Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Rasa Ramadhan

My bruschetta topped with marinara sauce, salmon, olive oil, shiitake mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and dried Italian herbs.

Baguette with cream of mushroom soup

Chicken biryani served with dhal and fruit pickle

My lemuni rice. Nasi lemuni is a Northern specialty dish. The lemuni leaves lend a fragrant scent to the rice. If it's done right, it tastes better than nasi lemak (coconut rice).

You can serve nasi lemuni with any side dishes. The Northerners usually serve it with nasi lemak's side dishes and condiments such as fried anchovies, sambal sotong (squid sambal), etc.

Lemuni is a type of ulam (herb) in green, purple and black. It's said to be good for health (energy booster and traditionally used for ailments), beauty (anti–ageing) and can be used to rid off Aedes mosquito larvae in accumulated/stored water.

Ayam percik (spicy barbecued or grilled chicken)

Pandan chicken

Lemon chicken

Chicken kurma

Beef sparerib soup

Grandma's cockle and pineapple in soy sauce

Dried fish

Butter prawns

Prawn curry

Stirfry tofu with eggs and ku chai (Chinese chives)

My bruschetta topped with marinara sauce, salmon, olive oil, shiitake mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and dried Italian herbs.

4 comments:

Joseph Pulikotil said...

HI SkyJuice:)

Greetings:)

This time you have posted too many mouth watering dishes. Too good!

I eat chicken biryani once a week at least. I thought birayani was a speciality of India. But now I think it is common in all Muslim countries. The biryani prepared by Muslims are always better than others and therefore whenever I get a chance to attend Muslim weddings I don't miss it.

Lemuni rice is something special. I never heard of it before. Looks lovely. Plus you said it has health benefits. Sounds interesting.

Cooking is such fantastic subject that even if studied for a life time, a person can only scratch the surface. So many different preparations all over the world.

The colors of the food you have posted are really fascinating.

It is a great blessing to live in a house where so many lovely dishes are prepared.

I think fasting days are coming to an end.

Have a nice day:)
Joseph

SkyJuice said...

Hi Joseph,

Thank you for your long comment. Appreciate it.

According to my reading, biryani is originally a Muslim dish. The name derives from the Persian word beryān (بریان) which means 'fried' or 'roasted'. The dish was introduced to the Indian Subcontinent by Muslim travellers and merchants.

May I know why did you say the biryani dishes prepared by the Muslims are always better? Is it the rice, meat or side dishes? I'm not a fan of biryani due to ghee, but I make an exception for good home–cooked biryani at times.

As far as I know, lemuni rice is a specialty of Northern Malaysian states. There's a story behind it. Many, many years ago, an old Muslim Malay lady went into the woods to get some wood and food. She got lost for a couple of days. She was so hungry, ended up eating lemuni leaves in the forest and her vitality was restored. Hence, lemuni rice was born.

A former boss told me the story. I'm not sure of its authenticity as it's a story that has been passed on from one generation to another, but I'd like to believe it's true. Traditionally, mothers in confinement are fed with the rice as well.

Yes, it is a blessing to have good home–cooked food almost daily especially during Ramadhan. Today is day 20 of Ramadhan in this part of the world, which means that 'Eid is just several days away.

Have a good day! :-)

Joseph Pulikotil said...

HI Sky Juice:)

I came to wish you a very happy Eid-ul-Fitr. In Kerala it is being celebrated on Monday.

Biryani prepared by the Muslims are better not only on account of the ingredients used but because of the preparation. Biryani is tastier and the fragrance is good. In fact in Kerala almost all hotels making good biryanis are owned by the Muslims. There is so much crowd to eat their biryanis.

Wish you and your family a happy feast:)Id Mubarak:)
Joseph

SkyJuice said...

Hi Joseph,

Thank you for the wish. It was thoughtful of you. 'Eid is celebrated today in Malaysia.

Have a good week ahead! :-)