something from the kitchen...

My grandma and mum-in-law decided last week, to hold a 'kenduri' (feast) to commemorate my late grandpa-in-law's 40th day death anniversary. Everyone will sit together and recite prayers for the deceased, after which food will be served.

I didn't really partake in helping with the food preparations for I ain't of much use in the kitchen, actually. The grandma, m-i-l and the maid are all so deft in getting everything done that all I did was to snoop around.

I know, I know... Some kind of daughter-in-law, I am. Hey, I can't even fry my own egg without the maid taking over the spatula and shoo me away. "If not, I'll get a pay cut," she said. =P

ANYWAY, the menu that day was supposed to be rawon, the ubiquitous Javanese beef stew and its accompaniments like urap/keluban (vegetables with spicy shredded coconut), sambal goreng kecambah, bergedil (fried potato patty) and ayam kalio (chicken in spiced coconut stew).

Somehow, something went wrong with the rawon and it seemed to have something to do with it's key ingredient - the buah keluak. The stew actually tasted bitter. They eventually threw out the gravy and quickly washed the meat. What a waste!

And that rawon dish got replaced with daging semur (beef braised in sweet soy sauce).

bergedil - nicely arranged

I can't help taking a photo of this bowl where the bergedil were nicely arranged by the grandma.

bergedil - up close

There's just something about freshly cooked potatoes that make it so irresistibly tempting. Even this potato patty which is pretty common in the malay cuisine.

Very much akin to a croquette sans breadcrumbs. Potato cut into smaller wedges and fried before being mashed. Fillings vary but it's sometimes mixed with minced meat or simply has fried shallots, scallions and cilantro. The patty is then dipped into beaten egg and fried (again).

Not exactly the healthiest of food, I know. But that's why it tastes so good, I guess.

kecipir

That's how they it's known in Javanese. The Malay call it kacang botol (bottle bean). In English, it's called 'Winged bean' or 'Four-angle bean'.

These are cut into thin pieces to be mixed with the tapioca shoots, bean sprouts and long beans for the urap/keluban dish. Although I prefer them in their fresh, crisp form (I can't help popping in a few for a quick snack), they eventually decide to blanch all the vegetables for the convenience of those lacking in the 'dental department'.

The spiced coconut that's prepared by the grandma was really delicious albeit VERY spicy. Some of you are aware that my tolerance for spicy foods have dropped drastically during my pregnancy so when I decide to savour the urap dish on its own, like a salad - I actually kept a jug of water on standby. =PP