Origin of Kuih Karas · Keukarah · Kue Sarang Semut & Sri Lankan Aasmi · Legacy of Ancient Indian Traders

During my recent trip to Kedah, I tried kuih karas, the northern Malaysian state's food icon. Kuih karas is a tiny fan shaped biscuit, fried till golden brown. It is brittlely crispy, wiry, crunchy and tastes mainly sweet. 

The snack is mainly found in Kedah though it has spread all over the Malaysia through the centuries. Mainly known as kuih karas in Malaysia, it is also called kuih sarang semut (ant nest cake) and kuih jala (net cake).

The batter is made of water, sugar, rice flour and corn flour (sometimes other optional flavours such as vanilla powder, coconut powder, etc are added). The desired batter texture is smooth flowing but not runny, and certainly not doughy.

The batter is ladled into a perforated cup - traditionally made with a coconut shell with holes at the bottom (this is still used in villages today).

The batter flows through the holes directly into an oil filled wok. The chef waves the perforated cup deftly over the wok of hot oil at 200°C, dribbling the batter in streams into the wok in a smooth circular movement.

There are many possibilities and creative improvisations for making the perforated cup but the principle is always the same.

Recycled from a tin can.

Fabricated from an empty plastic soda bottle.

Making kuih karas at Farmstay Relau, Bandar Baharu, Kedah

The strings of batter form a lacey pancake in the hot oil. The lacey pancake sizzles in the hot oil and turns golden brown.

While still hot and pliable, the lacey pancake is folded into a tiny fan shape. Two folds are required.

The fan shape biscuit is allowed to drain and cool.

When the tiny lacey fan cools, it stiffens and hardens into a wiry, crackly, crisp, crunchy biscuit.

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Kuih karas is a light sweet snack enjoyed with coffee or tea. It is used to welcome guests who visit during festive occasions like Hari Raya but can be served anytime guests visit. Kuih karas is sold throughout the year in markets such as Alor Setar's Pekan Rabu, so kuih karas can be eaten at anytime.

Origins of Kuih Karas

Kuih karas is most likely brought to the Malay Archipelago by traders from South India a long time ago.

Sri Lanka, Aceh (Indonesia) and Kedah (Malaysia) are on a straight line route across the Andaman sea. Traders from South India rode the trade winds travelling east in search of spices and trading partners (such as Chinese). The nearest landfall are north Sumatra (Aceh) and north Malaya (Kedah), so naturally these are sites of earliest Indian influence in the Malay Archipelago.

Indian ideas of culture, politics, statecraft, cuisine, art, language, religion, law, etc. reached the Malay Archipelago (Malaysia and Indonesia) since three millennium ago.

Indian influence came in waves at different points in time, bringing different aspects of Indian culture and civilisation during those moments in history. But, we are not able to pinpoint when did kuih karas arrive in Kedah (and Sumatra).

Kingdom of Langkasuka

In 2009, relics of iron smelting furnaces, jetties and religious platforms were discovered at Sungai Batu in Kedah. Researchers date these structures known as the Kedah Tua Sungai Batu Civilisation Complex to around 800 BC.

Envoy from Langkasuka

Records by Chinese envoys in 500AD described a kingdom known as Langkasuka stretching from Kedah in the west to Patani in the east. Langkasuka facilitated East - West trade by providing transhipment by river and overland between Kedah and Patani, bypassing the Malacca Straits. 

The Chinese envoys wrote that Langkasuka already existed for over 400 years before they arrived i.e. about 100AD. 

In Jun 2024, a life-size clay Buddha statue excavated at Bukit Choras, Kedah was unveiled. Researchers dated it from 600 - 700AD.

The kingdom of Langkasuka vanished in the 1400s with the rise of the Sultanate of Patani.

The first Indian arrivals also came to north Sumatra long before the Christian era in search of trade and riches. 

