Make a date with Malay cuisine

Malay Food Festival on June 26, 27 at the Galadari Hotel

By Nizla Naizer

Pineapple stewed into sweet and delicious ‘dosi’, dates cunningly combined into an irresistible pickle, flour delicately turned into the white ‘mani pittu’, coconut and jaggery transformed into a scrumptious ‘dodol’ – the typical Malay cuisine has evolved from the traditional South East Asian meal to something a little more Sri Lankan and infinitely more tasty.

And this June, fans of flavour and spice, sweet and tang can have a true experience of the uniquely Malay meals of Sri Lanka as the Sri Lanka Malay Confederation along with the Galadari Hotel conducts the eighth successful Malay Food Festival on June 26 and 27 at 7 pm. You will be privileged to taste the entire spectrum of Malay cuisine made according to age old recipes passed down through the generations since their ancestors arrived on the island from the Indonesian archipelago and Malaya centuries ago.
Chefs speak
What makes this Food Festival so unique is that the hotel invites the holders of the traditional recipes themselves to stay in at the Galadari and make these scrumptious dishes as only they know how. The group of six housewives who have a passion for cooking will be enlisting the help of the experienced crew at the Galadari, Hotel however to make this a reality. The Bottom Line met up with these bubbly ladies to find out what makes their cooking so special, and so appealingly yummy.

Galadari Hotel, Food and Beverages, Assistant Director Ramalee Adjumain (L) stands with the ladies in charge of the delicious Malay cuisine

Head of Women and Cultural Affairs at the Battaramulla Malay Association, Honeida Packeer is the lady in charge of the meals at the Malay Food Festival. She tells me with a grin that the popularity of Malay cuisine lay in the diversity of the dishes. “We will have 25 different dishes from starters and soups to main courses,” she explained. “And this is an opportunity to invite other communities and other cultures to experience our unique way of cooking.”
Starting from the immensely popular ‘Putu and babat’ combination which is very popular among the locals along with the world famous ‘satay’ where the marinated meat is grilled to delicious perfection, to a choice of Nasi Goreng (fried rice) with a selection of accompanying dishes including Ayam Goreng (fried chicken), Kaliah (brinjawls and ash plantain) and Kari Kambing (mutton curry) to name a few will bring a plethora of spicy and tangy flavours to the diners of Colombo. There will also be a Nasi Kebuli (yellow rice) combination with Sotong (cuttlefish), Sukun Goreng (breadfruit curry) and Kari Mangga (mango curry – a favourite) to go along with it.
All the meals will be combined with sambals of curd, mint and peanut sauce. “Peanut is a very important part of South East Asian cuisine,” Honeida explained. “We use less of it in Sri Lanka but the flavour is unmistakable.”
Agar-agar to Buah-buah
From a range of fresh fruits (buah-buah) and fresh fruit juices, there will also be a range of delicious Malay desserts. From dodols to dosis, Serikaya (a rich pudding made of coconut milk, kitul and jaggery) to the jelly like agar-agar, the yummy creations of these enterprising ladies are set to entice and satisfy.
And that’s not all; the two nights of delicious cuisine will be combined with performances of song and dance depicting the vivid culture of the Malay region. Commencing with the Bunga Mangara (which is a festive procession) on the first night to a rendition of Hunaun Jaya by Naushad Rasool, each night will have five cultural performances.
The Malay Food Festival is the joint effort of 25 Malay Associations from across the country working under the confederation to present the unique Malay culture to the rest of the world. So what do the ladies think about cooking for the masses? “Cooking is never a chore for us,” Kala Bushana Karpini Drahaman Mohommed said with a laugh, “It’s a miracle that we have managed to preserve our culture after centuries and we love to share it with the rest of the world.”
Galadari Hotel, Food and Beverages, Assistant Director Ramalee Adjumain said that the Malay Food Festival had consistently drawn large crowds each year from both the local and international communities. “We have regulars who keep inquiring as to when the next food festival would be,” he explained. “Galadari always focuses on showcasing the rich culture of Sri Lanka and this is a unique opportunity to witness the diversity of Malay cuisine.”