Rice is identically in white, red, or black. But this one may seem against that “stereotype” of rice. Like no other, its color is purple. Yes, purple!
Purple rice is special cuisine in Sweet Purple Restaurant Gading Serpong, Tangerang. Purple rice is not produced from purple paddy. It is made by combining white rice, purple sweet potato, and some spices. The spices add fragrant flavor to the rice when it is served warm.
The taste is rather similar with “nasi uduk”, Jakarta traditional rice cooked in coconut milk. “Instead of using coconut milk, purple rice is mixed with coconut oil,” the owner of Sweet Purple, Adi Kharisma, said.
In his restaurant, customers can order purple fried rice served with jelly ear mushroom, omelet, some vegetables, and seaweed. Even though it is fried, the rice remains purple. “I need seven years to produce this fried rice,” Kharisma said.
The customers also can order other foods made from sweet potato. The must-try beverage is sweet potato juice. The steamed sweet potato is blended with yoghurt. The combination makes it sweet and sour.
For snack, the customers can try sweet potato brownies. Kharisma does not use floor as its basic ingredient. He uses orange sweet potato instead. He also alters butter with coconut oil. But, he still uses chocolate in his recipe.
He uses purple sweet potato as the basic ingredient in all of his foods because of health reason. The idea emerged when one of his families died from cancer. And apparently, purple sweet potato is good for health, especially for those suffering cancer.
Kharisma has opened this business since 2000 in Bali. Kharisma then moved his restaurant to Jakarta to get more customers. Now, he also develops franchise. With 60 million USD, everyone can open Sweet Purple Restaurant.