'Ubi getuk' much sought after during rainy season

KOTA BHARU, Dec 7 -- Each time the monsoon season arrives, ‘ubi getuk’ is one of the traditional cakes sought after by the Malay community in Kelantan.

Ubi getuk is made from boiled and mashed cassava, mixed with grated coconut, sugar and a little salt. The round-shape cake will be dipped into rice flour mixture before being fried.

Trader, Rakiah Mamat, 50, or affectionately known as ‘kak Yah’, said she started selling the ubi getuk two years ago at RM1 for four pieces.

"There is a method to boil this cassava. You can't lift it too early and you can't overcook it, it will be too soft because once it is ready, the cassava must be pounded and this process is quite complicated.

“I used to try the modern method by using a blender, but customers don’t like it because the texture would be too fine, so until now I still use this pounding method to get a tastier ubi getuk,” she told Bernama when met recently.

Rakiah said she would start making ubi getuk at 8 am at her home before frying and selling them at her stall in Kampung Jambu Merah, Melor near here from 11 am to 6 pm.

"Now I limit selling around 100 pieces of ubi getuk a day because of the insufficient supply of cassava," she said, adding that the traditional cake has its own fans because some are willing to come from far away such as Tanah Merah, Pasir Mas and Kota Bharu.

The mother of four also said that she was lucky because there was still a supplier who was willing to get a daily supply of yellow cassava for her so that she could continue the business.

-- BERNAMA