Transform Underripe Bananas Into a Sweet, Tropical Coconut Dessert

In Malaysia, we’re happy to reach for a sweet bite any time of day. Quick snacks abound at roadside stalls in both cities and rural areas, and due to the abundance of local tropical fruit and palm sugar, offerings typically land on the sweeter side. When there’s time to sit and enjoy an extended break during the day, pengat—a category of Malaysian dessert soups made with coconut milk starring a starchy fruit like banana or tuber like cassava—are a favorite at home and at roadside stalls. 

The name “pengat” is a portmanteau of the words “penganan,” which means “sweet food items,” and “hangat,” meaning “warm.” Over the years, “pengat” has come to specifically refer to warm, sweet soups that contain coconut milk. “If one is familiar with the concept of ‘kuih,’ then think of pengat as kuih with gravy,” says Ahmad Najib “Nadge” Ariffin, a Malaysian cultural historian. Kuih (like onde-onde) are sweet and savory snacks with origins in Nyonya culture, and are typically small enough to be eaten in one or two bites. In the case of this particular pengat, sago pearls—pleasantly chewy balls made from the starch of the pith of palm tree stems—and banana pieces are the kuih, swimming in a gravy of sweetened coconut milk.

While pengat was originally made with leftover bananas and cassava from a harvest glut, its easy preparation and accessible flavors have helped it evolve into a sought-after dessert. Today, many folks—no longer constrained by having to wait for a surplus of fruit—will buy ingredients specifically to make pengat.

The flavor of pengat should be whatever the star ingredient is. “If there are bananas in it, it should taste like bananas,” says Nadge. “If jackfruit, then of jackfruit.” The sweetness isn’t the point; rather, the titular ingredient is. The recipe below is for a popular pengat variety made with bananas, or (“pisang” in Malay), hence “pengat pisang.” For this particular recipe, many cooks, including myself, prefer green bananas, as they hold their shape better after cooking. If you use riper yellow bananas with black spots, consider reducing the sugar so the pengat isn’t too sweet. 

You don’t need to fuss too much about the specific variety of bananas. I developed this particular recipe with Cavendish bananas in mind, since they’re widely available around the world, but if you are in Malaysia or another location that has numerous varieties of bananas, feel free to play around with different varieties Choose ones that are on the smaller, sweeter side; my favorite to use in Malaysia is any good eating banana like pisang mas or pisang rastali.

Once you’ve mastered the basic concept of pengat, substitute or supplement the banana with sweet potato, cassava, jackfruit, or even durian for more flavor and textural variety. With this simple, flexible recipe, you may find yourself making pengat pisang whenever you crave something sweet—even if there’s no harvest glut near you.