Favorite Festive Fare

Putu kacang….packed with flavor and memories for me.

A galore of cookies and cakes. That is how Eid, or Hari Raya, as it is known in Malay, is celebrated in Singapore and Malaysia.

Each home welcomes guests with about eight or so varieties of these, to enjoy to one’s heart’s content. There are both modern and traditional cookies, or which I prefer to call heritage cookies. My preference runs to the latter, and one of my favorites is putu kacang.

This is a no-bake sweet, with green bean flour and sugar as the main ingredients. The ingredients are mixed, dampened with a little water, then packed tightly into wooden molds specially-designed for putu kacang.

Then the molds are turned over, tapped or knocked lightly so that the molded pieces will drop from the mold. They are then placed in a tray to be sun-dried or baked by a hot, tropical sun.

I used to help my grandmother make this cookie in my childhood home. The molds she owned had interesting designs, and my imagination was really taken by the ones shaped like a rooster. I couldn’t wait for them to dry so that I could savor the tiny roosters.

Sometimes, to make our anticipation easier, my grandmother would give us the task of keeping an eye on the cookies drying on a table in the backyard, just in case the family cat decided to let its curiosity get the better of it, and jump onto the table.

Today, as most residents in Singapore live in high-rise apartments, there is less home-made putu kacang available, and we buy them in Malaysia.

Making this cookie was one of the highlights of Hari Raya preparations in my kampung or childhood home. I just loved the whole process of making them, the contrast of the textures, and the fresh, creamy taste. And I still do – I guess some things never change.

 

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A Californian Hari Raya Tradition

The bright colors of the decorations and the national costumes added a tropical touch to the celebration.

One of the most popular events of the Eid season in Southern California is the Hari Raya gathering hosted by the Consul-General of Malaysia.

This year, members of the Malaysian community here as well as guests from other Southeast Asian countries made their way to the Arcadia community centre in Los Angeles county for the festive event. Some came from as far as Las Vegas and San Diego.

There was a great spread of three kinds of rice: steamed rice, nasi minyak (ghee rice), and tomato rice served with curries and and a variety of cakes and cookies, including traditional Malay desserts.

People took the time to catch up with each other. And this time, it was also a chance to meet the new Consul-General Mr Nekmat Ismail and his wife Madam Ramlah Hamid.

Malay songs filled the air, mixed with the social chatter as another Southern California celebration and tradition marked the year.

The Consul General and his wife surprised the guests with a song.

Two young men from the community who volunteered to serve the food.

I'm always delighted to find traditional Malay desserts in California, especially my favorite, putu kacang (top,middle) made from green bean flour.

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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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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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