Hari Raya in April

Sometimes, the beauty of Eid comes to greet us in different ways.

When I was in Singapore earlier this year, my cousins hosted a small, informal gathering where we gathered with our aunts, uncles and members of the younger generation.

One of my aunts cooked Hari Raya, or Eid, food – ketupat, sambal udang Palembang and curry, knowing that I probably would not be back for Hari Raya.

“Eat up. Hari Raya in advance,” they all quipped.

This Hari Raya, I am again away from family and my cultural home. But the memory of the Hari Raya dishes that I had enjoyed at that gathering in Singapore sustains me; because the food was made, shared and enjoyed together with generosity and love.

And that, I think, is one of the timeless blessings of Hari Raya.

Selamat Hari Raya/ Best Wishes for a Blessed Eid.

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Hari Raya Feasting

Follow guest writer Nadia on the trail of epic feasting:

After a month of fasting from dawn to dusk, Hari Raya Aidilfitri heralds a month of celebrations filled with relatives and friends, new clothes and fabulous food.

Hari Raya used to mean eating with abandon but having suffered the effects of bingeing after a month of fasting and being a more health-conscious/ weight-watching lot, we’ve learnt to scope out the homes with the best cooking and the best kuihs (pineapple tarts are a must!). With every home offering an array of savory dishes like ketupat, lontong, rendang, sambal prawn and more, followed by an assortment of pastries all of which are washed down with cold, sweet drinks, strategic planning where and what to eat becomes essential.

After all these years, we know which aunt makes the best ketupat (for breakfast), which aunt makes mouth-watering fried chicken to have with lontong (lunch) and this year we made the wonderful discovery of which aunt makes the best dhaal rice (dinner). That’s not counting the other breakfasts, lunches, dinners and compulsory desserts at each house visited, and I’m just talking about the first day of the month-long Raya festival!

This year’s Hari Raya fell on a three-day weekend which meant constant visiting. I love catching up with relatives you haven’t seen in ages even if they are a constant presence in your Facebook account. It’s just not the same as meeting in person when conversation ebbs and flows naturally across a group of people. And having good food on the table only makes it all the merrier.

For other perspectives on Hari Raya food, more at  Hari Raya in April and Welcoming and Anticipating Hari Raya.

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Welcoming and Anticipating Hari Raya

Each of us has a special memory of a festival which we celebrate. The memory can come from any stage of our life, and like a piece of favorite jewellery, it is always bright and meaningful, at least in our eyes. Here, I would like to share my special memory of Eid or Hari Raya as it is known in Malay. Best wishes for a Joyous Eid:

Anticipation is a powerful feeling. As a child celebrating Hari Raya in my kampung or neighborhood, the eve of Hari Raya was an equally important day as the first day of Raya itself.

Each family stayed up late to cook food for the next day. There were noise, activity and lights in every garden. In our garden, near the jambu tree, a fire was lit, and over it, my grandmother stirred a boiling pot of ketupat (rice dumplings). From our neighbor’s yard, the aroma of chicken curry wafted from their pot and fire.

The children had put on new pajamas bought especially for Raya. The younger children would light up the sparklers, while the older ones created their own din with  firecrackers.

People strolled around the kampung greeting each other, or just to enjoy the atmosphere. It was like a fairyland to me, and I did not want to go to sleep, hoping that the night would metamorphose into the next day, Hari Raya itself. But, or course, I did eventually fall asleep, waking up on Raya morning to all the cakes, cookies and all the other fun things that came along with it.

But somehow, the night before, with all the easy fellowship, the aromas and the glow of the fires, cast a special magic for me, and will always be a wonderful memory of Hari Raya that I carry within me wherever I go.

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A Bite of Heritage

 

 

Some of the ingredients for apple-shaped pineapple tarts.

With Hari Raya or Eid, the festival marking the end of Ramadan drawing near, baking season will soon be in full swing in many parts of the world.

Here, in California, my Malaysian friends bake both modern cookies and traditional Malay goodies, from family recipes or those via the Web. I hope they know that their resourcefulness and efforts are appreciated.

In Malay homes, there will be several varieties of kuih (a Malay word which collectively refers to cakes and cookies) set at the table for the enjoyment of guests, and for family members as well.

I know I’m fond of traditional cookies not just for the taste, but for the memories behind them . In the extended family home of my childhood, my grandmother and grandaunt did almost all the baking. Every Hari Raya, they would make pineapple tarts shaped as apples and pears.

The dough was wrapped around balls of pineapple filling, then shaped round for apples, and slightly elongated and curved for the pears. The children were called in for the fun part. My grandmother mixed a pale wash of food dye, and with a small brush we painted the “fruits”: yellow for the apples and green for the apples. Then we stuck a piece of clove for the “stem”.

Today, not many people make this type of pineapple tarts. But in my mind I see them clearly as the day I colored them.

My mother did not bake, but every year, she insisted on having kuih batang buruk, which means “old bark” or “old branch”. These are a mixture of flour shaped like tiny logs, fried and filled with a green bean filling. They can be pretty addictive and I’ve always loved its imaginative name.

I guess I’m also a stickler for traditions. I gravitate towards the heritage kuih before any other. And sometimes, they taste even  sweeter just because they are made or savored so far away from their original home.

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Musings in September

This year, Eid celebrations fall in the month of September. Eid, or Hari Raya Aidilfitri as it is known in the Malay language, is the festival that celebrates the end of the month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the holy month in Islam where believers fast from dawn to sunset, and also abstain from negative thoughts and behavior, with the goal of strengthening one’s faith and character.

Hari Raya celebrates the victory of fulfilling the month of fasting, and it is also a time of renewal: both spiritual renewal and the renewal of ties among family, friends and the community.

The word “renewal” is a beautiful word. It connotes the linkage between a foundation that is already there and a rejuvenation, often with something new or improved. Embedded in the word is also the essence of hope, a quality that we all need through good and tough times.

Hari Raya celebrations organized by the Malaysian Islamic Foundation of North America (MIFNA), a voluntary, non-profit organization which strives to create a sense of community in California.

The ketupat,or rice dumplings in pouches made from palm leaf, is a much loved Hari Raya food. In our family, we gathered the night before to weave the pouches (shown above), fill them with rice, and boil them in a huge pot. (Photo from The Star)

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