Es Teler — iced avocado, jackfruit and coconut dessert

i. Origin & history

Es teler was reportedly invented in 1982 by Ibu Tukinem, a Jakarta street-stall owner, when she entered a national es-teler competition and won. The basic combination of avocado-coconut-jackfruit had existed locally for some time, but her version standardised it into a fixed national recipe.

ii. Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 1 ripe avocado, scooped into chunks
• 200 g young coconut flesh, in strips
• 200 g ripe jackfruit, sliced
• 4 cups crushed ice
• 400 ml chilled coconut milk
• 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 4 tbsp gula Melaka syrup (palm sugar dissolved in equal water)
• 1 pandan leaf, knotted (optional)

iii. Method

1. Divide the avocado, coconut and jackfruit between four tall glasses.
2. Top each with a generous mound of crushed ice.
3. Pour over 100 ml coconut milk per glass, then drizzle 1 tbsp condensed milk and 1 tbsp palm syrup over each.
4. Garnish with a small piece of pandan leaf. Serve with a long spoon and a straw, to be eaten and drunk simultaneously.

iv. Tips & common mistakes

• Ripe avocado only. Hard avocado gives a chalky, soapy result.
• Tinned young coconut works. Fresh is better; tinned is fine and far easier outside Southeast Asia.
• Crushed, not cubed. Ice cubes melt slowly and don't blend with the milk; crushed ice gives the slushy core.

v. Variations

Modern es teler often adds nata de coco (chewy coconut-water cubes), longan, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The closely-related es campur is the everything-in-the-fridge version — same idea, more ingredients.

vii. More from Indonesian & Malaysian

• Ais Kacang — shaved ice with red beans
• Cendol — pandan worms in coconut milk
• Halo-Halo — Filipino layered shaved ice
• Bubur Cha Cha — sweet-potato coconut soup
• Sago Gula Melaka — sago in palm syrup
• Milo Dinosaur — iced Milo crown