What is Dodol?

Dodol is a sweet toffee-like sugar palm-based confection commonly found in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Originating from the culinary traditions of Indonesia, it is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Tamilnadu, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma, where it is called mont kalama. It is made from coconut milk, jaggery, and rice flour, and is sticky, thick, and sweet.

The history of dodol production is closely related to one of its main ingredients, gula aren or palm sugar, a traditional sugar made from the sap of Arenga pinnata plant, and also rice flour. It is a popular sweet treat and one of the oldest indigenous sweets developed in the Maritime Southeast Asia. The exact origin of dodol is unclear; while there is a remarkable diversity in preparations of the product within the island communities of Java and Sumatra, the variants tend to be adaptations of post-colonial crops. "Dodol" is a word of Sundanese origin, whereas in Javanese it is called jenang.