Chinese Khong Th'ng And Indian Soanpapadi

There are two similar yet different candies in Asia. I remembered tasting both of them on different times. Both of them are very similar yet different. 

This is the treat called khong th'ng which means pounded sugar. Malaysians and Indonesians call it kacang tumbuk. If you compare Tagalog to Malaysian and Indonesian - you may discover similar words. Kacang means peanut and tumbuk means pounded in all three languages. The Chinese delicacy is full of crushed peanuts. Filipinos may have tasted this delicacy made in the Philippines by their countrymen of Chinese ancestry. I think the dishes were also brought to Malaysia and Indonesia by ethnic Chinese. It's also called barley peanut candy. 

Meanwhile, there's also soanpapadi. Soanpapadi is an Indian delicacy said to have originated in

Maharashtra, Western India. The dessert itself can be found where Indian communities can be found. Filipinos may have been able to taste it where there are Filipino-Indians. The dessert is also very flaky. It's a caramelized dessert which contains wheat flour, gram flour, butter (or ghee), milk, and cardamom. The cardamom gives it a distinct flavor from the Chinese barley candy.

Now for the making process...

Here's a video of making the flaky khong th'ng from Penang, Malaysia. 

Here's a video of making soanpapadi from India which also involves some similar process.

And here's Vahchef's version...

For me, both of them are unique in their own way. The soanpapadi I tasted contained almonds and not as much nuts as the Chinese barley candy. Tofu is a Chinese invention that made itself so adaptable throughout the world. Indians have tofu dishes like Filipinos have used tofu in many of their dishes. So, I would even think that maybe the Chinese-Indian cultural exchange brought the soanpapadi.