Kueh Lopis

Ingredients
• 455 g (1 lb) glutinous rice • 2 tablespoons alkaline water • 285 g (10 oz) palm sugar • 2 tablespoons coarse sugar • 170 ml (6 fl oz) water • 5 screw pine leaves cut into pieces • 455 g (1 lb) tender grated coconut, white • Pinch of salt • Banana leaf
Instructions
1. Wash glutinous rice till water runs clear, place in a container and add water to cover 5 cm (2 in) above level of rice. Add the alsaline water(air kapor), mix well and evenly and leave to soak for 4 hours. 2. Rinse rice and pour into a colander and drain well. Set aside for 20 minutes. 3. Heated banana leaf over stove for a while to make it soft and easy to fold onto a triangular shape . 4. Pack the rice firmly and tie the leaf to resemble a big sambosa. 5. Or you may used rolling pin to roll the banana leaf from end to end and atleast double layered. This will shape like a bolster pillow. Removed rolling pin then tie end part with raffia string very tight. Fill glutinous rice 3/4 full and tight the other end part and the middle part too. 6. Put a low steaming rack at bottom of a large saucepan. Add water and bring it to the boil. Put in the lopis, and boil over constant high heat for 3 hours. Water level in saucepan should always be 8-10 cm above the lopis. Add boiling water from time to time. 7. Remove lopis to cool. Untie and use wet knife to slice lopis fairly thickly. To boil the syrup: Grate the palm sugar, add sugar, water, screw pine leaves and boil in a saucepan for 10 minutes till syrup is fairly thick. To serve: Mix the salt evenly with the grated coconut. For each serving, put 2 slices of lopis on a plate, and 2 tablespoons of grated coconut on top. Pour some syrup and serve.