The Story of Bubur Lambuk

Everytime comes Ramadhan, everyone who fast look forward to the first joy of fasting that is breaking of fast. Every fasting month foodstalls emerges like mushrooms afret a shower, some legal and some illegal. But as people on the streets who cares about illegal stalls.What is most important is the food they sell is halal and delicious.
(Pic on right was downloaded from NST Online)

When it comes to food for people to break fast, mosques and suraus usually took the initiative to prepare food as contribution to those who fast. One famous dish that catches the attention of Malaysians especially Muslims in Kuala Lumpur is the bubur lambuk Kg. Baru. The dish is a rice porridge which is prepared without fail every year and is becoming popular by year.

The bubur lambuk in Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur has a long tradition and goes back to the 50s'. It is an event that city dwellers wait for during Ramadhan.

Committee members of the mosque as well as volunteers were busy over the a few weeks before the start of Ramadhan making the preparations for the free distribution starting on the first day orf fasting..

It is estimated that RM100 thousand is spent o­n making the bubur lambuk.To help ease financial burden of the mosque, donations were trickles in. To Muslim the holy month of Ramadhan is the time to donate as Allah will double His rewards.

Volunteers cook up to 15 pots of bubur lambuk at a cost of RM420 each pot during the fasting month. What is most interesting it is disrtibuted free. Due to the high demand, people has to queue up as early as 4.00 pm or they will miss the portion for the day

Secret of bubur lambuk

By Sager Ahmad

http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/TravelNews/20051025120557/Article/pp_index_html

BUBUR Lambuk Kampung Baru has grown to be a signature dish for this kampung enclave in the city of Kuala Lumpur. This humble dish has even made it to the Malaysia Book of Records when 120 large pots of bubur lambuk were cooked simultaneously at the Kampung Baru mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

Using a 55-year-old recipe, the team which made the bubur lambuk, broke their own record set in 2000. The 30,000 packets of bubur lambuk were snapped up in less than two hours by the public.

The recipe for Bubur Lambuk Kampung Baru came from Imam Hj Mohamed Tahir Hj Jaafar and Tuan Hj Syed Bank who started making and serving the dish to the public for free in the 1950s.

Bubur lambuk is cheap to make and easy to digest – two reasons why it is so popular for the breaking of fast.

When the two passed away, the recipe was passed on to Hj Monek Aki who continued the tradition of making and serving it during Ramadan.

The secret lies in the use of various spices including garlic and pepper; other ingredients are rice, minced beef and spring onions.

This year, though bubur lambuk was still given away free at the mosque, it was also sold at RM2 a packet outside the mosque due to its popularity.

This prompted Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who officiated at the bubur lambuk making ceremony and the launching of the Bazaar Ramadan in Kampung Baru, to say that tour agents might want to promote it to tourists in future. They could let tourists try the tasty bubur lambuk and learn all about its long history, which is another unique and colourful facet of Malaysia.

The recipe below is taken from www.malaysiarice.com

Bubur Lambuk

Ingredient :- 200 gm super white rice 1.9 litre water 1 mackerel, rosted and deboned 6-10 black peppercorns 10 shallots oil for frying 200 ml thick coconut milk (from 1/2 coconut) 40 gm tapioca shoots, shredded 40 gm pucuk paku, shredded finely 40 gm cekur manis, shredded finely 5 daun selasih, shredded finely 1 turmeric leaf, shredded finely 1 stalk lemon grass, shredded finely salt to taste Instruction :- Bring rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Stir occasionally till rice turns into a porridge. Pound markerel flesh with black peppercorns and four shallots and add to porridge. Slice remaining shallots thinly and fry in oil till crisp. Set aside. Pour in coconut milk and add all the shredded ingredients into the porridge. Bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt. Serve topped with fried shallots.