PANDAN TREE

Pandan ( P. amaryllifolius)

I have many Pandan Trees in my house. The plant has many uses.
Pandan Leaf is widely used in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The Screwpine tree is a perennial and needs to grow in warm, damp areas in partial sunlight. The soil must be kept moist. The tree grows to be twenty-six feet high. The leaves are used there like we use vanilla flavoring. This leaf also has medicinal properties. In ancient times, the leaves were used for making house thatching and women’s grass skirts..
The medicinal uses for this tree are as follows: The entire plant is used as a diuretic, the roots have anti-diabetic properties, and the leaves are used for treating diseases of the skin.
leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking to add a distinct aroma to rice and curry dishes such as nasi lemak ,dessert such as pandan cake.
In Indonesia, we put a fresh leaf on top of our steaming rice and We also use pandan to flavor various desserts.
Pandan leaves can be used to create a good fragance in your room. Just cut small pandan leaves and lay them on a bowl at the edges of the room. The room will refresh amazingly.

Recipe with Pandan Leaves

Sweet black rice pudding
Ingredients
cup black glutinous rice
3/4 cup white glutinous rice
2 pandan leaves
¼ tsp sea salt
5 cups water
¼ cup palm sugar
¼ cup water
1 400ml tin coconut cream
fresh bananas

Method:
Combine the black and white glutinous rice and rinse in a bowl three times to remove starch. Place rice, pandan leaves, salt and water in a heavy-based pot. Bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat.
Meanwhile, grate the palm sugar and add to the water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar dissolves (about five -6 minutes).
When the rice has been cooking 30 minutes, add the syrup and cook for another 10 minutes.
Try soaking the rice the night before to cut the cooking time in half

To serve:
Serve warm on a wintry night with lashings of cold coconut cream and fresh fruit (try frying banana slices) or chill in cups for a balmy Bali summer's night treat.

Note:
Black and white glutinous rice can be found at Asian grocers. Buy fresh or frozen pandan leaves at Asian grocers. Or, instead of using pandan leaves, add a few drops of vanilla essence at the end of the cooking process.





Pandan Leaves for fragance

Pandan Tree