By the 400 CE, Indian traders reached as far as the Kutai kingdom of Kalimantan. A lot of what we know about Indian trade with the Malay archipelago were from inscriptions on stone pillars such as Kutai inscriptions on seven stone pillars dating back to 400 CE found near Balikpapan city in East Kalimantan.

Besides stone pillar inscriptions which are resilient against erosion of time, little other artefacts remained of early Indian presence in the Malay Archipelago.

Nevertheless, food could provide some enduring clues as these are like edible artefacts with recipes and techniques passed down through the generations over millennium.

Could kuih karas then be an edible artefact from the ancient maritime trade between South India and the Malay Archipelago?

I would suggest that it is.

Sri Lakan Aasmi

The Sri Lakan aasmi could be the mother of kuih karas. 

Aasmi batter is made by blending okra (lady fingers) juice or alternatively cinnamon leaf juice, coconut milk, and rice flour. It is mixed to the same consistency and flowing smoothness as kuih karas batter.

Like kuih karas, the batter is transferred into a perforated cup and it is dribbled over a wok of boiling hot oil to make a wiry net just like kuih karas. 

But the aasmi net pancake is bigger and made only one at a time in the wok. The wiry net pancake is also folded over only once. So, aasmi is a relatively large semicircular biscuit.

The aasmi is rested for a few days and refried just before serving.

That means aasmi travel well. Could ancient Indians carried aasmi with them on board boats when they crossed the Andaman Sea from South India to North Sumatra / North Malaya?

A sweet syrup is made separately with sugar, water and colouring. 

The colourful sweet syrup is spooned over the aasmi before serving. It adds colour to the plain looking pancake as well as provides an additional layer of sweetness.

Aasmi is served during celebrations such as New Year, birthdays and anniversaries.

Keukarah from Aceh, Indonesia

The west coast of Aceh in North Sumatra has a snack known as keukarah. It is also known as kue sarang burung or bird's nest cake.

Like kuih karas, keukarah batter is made with water, rice flour and sugar. It is made in the same way as kuih karas and aasmi - the batter is passed through a perforated container into boiling hot oil to make a crisp lacey net pancake. The flat pancake is folded over only once to make a semi circular shape. 

A keukarah is usually the size of a man's open palm.

Sometimes it is the size of a small pillow. Keukarah is sweet from the caramelised sugar in the rice flour batter. 

It is served during special occasions like festivals, anniversaries, weddings and even funerals. In Aceh, the groom will send keukarah to the bride's family. On ordinary days, it enjoyed with hot coffee or tea as snack. Visitors to Aceh often buy keukarah to bring home as gifts for family and friends.

Kue Sarang Semut in East Kalimantan

In the East Kalimantan regencies of West Kutai, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kutai and Berau, there's kue sarang semut or ant nest cake in Indonesian. Its ingredients, tools and making process are very similar to kuih kakas, keukarah and aasmi.

(According to inscriptions on the stones found in West Kutai, Indian traders were here since 400 CE. Could this be the time kue sarang semut arrived in Kutai / Berau?)

Rice flour is mixed with sugar syrup (and food colour) to make a drooling (but not watery) dough / batter. The smooth flowing dough is passed through a perforated coconut shell directly into a wok of hot oil.

While the resulting net pancake is still in the wok of hot oil, it is rolled into a lacey roll (which differs from the fan shaped kuih karas, and semi circular kuekarah and aasmi).

The similarities between Sri Lanka's aasmi with keukarah of Aceh, kue sarang semut of East Kalimantan and kuih karas of Kedah suggest that they are likely to be interlinked and brought by Indian traders from South India to the Malay Archipelago.

Have you tried kuih karas, keukarah, kue sarang semut or aasmi?

Besides Sri Lanka, Kedah, Kalimantan and Aceh, where else can we find a similar dish or snack?

Written by Tony Boey on 24 Aug 2023

Kuih karas in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia

Making aasmi in Sri Lanka

Kue Keukarah in Aceh Indonesia

Sumatra's Indian Connection

Making kue sarang semut

Bujang Valley archeology