NASI BERIYANI EMAK

Nasi Beriyani Aidil Adha

Every holiday is just like Food Fiesta for us at home... Everybody is around everything that we want is on the table... Just name any each of us favorites... Mom shall fulfill everybody's demand and she shall cook all kind of dishes. Nasi Beriyani is one of our favorites, as usual she will cook extra for us to pack and bring back home to Kuala Lumpur. She will pack the rice complete with the side dishes for each of us, she always thought that we might be missing this good Nasi Beriyani but actually it is not about that Nasi Beriyani alone, we are missing her in person. It is great to spend time with mom and dad, and I am glad to have time for another family gathering. Seeing all these beautiful faces making me feel like the time has stopped ever since everybody is right here before my eyes. Ya... that is how I feel when I am with my loved ones, the time just stopped there...
How do we enjoy our holiday??? Ya, eat and eat and eat.... We love to eat...!!! Nasi Beriyani is a rice dish cooked with ghee, herbs and spices. It aromatic, fragrant and very tasty. Normally serve with few main dishes such as beef, chicken and vegetables. Mom, as usual will cook Beef Rendang, Ayam Masak Merah and Vegetable Dhall Curry. This rice dish is just perfect for any kind of celebrations and wedding reception, it's all time favorite I may say....

Nasi Beriyani :

2 cup Basmati
4 cup water
2 tablespoon ghee
1 onion
3 garlic
1 inch ginger
1 small size carrot
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon anise powder
Bay leaf
Cinnamon
Cardamon
Salt

• Blend onion, garlic and ginger.
• Heat ghee add in blended ingredients and other spices.
• Shred carrot add in.
• Wash rice and add in water.
• Add in salt and cook well in rice cooker.
  
• Add in rice and sauted ingredients together and cook well in rice cooker.
  

LONTONG EMAK

Nasi Impit and Kuah Lodeh

Special day with special dish, this is my favorite ...lontong or Nasi Impit with Kual Lodeh. Nasi Impit is rice cooked compressed in heat proof small sized plastic pillows, which can be bought easily in supermarket nowadays. Plastic pillows filled with rice cook in boiling water till the pillows become hard filled with cooked compressed rice. Let it cool and cut into cubes ready to serve with gravy and other dish.

During old days, Nasi Impit was cooked traditionally and it was complicated... believe me... Rice was cooked with excess water to make it softer. The cook rice will be placed in a box specially made by wooden planks, place the wooden cover and weigh with traditional pounder made by stone which is heavy enough to compress the rice. When the rice is cooled and hard enough, cut into cubes to serve. It's not easy right? But now practically convenient and time saving ... This is how it got the name 'Impit' ...means pressed, the cooked rice was 'Impit' .... Thanks to food technology research and development. This is why we have to appreciate those people before us, for their knowledge and their effort.. It's because of them for who we are now... Appreciate the history for the benefit of our technology .... This is how Japanese educate their young generations to produce more history lovers and advanced in technology development.

This is how I see them during my stay in Tokyo few years back. In the city itself buildings standing tall and hi-tech but they themselves standing proud with their pride and culture, there is the beauty of history through the years.

But you don't know how much I missed this Nasi Impit and Kuah Lodeh when I was in Tokyo, It was during Aidil Adha and I was so much craving for it....
Kuah Lodeh is a dish made from coconut milk with vegetables and beancurds. Cabbage, carrot and long beans shredded, beancurd and tempe cut into small pieces and deep fried. Mix those ingredients into the yellow coconut gravy. Served well with peanut sauce, a bit spicy but just nice with milky coconut gravy. Lovely !

Masak Lodeh :

Cabbage

Long beans

Carrots

Beancurds

Tempe (fermented soya beans cake)

250 grams Coconut milk

Turmeric powder

2 Chilies

2 onions

5 garlics

Tamarind peel

Sugar and salt

• Blend chili, onion and garlic.
• Coconut milk, turmeric powder and water bring to boil.
• Add in blended ingredients.
• Add in tamarind peel, salt and sugar to taste.
• Add in shredded vegetables and deep fried beancurds and tempe.
• Ready to serve.

