banana leaves don’t just act as wrappers. They also impart the fragrance of banana leaves to the cakes. So I suggest only making these cakes if you can get some banana leaves.

How long can Nagasari stay fresh?

At room temperature, they last only for a day or at most two before spoiling. It is best to store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.