Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Air Katira
A festive Bruneian Ramadan drink of gum tragacanth and basil seeds suspended in sweet rose milk with jelly and fruit.
Bruneian · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 5 min
~183 cal · 5g protein · 29g carbs · 5g fat · 0g fiber · 27g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Air katira is a treasured Ramadan drink of Brunei, a cooling, jewel-like refresher built for breaking the fast. Its name comes from katira, gum tragacanth, a natural plant gum soaked in water until it swells into a soft, translucent jelly, giving the drink its distinctive texture.
Around that base comes a whole medley of textures and flavours: swollen basil seeds (selasih), the soft translucent flesh of soaked kembang semangkuk (Scaphium affine), cubes of agar jelly, and pieces of fruit, all suspended in sweet, pandan-scented rose milk. The pleasure is as much in the varied, slippery, chewy mouthfeel as in the taste.
It is sold at Brunei's bustling Ramadan markets in the late afternoon, carried home and drunk ice-cold at iftar to cool and rehydrate the body. Fragrant, sweet, and full of texture, air katira is one of the signature tastes of the Bruneian holy month.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 tbsp gum tragacanth (katira), soaked
2 tbsp basil (selasih) seeds, soaked
2 tbsp kembang semangkuk (Scaphium affine), soaked
4 cups milk
3 pandan leaves, knotted
Hard to find? half a teaspoon of pandan paste, or a teaspoon of extract - frozen pandan leaves keep for months and are stocked by most Asian grocers, so the extract is the second choice rather than the first
1/2 cup rose syrup
1 cup agar jelly
1 cup diced fruit
Instructions
1
Soak the gum tragacanth in plenty of water for several hours until it swells into a soft jelly, then drain.
2
Soak the basil seeds separately until gelatinous, then drain.
3
Soak the kembang semangkuk until it swells, then pull away the skin and seeds and keep only the soft translucent flesh.
4
Warm the milk with the knotted pandan leaves to infuse the aroma, then sweeten with the rose syrup until pink and fragrant; discard the pandan and cool.
5
Divide the katira, basil seeds, kembang semangkuk, jelly, and fruit among glasses, top with the rose milk and ice, and serve.
Bruneian Ramadan-market tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bandar Seri Begawan. The dish is Brunei's national one but not Brunei's alone; Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan eat the same thing under the names linut or pinantung. The starch comes from inside the trunk of the sago palm, which is felled, split and washed out rather than harvested like a grain.
🗺️
Brunei. The dish is not Brunei's alone. The same sago paste is eaten across northern Borneo in Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan, where it is called linut or pinantung, so the sultanate shares it with its neighbours. Sago itself comes from the pith of a palm rather than from a grain, which is why it grows where rice paddies will not.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Brunei
AmbuyatA glassy sago starch eaten with bamboo forks and dipped in a tart, pungent cacah sauce.
KatilapamSoft steamed rice-flour cakes lightly spiced and faintly sweet, a Bruneian teatime and breakfast bite.
Nasi KatokA simple plate of rice, fried chicken, and fiery sambal, Brunei's famously cheap everyday meal.
Browse all Brunei recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Brunei meal
AmbuyatDinner
PenyaramDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
BandungSingapore
KissanguaAngola
Zoom KoomBurkina Faso
Tuk Ampov (Sugarcane Juice)Cambodia
Jus de TamarinCentral African Republic
SuanmeitangChina
Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Air Katira?
A festive Bruneian Ramadan drink of gum tragacanth and basil seeds suspended in sweet rose milk with jelly and fruit.
Where does Air Katira come from?
Air Katira is a Bruneian dish from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
Can Air Katira be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Air Katira recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Air Katira safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Air Katira take to make?
About 25 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking), serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.