Eid, or Hari Raya Aidilfitri/Puasa (Eid al-Fitr), as known in Singapore, is a vibrant affair of family, faith, food, and love. At the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim men and women don colorful new clothes and start their day with a visit to the mosque, following which comes the famed Hari Raya Meal.
This meal is a mouthwatering affair filled with traditional Malay, Indonesian, and Singaporean dishes like beef rendang (a rich and spicy beef stew) and sayur lodeh (vegetables cooked in gravy). But the highlight of every Hari Raya is the Kueh (bite-sized cakes or desserts) that come at the end. Here are 5 popular Kueh you might come across during Eid celebrations in Singapore that you definitely must try!
These are one of the most popular treats you will definitely see any time a celebration rolls around. So of course, they are going to be there for the biggest celebration of all: Eid! These tarts are delicious, buttery, and crumbly cookies that are topped with sweet and tangy homemade pineapple jam. You might also find them in the form of balls or rolls with the pineapple jam acting as a filling instead of a topping. Either way, they are just so, so good!
Image Credit: Rasa
Tapak Kuda, also known as a Lucky Hoof Roll, are delicious roll cakes that are usually filled with a mixture of chocolate and hazelnut paste. The filling can be homemade; although most people just use store-bought chocolate-hazelnut spreads for convenience of late. This classic sweet for Ramadan is traditionally baked in a flat pan, like a normal roll cake, and then folded in half like a book with the filling in the middle.
Image Credit: @zaharahorisya on Instagram
These delicate peanut-filled cookies are a standard sweet for Ramadan and Eid in Singapore. Kueh Makmur are classic snacks in Singapore, and most families have their recipes handed down over generations. Peanuts are roasted and blended with sugar to make a paste that is then placed in the middle of the cookie dough and covered. A special pair of clippers are also used to create the traditional leaf-like pattern of these cookies.
Image Credit: Terence Ong, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikipedia Commons
Kueh Bangkit are traditional coconut and tapioca cookies that have been a fixture of Hari Raya for many years. These cookies are sweet and incredibly soft, and when we say they are melt-in-your-mouth cookies, we mean it because they will literally melt as they hit your tongue! They will also fill your nose with the smell of pandan, another traditional ingredient in Malay cuisine.
Image Credit: @louies0t0ng on Instagram
Kueh Bingka Ubi is another sweet treat that adorns the tables during Eid celebrations in Singapore. These are soft, chewy, and fragrant tapioca cakes that are also filled with tastes and aromas of coconut and pandan. The top of the cake ends up being caramelized, almost burnt, which many will argue is the best part of a Kueh Bingka Ubi. Another unique feature of this cake is that the baking tin is lined not with parchment paper, but with oiled banana leaves!
