Happy Ramadhan to All

Here's wishing a great Ramadhan to everyone.

Just to remind everyone (who are fasting, that is), your blood sugar will be very low in the evening. Therefore be very careful when you drive back home.

Take a nap at the office if you have to. Explain to the boss that you'd like to live to see him tomorrow morning.

Don't rush to get home on time. It seems very important to be able to reach home on time but it's absolutely crucial that you reach home at all.

Try arriving home a few minutes late - it still feels great and no one will actually starve to near-death in those few minutes.

Now as a special Ramadhan feature, I will try (not very hard lah!) to post an interesting recipe for everyone to salivate over.

We begin today with our favourite Malaysian Ramadhan special - the bubur lambuk.

The Bubur Lambuk is the humble rice porridge made famous by the custom of the Jamek Mosque of Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, of cooking up and distributing for free this simple dish.

From the time when I was a child roaming the precincts of the mosque, the bubur lambuk was originally meant to be served to everyone who chose to break their fasts at the mosques - the traditional norm for travellers and itinerants during the fasting month.

There were always those who line up in front of those great cooking pots, holding up various containers from home that they hope to fill with this savoury dish.

Somehow those queues became longer and longer until one day I had a shock when I realised that the number of people queuing up for a taste of this humble food was easily in the hundreds.

The bubur lambuk is very easy to cook. It is merely very difficult to replicate someone else's recipe.

My recommendation is to try a basic recipe, then make it your own by adding or subtracting items from the recipe. In time, you will come up with your very own bubur lambuk which would be distinctive from others that you and yours will enjoy and treasure.

Remember: the dish is the rice porridge itself, the rest are just flavourings for it. Have fun.

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Bubur Lambuk Tok (Credit: Fathiliana Izyani)
Grandma's Congee

>Bahan-Bahan: 1 cawan beras (1 cup rice)
2 inci halia (5cm ginger, diced)
2 batang serai (2 stalks lemongrass)
2 keping dada ayam dipotong halus (2 pcs chicken breast, cubed)
1 biji kentang dipotong dadu (1 potato, cubed)
1 batang karot dipotong dadu (1 carrot, cubed)
1 kiub ayam maggi (1 chicken stock cube)
1 biji kelapa, santan (santan from 1 coconut)
10 cawan air untuk merebus sedikit daun sup (10 cups water)

(A pinch of ...)
sedikit daun bawang (green onions, or replace with chives)
sedikit udang (prawns/shrimp)
sedikit halba (fenugreek)
sedikit lada hitam (black pepper)

Cara:
1. Rebus beras yang telah dibasuh bersama air, halba, serai yang telah dititik, halia yang dipotong halus dan sedikit lada hitam.
1. Boil the rice with the fenugreek, lemongrass, ginger and black pepper

2. Setelah naik bau dan beras mulai mengembang, masukkan daging ayam, karot, kentang, kiub ayam maggi dan sedikit garam.
2. Once the rice visibly starts to expand and the aroma can be discerned, throw in the chicken pieces, potato cubes, the chicken stock cube and add a dash of salt.

3. Apabila beras sudah menjadi bubur, masukkan udang dan santan, biar mendidih dan kacau sebati.
Biarkan seketika dan tutup api.
3. Once the rice has turned into porridge, add in the shrimp and santan. Let boil and stir thoroughly. Simmer for some time and then take off stove.

Cadangan Hidangan: Taburkan hirisan daun bawang dan daun sup sebagai hiasan. Chop up the green onions/chives and sprinkle over congee as decoration.
Tambahan: Untuk sedap lagi makan bersama sambal ikan bilis atau kicap manis bersama cili api atau taburkan sedikit serbuk ikan talang masin yang telah ditumbuk.
Sedap dimakan terutama di bulan Ramadhan...
As added flavour, congee can be taken with anchovy sambal or sweet soy sauce with chillies or with some fried salted fish. A very popular dish during the fasting month of Ramadhan.