Ramadhan 2020 - of food and kad raya

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Hi people.

Remember when I was soooooo excited about starting a writing challenge? Pfft. I made it until Day 5 out of 10. Weak. I might continue the challenge when the excitement is back but for now, Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin! It's already June and raya vibes have long vanished but it is Syawal still and we should live like it's the first day of raya. I know some of us feel a bit confused with this year raya, but hey, I would like to add more confusion. I would be talking, I mean writing-- about puasa/ramadhan instead.

I was in boarding school for a good 5 year since I was 13, then I spent another 4 years away in Kelana Jaya for my degree and 2 years in Bangi for my MA. I had my fair share of berpuasa away from my family but this year, after so long, I got to experience the whole month of Ramadhan with my family. With the PKP, there is no bazaar this year but that gave me chance to try new recipes. Some turned out superbly delicious (gitu ye confident puji masakan sendiri), some turned out okay and some just went south.

I shall start sharing the pictures of few food I cook during puasa -- from the most OK to the worst hahaha. Here is, puding caramel or puding gula hangus. One of the few foods I can cook successfully. I love my caramel pudding a bit bitter and less sweet. Hence, the dark caramel.

Roti John based on Khairul Aming's recipe. This turned out so delicious that my family said I made better roti john than the shops out there. I don't know if my family was sincere with the praises or they just got tired with me endlessly asking, "Sedap dok?", "Okay dok?".

Brownies kedut! I am a complete noob when it comes to baking. This brownies right here, was my third attempt. It tasted nice if you love chocolate and if you love fudgy, chewy brownies texture. I guess my family likes it because it was gone in one sitting. 

Now we are getting to the barely-pass-food. Butir nako. Very easy to prepare, taste nice. It was actually my first time makan butir nako and of course first time doing it. My younger sister approved it soooo I guess it tasted okay? But! My twin nephews memang menduga kesabaran ya. Every time I tried to suap them the butir nako, they just drink the sweet kuah and left the butir nako for me to chew. Kuangsam.

 Next, pulut mangga. Having sweet mangga is important to ensure the deliciousness of the cuisine. So we had several ripe mangoes and the night before making pulut mangga, I cut one of them. It tasted very sweet. That's why I decided to make pulut mangga. Tapi the mangga scammed me. It has nice orange-ish yellow colour but taste like air masak. If blind person eat my pulut mangga, they might think I'm serving them chew-able air masak. Dasar scammer. Will never believe mangga again.

Now, the worst of all. My tepung pelita. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA. They look soooo fine. Even my parents were impressed with the acuan I made out of daun pisang. Okay, first off, I used the wrong tepung. Tepung pelita is made with tepung beras but me, being so confident, used tepung gandum. But then, I was told by my friend (after the whole tragedy), Ain, that limas -- a kuih that is similar to tepung pelita used tepung gandum. So I was not entirely wrong.

But people... I made another batch on the same day, this time with the right tepung. If my previous pulut mangga tasted like air masak, this one taste like air. Air as in the one we breathe in. You know, air taste like nothing. Bland, empty, tasteless. Tepung pelita should be sweet but I would like to clarify that my tepung pelita is the (very very very) healthier version of the kuih. I guarantee that diabetic people should not worry about eating my tepung pelita. They can eat a dozen of my tepung pelita and still be fine. 

Anyway, those are my stories about my cooking attempt during ramadhan. And as usual, I wrote several kad raya this year for my friends. Last year I posted out around 20 if I am not mistaken, and this year around 22. I love kad raya but it's getting really hard to find the classic one. Most of the kad raya being sold online are in postcard format and I don't like that. I want those folded cards, with carved out holes, funny caricatures and traditional pictures of random masjid and ketupat that does not look tempting at all. I love those old school cards.

Handwritten notes and cards have a special place in my heart. I kept every single note and card I received since primary school. Some notes are on tissue or small piece of paper but to me, they all are so special, considering the effort being put in by the writers to write me the notes. Gittewwww. Next year raya, I might be designing my own kad raya. I'm figuring out what kind of theme I want and whether I want it handmade or design it and get it printed out somewhere. We'll see next year.

I wish to continue this tradition of writing kad raya to the very end. I want my friends who used to receive kad raya from me, thought of me when I passed away. Like every year, when they are kemas kemas rumah and isi kuih raya dalam bekas kuih, they will go "Dulu, mama ada kawan. Selalu hantar kad raya. Ni dia dah meninggal, dah tak ada kad raya." Gitu. Hahahah. 

Anyway, I am so grateful for this ramadhan. There's nothing to rush as I'm home all day long, for the whole holy month. I have a lot of free time that I managed to khatam Quran on the night before 17 Ramadhan. The shortest time I manage to achieve before this was 22 days. See? There are some good things with the PKP.

 I would like to end my post with this picture of my choc chip biscuits. I usually baked these cookies for raya, but this year I mogok. My youngest brother, Eil, asked me to bake the cookies twice in the month before ramadhan and after that, I no longer have the spirit to bake them. Very the bosan these cookies.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin. Siapa nak duit raya, tinggal nombor account kat bawah hahaha.

Bye!