Dishes prepared live and served up to the public during two-day cultural festival at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa
EVERY school morning begins the same way for Nur Hazwani Izzati, with the clatter of pots, aroma of simmering broth and lunchboxes lined up on her kitchen table.
Cooking for her children is a daily ritual, but she never imagined it would lead her onto a public stage.
It all started when one of her children’s teachers tasted the homemade lunch and praised her cooking.
“That compliment made me believe that my cooking was good enough to share with other people,” she said.
The mother of three from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, was among four mothers selected for Kimball’s Rancakkan Masakan Malaysia initiative during Festival Budaya Malaysia at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.
Supported by Suria FM, it challenged participants to reinvent their family’s favourite dishes by incorporating Kimball products in the recipes.
The reimagined creations were prepared live for festival-goers, with help from professional chefs, with Kimball serving hundreds of complimentary portions to the public.
Nur Hazwani’s signature dish is Sup Tulang Merah, the hearty Singaporean favourite known for its spicy gravy.
She swapped out curry leaves and chillies to create a milder version for her children.
“My kids don’t enjoy spicy food, so I changed the recipe without losing the original flavour,” she said.
The participating mothers also received RM1,000 and some kitchen supplies from Kimball as a token of appreciation.
The two-day event also saw Nurul Syamilah Zainal Abidin, 37, and Wan Aimi Fatimah Wan Yahya, 40, presenting their recipes on Sunday.
The live cooking demonstrations attracted a queue as visitors waited to sample the dishes prepared by a kitchen team led by Chef Mohd Rafie Mohd Taib, 62.
Using Kimball’s tomato pasta sauce and spaghetti, Nurul Syamilah served a pasta dish with percik chicken, a recipe by her late mother.
“The flavours coming from the fragrant aroma of fennel seeds and cumin in the percik sauce is what makes the tomato sauce pasta stand out.
“I usually cook this dish during fasting month,” said the mother of three.
To give the tomato pasta sauce a hint of spiciness, black pepper is sauteed with onions and garlic.
The following session saw Wan Aimi Fatimah using Kimball’s tomato, chilli and oyster sauces in her fried mamak noodles which was served in a tortilla wrap.
“I got the idea to put the noodles in a wrap so that it would be easier for my children to eat.
“As they are still very young, the long noodle strands can be messy,” she said.
Nurul Syamilah and Wan Aimi Fatimah called cooking outdoors for friends and family, accompanied by the lively banter of Suria FM announcers, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, adding that they never expected their recipes to be selected.
Both had seen the Kimball Rancakkan Masakan Malaysia campaign announced on social media and had submitted their entries a day before the deadline.
To their surprise, they received a call from Suria FM – which is under Star Media Group – to take part in the show.
During the cooking demonstrations, Suria FM’s Elly Arifin also took the opportunity to interview visitors on cooking tips.
