THE season of reflection is here! Ramadan, the much-anticipated 30-day Islamic festival, began on April 2, 2022 and ends on May 2, 2022. During this month-long religious celebration, Muslims all around the world fast from sunrise to dark, refraining from food and drink. It might be difficult to plan your meals during Ramadan. However, with a little planning, a few great ideas, and some creativity, you can easily meal prep healthy and satisfying meals to keep you satiated and energised throughout the holy month. To get you started, here’s a list of meal planning ideas that include five Ramadan recipes for you to try.
SPICY CHICKEN (AYAM MASAK MERAH)
AYAM Masak Merah, which translates to ‘red-cooked chicken’ in Malay, is a tomato-based dish that not only packs a spicy punch but is also creamy and rich! While this meal has some of the same spices as curry, the flavour and texture are quite different. Rub turmeric on the chicken pieces and fry them before adding them to the sauce; by frying, you seal in the chicken juices, making each mouthful extremely flavourful. We recommend that you serve this meal with rice.
Ingredients
-> 1 whole chicken, cut to pieces
-> 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
-> 1 teaspoon salt
-> 250 ml oil
-> 1 yellow onion, chopped
-> 2 cloves garlic
-> 6 dry chili pepper
-> 1 tomato, sliced
-> 3 tablespoons ketchup
-> 250ml water
-> 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Directions
1) Marinate the chicken flesh for 15 minutes in turmeric powder and salt.
2) Heat the oil in a big pan over medium-high heat and cook the marinated chicken flesh until brown, then put aside.
3) Combine the yellow onion, ginger, garlic, and chilies in a mixing bowl and cook over low heat in oil until aromatic.
4) Stir in the chopped tomato and ketchup.
5) Cook over high heat, adding water to the sautéed ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower to a medium-low heat and let to simmer.
6) When the gravy has thickened, add the fried chicken flesh and stir thoroughly. Serve immediately.
SPICY FISH HEAD CURRY
SPICY cuisine is a delicious complement to any dinner table. The spicy fish head curry is a delicious combination of spices and flavours that will please everyone at the dinner table. If you want to try something different, this dish is a fantastic substitute for Ayam Masak Merah or Rendang. Any fish head can be utilised; however, snapper or grouper are the most frequent.
Ingredients
-> 1 fish head
-> 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-> 1/4 cup red curry paste
-> 3 tablespoons fish sauce
-> 1 tablespoon sugar
-> 1 can coconut milk
-> 3 medium sized eggplants, cut in rounds
-> 1 handful bird’s eye chilies
-> 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves
-> 3- 4 tablespoon lime juice
Directions
1) Wash the fish heads in cold water and set aside.
2) In a big deep pot, heat the oil over low heat.
3) Stir in the curry paste and heat until it is aromatic.
4) Take out and set aside.
5) Bring the fish sauce, sugar, coconut milk, and chilies to a boil.
6) Brown the eggplant for about 10 minutes before setting it aside.
7) To the curry coconut mixture, add the fish head and the eggplant. Add enough water to completely submerge the fish head.
8) Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until the flesh is soft.
9) Before serving, toss in the basil leaves.
WATER SPINACH WITH SHRIMP PASTE (KANGKUNG BELACAN)
WATER spinach with shrimp paste is an easy dish to prepare for one. Shrimp paste is often used in most Southeast Asian recipes, and this one crosses boundaries from the Indonesian islands to our northern neighbour, Thailand. Just be cautious of who you are cooking for, as some individuals may be sensitive to shrimp paste.
Ingredients
-> Cooking oil
-> 2 teaspoons shrimp paste
-> 500g water spinach
-> 3 cloves garlic, sliced
-> 1 teaspoon sugar
-> 30ml water
Direction
1) Wash the spinach thoroughly and discard the section close to root and cut the spinach is 6cm lengths.
2) Heat up cooking oil in a wok of high heat, sauté the garlic until brown and fragrant.
3) Insert the spinach and add water.
4) Stir fry for about 1-2 minutes then add in the shrimp paste.
5) Season with sugar.
6) Serve hot
CHICKEN WITH COCONUT MILK ( AYAM MASAK LEMAK)
AYAM Masak Lemak. This meal, which is claimed to have originated in Sri Lanka, is available at most Malay food restaurants. You may simply ask anyone and they will most likely be able to tell you where to obtain it. This is a yellow coconut dish that is both rich and spicy. There’s no need to deep fried the chicken beforehand; simply boil it in the curry to tenderise it and infuse it with spices.
Ingredients
-> 1/2 chicken, chopped
-> 2 cups coconut milk
-> 1 stalk lemongrass
-> 1cm fresh ginger
-> 1/2 tablespoon turmeric powder
-> 3 tablespoon coconut oil
-> 4 bird eye’s chilies
-> 2 large red chilies
-> 2 shallots
-> 4 cloves garlic
-> salt and sugar to taste
Directions
1) Puree the bird eye chilies, red chili, shallots, ginger, turmeric powder, and garlic in a food processor until smooth.
2) Fry the spice paste for around 5 minutes on a medium-high pan.
3) Combine the lemongrass and chicken in a mixing bowl.
4) Heat the coconut milk and coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until aromatic, then pour over the chili paste.
5) Simmer until the chicken is done.
6) Season with sugar and salt to taste.
7) Remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes.
8) Serve immediately.
BEEF RENDANG
BEEF Rendang is another Hari Raya staple that is popular among the Malay population. It’s also adaptable; you can use chicken or lamb instead of beef. The beef in the rendang is finest when it’s soft enough to be pulled apart with a fork, so start cooking it an hour before iftar and let it to simmer on low heat until ready to serve!
Ingredients
-> 500 g beef
-> 2 tablespoon kerisik
-> 1 teaspoon coriander powder
-> 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
-> 1 teaspoon cumin powder
-> 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
-> 500 ml coconut milk
-> 3 cm ginger
-> 3 garlic clove(s)
-> 1 yellow onion, chopped
-> 5 shallots
-> 1 1⁄2 cups dry chili peppers
-> 2 chili peppers
-> 2 lemongrass stalks
-> 3 cm galangal
-> 4 tablespoon oil
-> 2 teaspoon palm sugar
-> salt to taste
-> 1⁄2 cup water
Directions
1) Pound the following ingredients separately.
Bowl 1 - ginger, garlic and onion.
Bowl 2 -shallots, bowl 3 - fresh and dried chilies
Bowl 3 - galangal.
2) Place aside. Bruise the lemongrass at the base by softly smashing it with a pestle or the back of a knife.
3) Sauté the lemongrass in a saucepan over low to medium heat until fragrant before adding the ginger, garlic, and onion combination. Continue to cook until the mixture becomes almost transparent. Before adding the shallots, add the galangal and sauté until aromatic.
4) Evenly coat the beef with the crushed chilies, coriander powder, fennel seeds, and cumin powder. Put the steak in the pot. Cook until the surplus water from the meat has evaporated.
5) Soak the tamarind in boiling water for 5 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk, tamarind water, palm sugar, and kerisik. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then, turn the heat down to the lowest setting.
6) Allow the meal to boil for 2 hours, or until the gravy thickens. Stir every 15-20 minutes to keep the ingredients from adhering to the bottom of the saucepan.
7) Serve immediately.
