Cha Mongkut (dessert of flour, coconut milk and sugar)

This time a famous dessert: Cha Mongkut (จ่ามงกุฎ), which is the name of one of the nine traditional Thai desserts.

It is similar to the Filipino kalamae and is made from rice and bean flour mixed with coconut milk and sugar until it becomes sticky. Then the sweet treat is usually sprinkled with chopped roasted peanuts or filled with melon seeds (the old traditional recipe uses pieces of fried flour that are as small as grains of rice, but that takes a lot of time to prepare).

Traditionally, they are cut into bite-sized pieces and wrapped in banana leaf. In addition, the aromatic scents of the dessert are given by fresh flowers such as Kesidang, Ylang-Ylang, Damask rose and Jasmine with boiled water, which is used to strain coconut milk. Cha mongkut is easy to store and does not need to be kept in the refrigerator.

Cha mongkut is already mentioned in The Verse of Foods and Desserts by the Siamese King Rama II. The original cha mongkut recipe comes from Sri Suriyandra, the Queen Consort of the King. Cha mongkut is often used in job promotion celebrations and wedding ceremonies.