Syawal Homemade Spread

Bihun sup (rice vermicelli soup) with beef, fried anchovies, sliced coriander leaves and thick soy sambal.

Fried anchovies

Thick soy sambal for rice vermicelli soup

Mum's laksa utara. Laksa utara is a fish–based 'curry' noodle cooked with ground shallots & galangal, lemon grass, dried asam/tamarind slices, bunga kantan (torch ginger buds) & salt.

Each state/region in Malaysia has its own version of laksa. Some use fish as the curry base, some use coconut milk (laksa lemak), some add pineapples, etc.

Garnish the laksa utara with sliced cucumber, onions, red chillies, daun kesum (Vietnamese mint leaf) & bunga kantan (torch ginger buds).

Nasi tomato with acar timun, ayam masak merah and kurma daging (tomato rice with cucumber and pineapple pickle, chicken in chilli and tomato sauce, and beef kurma).

Beef kurma

Daging masak merah (beef in red sauce)

Prawn fusilli and farfalle carbonara

Little niece's garlic bread

My sister's kerapu masak lima rasa (garoupa in 5–flavour sauce)

Bawal masak merah (pomfret in chilli and tomato sauce)

Prawn curry

Prawn tempura

Butter prawns

Fried chicken; marinated with turmeric and salt, then fried with curry leaves.

Mixed vegetables

Prawn and petai (cluster bean) sambal

Prawns in turmeric sauce

Steamed ulam (herbs), mengkudu (noni) and jantung pisang (banana bud/blossom).

Sambal belacan (shrimp paste sambal)

Lepat pisang (steamed banana cakes)

I have been spoilt with home–cooked dishes throughout the months of Ramadhan and Syawal. These were all cooked recently.