Hari Raya Aidilfitri Delicacies Part II

For Malaysian, Open House is part of our local culture. We invite neighbours from different races and religions, relatives and friends to celebrate and enjoy the festive season. This shows the diversity of Malaysia. Nonetheless, Food plays an important role in any festive occasion. During Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Eid, a plethora of delicious and tasty Malay traditional dishes and morsel are served to the guests. Here are some of the dishes that will tantalize your taste buds with an explosion of flavours during Hari Raya Open House visit.

Lontong

For some Malaysian Malay Muslim families, it is a tradition to serve Lontong during Hari Raya festival. It is commonly served with cubed Nasi Impit (a type of compressed rice cake). 

Lontong is a dish that can be eaten as a full meal, encompassing vegetables (like yam, bean and carrot) and meat (like prawn, chicken or beef) in a savoury turmeric colored coconut milk broth. A variety of condiments can be added on to add more depth of flavor like Serunding Kelapa (Spiced Coconut Floss), Kuah Kacang (Malay Peanut Sauce) or Sambal. To eat Lontong, you need to mix it all together and then you will have a bowl of mildly spicy, creamy and fragrant comfort food that will bombard you with complex and unique flavours of Southeast Asia spices.

Serunding

A well-known condiment and snack for Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Serunding. It is made either from grated coconut, chicken or beef and seasoned with a variety of herbs and spices with palm sugar that is cooked on slow fire/low flame until it is dry. This is a strategy that helps to keep the Serunding for a longer period of storage. Serunding is commonly eaten with Lemang, Lepat and Ketupat and also as a condiment for Lontong. The taste of Serunding differs between regions, spice mix and method of preparation, some are hot and spicy while others are sweet, but all are beloved by Malaysian.

Dodol

Dodol is commonly served during Hari Raya Aidilfitri as a sweet treat, enjoyable by both children and adults. The basic ingredients for Dodol are rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar. It is then cooked in a low heat for 8 to 9 hours and constantly stirred in a big wok to prevent burns that spoil the taste and aroma. This rich, sweet and sticky toffee-like treat is popular in Southeast Asia with remarkable diversity of recipes, preparation and flavors. Some of the popular flavors are Durian, Jackfruit, Soursop and recent innovation of Chocolate Dodol.

Lepat Pulut

Lepat pulut is popular within Malaysian Malay Muslim family with Javanese descent. It is also one of the dishes for celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Lepat Pulut is a type of sticky glutinous rice dumpling with various fillings such as peanut, corn, black-eyed peas or other various types of beans mixed with grated young coconut flesh, coconut milk and salt. It is then wrapped in young coconut leaf in cylindrical shape, secured with string made from young coconut leaf midrib fiber and boiled with pandan leaves for a few hours until its fragrance is firm. 

The texture and flavor are different from Ketupat and Lemang as its texture is stickier and richer in flavor due to the use of beans, grated young coconut and coconut milk. Lepat Pulut is usually eaten with Serunding, Rendang or as a snack on its own.

Article Contributed By: Mr. Muhammad Faridzulzaim, Front Desk Management Trainee