A funny story it was, my late grandpapa loves Air Batu Campur or A.B.C during his younger days and all throughout his career teaching at various schools. Last was headmastering at Datuk Keramat Primary School, I guess there were hawkers nearby the school that were selling it and he kept on telling my grandma how he loved it and how A.B.C would break his thirst during a hot sunny day. Being a complainer he was, he nagged to her saying when he retires he wont be able to enjoy A.B.C anymore, that he wont be able to savour it like he used to. Nenek being a sweet wife she was (she always has), she would do anything for grandpa. She knew Atok would not invest on ice-grinding machine so she invented her own version of ice kacang. Her A.B.C would just need to work with what the house appliances and children helping hands can offer i.e. mainly the fridge and daughters. From that day onwards, her one of a kind iceless A.B.C became a delicacy known originated from our family. She would serve it on Eid ul-Fitr, for the takbir raya group from surau who would come to the house in the early morning of first Syawal and consecutive guests that entailed. Atok was proud of the A.B.C, people associate the dessert to the house (Rumah Cikgu Denan mesti ada A.B.C), mom remember preparing it, my cousins and I used to cut the jelly or lengkong for the concoction. Ever since nenek's demise, a few of us tried to do it but it didn't taste the same as how nenek used to do it. This year's Raya, one of my cousins did it and I can fairly say it tastes quite similar although she didn't use the same ingredient as nenek's. It's almost there but it's not there, the texture was different. Nevertheless, Al-Fatihah to nenek, may your soul rests in peace and please bless us with your secret recipe already :-j your certain ways of mixing and whisking...
Ingredients:
800g of Red beans
1 can of Nestle Ideal Milk
1 can of peach cocktail
1 can of corn
Cut Rose Syrup Agar-agar (Jelly)
Optional add-ons:
1 can of Nata De Coco
1 can of mixed fruit cocktail
Method:
Boil up the redbeans till soft and toss it fairly but keep the water for flavoring later. Cut out the peaches and jelly into small digestible cubes and mix them with the latter redbeans and add on the corn. Pour moderately the ideal milk as well as the flavored water into the concotion and stir until the colour turns milky reddish, don't pour all of them. Then, freeze them in the freezer and when want to eat, defrost it for approximately half an hour prior serving. The end serving should be partially icy and partially fluid. Sluuurrp...there you go...voila! homemade version of ice kacang. It needs no big ice-grinding machine :-j
