Nutty sweet thing from Sulawesi

Actually not Sulawesi, but the delicacy from a microscopic island just off it. I don't even know what this is called, but they were offered to us by our boat Captain, and were quite yummy!

The actual sweet is mainly sliced almonds (I think) bound with a kind of molasses. Not sweet enough to be Gula Melaka* - but perhaps a relative of it? Each piece was wrapped in a leaf. No coconut in this one, which is unusual in sweets from this part of the world - but actually made quite a refreshing change!

 

*Gula Melaka is the Malay name for a kind of dark, sticky palm sugar used a lot in South East Asia. You buy it in rock-hard pellets, which look a bit like patties of boot polish. Then you usually grate or melt it for cooking. It has a different name in Indonesia. I think in India and Sri Lanka it is called Jaggery.