Every year, in the days leading up to Hari Raya Puasa, the smell of delicious aromas would waft from Mdm Suriya’s kitchen in Fernvale. Mdm Suriya, who runs a home-based cooked food business, is busy whipping up a feast for her customers as well as for her own family.
Preparation for her Hari Raya Puasa feast would start as early as three days before. The first day would be set aside for marketing, as well as peeling, slicing and blending of spices and ingredients. By the second day, dishes such as mutton rendang (mutton stew) and ayam merah (spicy tomato chicken) would almost be ready.
“I prepare these dishes in advance to allow the meat to soak up the marinade, so that the meat would be even more flavourful,” Mdm Suriya explained.
On the night before the big day, Mdm Suriya’s kitchen would be humming with last-minute preparations.
“It’s a good thing I have my three eldest children to help me out now,” said the 50-year-old mother of seven.
She used to have to handle things single-handedly back when her kids were young. Back then, she made and sold only ketupat (rice cake wrapped in coconut leaves) from her home.
She later expanded her repertoire to include ayam merah, kuah lodeh (vegetables in coconut milk), mee rebus (egg noodle in curry sauce) and mutton rendang just to name a few. And this is all thanks to her mother, who handed down the recipe to cook these dishes.
“My mother taught me how to cook with my gut feeling, so we never measured the ingredients,” Mdm Suriya said.
However, years of trial and error have borne fruit, and now her cooking has since gained her a loyal following.
“My first customer was a friend who asked me to cook for her wedding,” Mdm Suriya fondly recounted.
When asked about the hardest part of cooking, Mdm Suriya revealed that getting the correct balance of flavours is the hardest part, and yet it is the key to cooking a good dish. “The more you cook, the better you get at it,” she said.
Mdm Suriya has generously shared two recipes for her family’s favourite dishes for Hari Raya – kuah lodeh and mutton rendang. Enjoy trying them out!
Kuah lodeh
Serves 4
Ingredients for blending
6 to 8 red onions
5 cloves garlic
50g to 100g ginger
2 sticks lemon grass
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp galangal powder
10 pcs candlenut
Handful of ikan bilis/anchovies
Dried chilli (as needed)
Additional ingredients for cooking
About a ladle of cooking oil
2 pcs bay leaves
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
700 ml water
100ml coconut milk
2 to 4 pcs large carrot, cut into wedges
2 pcs turnip, cut in wedges
2 pcs fried tauhu (fried tofu)
Salt to taste
Cooking method
1. Add the cooking oil into a heated pot and sauté the blended ingredients until fragrant.
2. Add bay leaves to the mixture and fry until aromatic. Then, add curry powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and water and fry until aromatic.
3. Add carrot, turnip and fried tauhu, and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until the carrot and turnip soften.
4. Add coconut milk and salt to taste.
Tip: You can replace carrot or turnip with french beans.
Mutton rendang
Serves 4
Ingredients for blending
6 to 8 red onions
5 cloves garlic
50g to 100g ginger
2 sticks lemon grass
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp galangal powder
10 pcs candlenut
Dried chilli
Additional ingredients for cooking
1kg mutton
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
6 tbsp kerisik (toasted pounded coconut)
100ml coconut milk
Juice of 2 to 3 lime
Salt and sugar to taste
Cooking method
1. Put the mutton in a pot of water and cook over medium heat for 90 minutes or until the mutton is tender. Pour away the water and set aside.
2. Add the cooking oil into a heated pot and sauté the blended ingredients.
3. Add curry, cumin and coriander powder, stir until fragrant.
4. Add kerisik and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
5. Add salt, sugar and lime juice to taste.
6. Add the mutton to the mixture and cook over low heat for another 5 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
Tip: Leave overnight and then reheat the next day for extra oomph.
Chinese
在家经营熟食生意的芬维尔居民苏丽雅女士（Suriya）感激母亲传授香辣番茄鸡、椰汁杂菜、咖喱羊肉等食谱，让她烹煮的这几道菜肴如今成为家人和顾客的最爱。不妨看看她分享的两个食谱，并尝试自己做，让你在家也能煮出香味四溢、美味可口的马来家常菜
Malay
Cik Suriya, penduduk Fernvale yang menjalankan perniagaan makanan yang dimasak di rumah, mengucapkan terima kasih kepada ibunya kerana berkongsi resipi beberapa hidangan yang kini menjadi kegemaran keluarga dan pelanggan untuk Hari Raya. Jom cuba dua resipi yang dikongsi Cik Suriya untuk disiapkan di rumah.
Tamil
ஃபெர்ன்வேல் வட்டாரத்தில் வசிக்கும் திருவாட்டி சூரியா, வீட்டிலிருந்தே உணவு சமைத்து வியாபாரம் செய்து வருகிறார். அவரது குடும்பத்தாருக்கும் வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கும் விருப்பமான நோன்புப் பெருநாள் உணவு வகைகளில் சிலவற்றை சமைக்கக் கற்றுக்கொடுத்த தாய்க்கு அவர் நன்றி சொல்கிறார். திருவாட்டி சூரியா பகிர்ந்துகொள்ளும் இரண்டு சமையல் குறிப்புகளுடன் வீட்டில் விருந்து சமைத்து ருசித்திடுங்கள்.
