In her beautifully appointed home in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Ida Faizura Megat Muhaiyadin is hard at work, carefully placing ketupat into large bowls and ladling her treasured chicken rendang into a lovely receptacle.
Fanning themselves around her are her four daughters – Alisha Azman Izard Azman, Ariana Azman Izard Azman, Zalika Anum Azman Izard Azman and Zia Qurnia Azman Izard Azman. They work in gentle, quiet unison around their mother and the love between Ida, who is better known as Jua, and her children is palpable – an invisible thread that binds them all together.
Emerging from the lush garden that surrounds the home is Ida’s mother, Datin Rogayah Hassan, a septuagenarian whose green fingers are evident from the various herbs and vegetables she has collected from her little green patch.
In many ways, Jua’s love of food stems from her mother, whom she credits with feeding the family and nurturing her love of cooking.
“My mother was a Bahasa Melayu and history teacher. But she would always wake up early to cook for us and our father. Every day, we had nasi and lauk (rice and an assortment of gravies) and I always remember my mother and father cooking and singing in the kitchen,” she says.
Cooking also became something that glued the family together when Ida’s late father was dying of cancer.
“When my father was sick, we cooked for him because he had all these things in his head that we wanted to eat,” she says.
A qualified lawyer, Jua eventually gave up practising law to start her own business. Ten years later, she was forced to wind down the business, sustaining substantial losses in the process.
“We lost quite a bit, and I was also at a point of not knowing what to do. I was 40 at the time, and it was harder to get employed even though I was a fully qualified lawyer because it looked like I had taken a 10-year break even though I had spent a decade running a business.
“So in order to find a way to earn a living and pay off the debts from the last business, I actually started cooking because that’s what I knew. So cooking really saved my family,” says Jua.
Jua now runs a catering business called Jua’s Kitchen with her husband, Izard Azman Zainul Azman, where they serve up all sorts of delicious fare like nasi Kabsah, roast chicken, lasagne and cream puffs, to name a few.
To cope with the demand for Raya, Jua’s oldest two daughters also help her with the catering business when they are on break from university.
“We enjoy helping our mum. It’s something very meaningful because we get to spend time together, so it never feels like a chore,” says Jua’s sweet oldest daughter, Alisha.
For Hari Raya, some of these dishes – like Jua’s Nasi kabsah – are repurposed for the family’s own Raya breakfast meal, as she routinely works around the clock during the festive period.
“Since I started my F&B business, basically I’ve become the designated cook for the family. So every year, I have to prepare the Raya dishes, as my mum is now older, so she doesn’t cook as much.
“So the first dish I make is the Middle Eastern mixed rice dish of nasi Kabsah, which is our signature dish for the business. And we have our Raya orders, so because of that, we cook a lot of nasi Kabsah, so I make enough for us to bring home so we don’t have to cook so much for our own Raya,” says Jua, laughing.
Then there is lodeh, a coconut milk-rich dish that has special meaning to the family because it was one of the few dishes that Jua’s late father was able to eat towards the end of his life.
“The chemotherapy that my father was undergoing damaged his salivary glands, so he couldn’t swallow properly and could only eat a lot of soupy things. So lodeh was something not very spicy that he could eat, so that’s how it came into the family picture and how we ended up eating it during Raya,” says Jua.
Chicken rendang, meanwhile, is a family heirloom recipe that Jua normally makes the night before Hari Raya and reheats on the day. Despite the exhaustion of taking orders and running her business right up till the day before Raya, Jua says she still pours love into her Raya meals.
“I have a very tight schedule, so sometimes I take shortcuts when I cook. But when you actually enjoy what you’re doing because you’re doing it for people that you love – I think it shows in the end,” she says, beaming.
CHICKEN RENDANG
1 whole chicken (1.2–1.5 kg), cut into 8 to 10 pieces
For blending (spice paste)
8 shallots
5 cloves garlic
5 dried red chillies, soaked, deseeded)
2 fresh red chillies (optional, for extra heat)
3 candlenuts
2.5cm ginger
2.5cm galangal
2.5cm fresh turmeric or 1½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp meat curry powder
For cooking
2 to 3 tbsp cooking oil
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
5 kaffir lime leaves
2 turmeric leaves, torn (optional)
500 ml thick coconut milk
2 to 3 tbsp tamarind juice (from 1 tsp tamarind paste + 2 tbsp water)
salt and palm sugar to taste
Blend the spice paste until smooth.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker (using saute function if electric) and cook the spice paste until fragrant and slightly pecah minyak (separates from the oil). This should take about 5 minutes.
Add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaves and cook for another minute. Add chicken pieces, stir to coat with paste.
Pour in coconut milk and tamarind juice, season with salt and palm sugar. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 15 to 20 minutes.
Release pressure naturally, then check chicken. If gravy is too thin, simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken. Add more coconut milk if required. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve hot with rice.
KABSAH RICE
Serves 5
375 g basmati rice
50ml cooking oil
2 whole large red onions, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Kabsah spice
a few cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds
a few pieces star anise
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp chicken stock powder
700ml water
To make
Wash basmati rice until water runs clear. Soak for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain.
Heat oil in a pot. Add sliced onions and cook until soft and slightly golden. Then add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add cloves, coriander seeds, star anise and Kabsah spice mix. Stir for about 30 seconds to release the aroma.
Add salt, sugar and chicken stock powder and pour in water. Bring to a gentle boil.
Add the drained rice and stir once. Cover and cook on low heat for 12 to 15 minutes until the rice is tender and water is absorbed.
Turn off the heat and let the rice rest 10 minutes before fluffing.
Gently fluff with a fork and serve with roast chicken, lamb or any other lauk of choice.
CHILLI TOMATO SALSA
(to pair with rice)
a few red chillies or cili padi
(depending on preferred spice level)
3 cloves garlic
1 large red onion
a handful of coriander leaves
lemon juice, salt and sugar to taste
3 whole tomatoes
1/2 cup oil
To make
Blend everything and adjust
according to taste.