CHICKEN BIRYANI ALA PAKISTANI

Chicken Biryani

I used to cook Nasi Biryani my style.... Almost as same as what we can get from any Mamak's restaurant, but maybe there is some different in taste due to ingredients used and the quantity of ingredients used. But today Abbas taught me how to cook Briyani his style... MMMM...nice and easy, the National Biryani mix can be bought in packet..which is good for 1 kilograms of rice. You need onions, garlic, chili, tomato, salt and yogurt to add in the rice. And one thing which is very obvious.... Cardamon smell.... aromatic, sweet and tangy..... Ms Cardamon meets Mr Briyani... I love it...! Served with my Stir Fry Turmeric And Mixed Vegetables .... YUMMY....YAY....
It does taste different than what we usually can get in regular Mamak's restaurant....and it's really nice to be served with our Ayam Masak Merah and Rendang....

MALAYSIA TRULY ASIA

I FRIED MY RICE...

Nasi Goreng Cina

It was a very busy day for me, a lot of housework and gardening as well... Pheeeewwhhh... Looking at my mom's garden.. plants and trees... Wow, it juz a breath taking but one thing for sure it isn't as simple as Nasi Goreng, need a lot of patience and also hard labor job! Trimming, digging and etc....Mom have taught me how to trim her bonsais, it is not that hard if u know how to shape your trees but the hardest part is to make sure that her plants will stay alive. I am having hard time with plants and I am aware about it long time ago...Some said I have heaty hands which these green leafy creatures dislike.. Maybe.. So I don't want to get stress out with housework, trying to make my job easier cooking our dinner. I like Nasi Goreng, making my life easy and simple..Nasi Goreng Cina, not spicy, with vegetables and I used prawns instead of chicken... MMMM... deliciousness in simplicity !

NASI GORENG AYAM SERAI

Nasi goreng Ayam Serai

Ingredients for chicken :
1/2 bird of chicken
1 onion
3 garlic
2 lemon grass
1 inch ginger
Cummin, tumeric powder and curry powder
Salt, honey and sesame seeds
Oil

• Blend onion, garlic, ginger and lemon grass
• Marinade chicken with blended ingredients
• Add in salt, cummin, oil, tumeric powder and curry powder
• Grill and glaze with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Ingredients for fried rice :
8 cups of cooked rice
2 onions
6 garlic
3 chilies
Ikan bilis
Eggs and mixed vegetables
Salt
Oil

• Blend onions, garlic, chilies and ikan bilis
  
• Heat oil n saute the ingredients
• Add in eggs and mixed vegetables
• Add in salt

Suddenly I missed Ayam Percik, well it's hard for you to search for Ayam Percik here in Jitra. It's not a local food in Kedah and I guess can only be seen during fasting month. Ayam Percik is a traditional dish originated from the state of Kelantan and hardly can be found here at the north.. So what I did this evening is challenging my tastebuds ... I made my own version of Ayam Percik and magnificently, it does taste like Ayam Percik but less pungent and a little sweet just nice to go with my fried rice... I am really proud of my tastebuds ! And can say that because Donut really enjoyed my Ayam Serai so much...

NASI AYAM

Nasi Ayam

Ingredients for chicken :
1 bird of chicken
2 liter of water
2 inches ginger
5 garlic
Salt

• Boil water, ginger and garlic
• Add in salt and chicken
• Braised chicken with soya sauce

Ingredients for chicken rice :
3 cups of rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 onions
3 garlic
Pandanus leaf, tumeric powder and salt

• Cook rice with chicken stock
• Add in onions, garlic, salt and tumeric powder
• Add in salt

Condiments for Chicken Rice :

• Sliced cucumber, tomato and lettuce
• Chicken soup
• Thai chili dipping sauce
• Soya sauce