Kuih Mor - A Brunei Favourite

‘Kuih Mor’ is traditionally rolled into a ball before it is baked. Picture: Courtesy of Norhafizah Hj Bagol

New and different variations of the ‘Kuih Mor’ are also popular now and use ingredients such as Oreo cookies. Picture: Courtesy of Norhafizah Hj Bagol

Nurhamiza Hj Roslan
BRUNEI-MUARA
Saturday, September 5, 2015

DESPITE first making its appearance in the Sultanate during the 1940s, Kuih Mor continues to be a household favourite today as a tea time snack or festive treat particularly during Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Siti Norhafizah Hj Bagol, a final year student at Universiti Brunei Darussalam who researched on Kuih Mor as part of her Brunei Traditional Industry module, said the three-ingredient sweet treat may have existed in Brunei as early as the 1940s when padi was known to have been grown to make different food items.

Over time, the cookie has also become a popular door-gift choice often handed out at Malay weddings or gatherings, said Siti Norhafizah.

Made with flour, oil and granulated sugar which have been ground into a powder, the bite-sized biscuits have a crumbly texture and are coated with powdered sugar.

The age-old technique of making Kuih Mor by hand has however changed over the course of time, with many now opting to use electrical cake mixers and food processors.

Much in the same way, the tradition of families gathering together to roll the mini balls of dough before they are baked has been substituted with ready-made tubs of the cookie available at supermarkets and through various online bakeries.

Siti Norhafizah said that earlier versions of Kuih Mor used rice flour and oil, while later versions were made with wheat flour and ghee.

Newer versions of the favourite see makers trying to give its simple flavour new twists by adding crushed peanuts or Oreo cookies.

Its longstanding and widespread popularity is not just unique to Brunei. In neighbouring Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore the coffee-table staple is known as Kuih Momo, Kuih Makmor or Kuih Makmur respectively.

The Brunei Times