Cendol /ˈtʃɛndɒl/ is an iced sweet dessert that contains pandan-flavoured green rice flour jelly,[1] coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup.

[2] It is popular in the Southeast Asian nations of Indonesia,[3] Malaysia,[4] Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, and Myanmar.

[13] The Indonesian dictionary Kamus Besar describes "cendol" as a snack made from rice flour and other ingredients that are formed by filters, then mixed with palm sugar and coconut milk (for beverage).

[14] The Malay dictionary Kamus Dewan similarly defines it as a porridge-like drink with long strands made of rice flour in coconut milk and sugar syrup.

In Thailand it is called lot chong (Thai: ลอดช่อง, pronounced [lɔ̂ːt t͡ɕʰɔ̂ŋ]) which can be translated as "gone through a hole", indicating the way it is made by pressing the warm dough through a sieve into a container of cold water.

[19] An Indonesian academic suggests that a dawet sweet drink may have been recorded in the Kresnayana manuscript, dated from Kediri Kingdom circa 12th century Java.

[20] In Java, dawet refer to the whole concoction of cendol green jellies, usually made from aren sago or rice flour, coconut milk and liquid gula jawa (palm sugar syrup).

In Java (Indonesia), cendol only refers to the green "pandan jelly served in coconut milk", where sometimes pandanus leaves or pieces of jackfruit may be added.

"[26] In Dutch East Indies Java, dawet street hawkers using pikulan (baskets carried with balancing rod) are commonly found in Javanese cities, as can be seen in the old photograph dated from circa 1935.

[33] The dessert's original or basic ingredients are coconut milk, jelly noodles made from rice flour with green food colouring (usually derived from the pandan leaf), shaved ice, and palm sugar.

The cendol in Java is usually served in a tall glass, assembled with liquid gula jawa or palm sugar syrup in the bottom, followed by green jellies, poured with coconut milk, and topped with shaved ice.

Cindua langkok (cendol with various fillings) is usually mixed with lupis, durian, ampiang (traditional glutinous rice krispies), and doused with palm sugar.

[5] In West Java, cendol is a dark-green pulpy dish of rice (or sago) flour worms with coconut milk and syrup of areca sugar.

However, in Java, a traditional cendol worm-like jelly noodles was made from sagu aren, or sago starch extracted from the trunk of sugar palm (Arenga pinnata).

Thai lot chong is closer to the Javanese original, only consisting of green worm-like jellies, coconut milk, liquid palm sugar, and shaved ice.

[33] Other than the basic ingredients of green jelly noodles, palm sugar syrup, and coconut milk, iced cendol might be served with additional toppings.

Popular additional toppings in Indonesia include diced jackfruit, tapai (fermented sweet cassava), durian flesh, and chocolate condensed milk.

[47] In December 2018, cendol became embroiled in a controversy after CNN listed the Singapore version as one of the world's top 50 desserts, triggering a furious response from Malaysians.