The Wedding Rice
The Wedding Rice is Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen’s take on the dishes that are often served to guests at a Malay Wedding particularly in Peninsular Malaysia. The current time does not permit for us to host or attend wedding ceremonies which is perfectly understandable. A few months back I was missing the Malay Wedding Rice dishes. Most of my friends are already married so does not like I will get invited to any friends’ wedding anytime soon. Hence, the addition to our new menu which we finally refer to simply as the “Wedding Rice”. The idea behind this dish is to create convenience for you to savour the beautiful wedding Malay cuisine without leaving your home or office!
The Wedding Rice is offered in two options - Classic (with animal protein) and Vegan version (with plant based protein). Below is what you will get from the Wedding Rice at Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen.
Nasi Minyak – Our take on Malaysia’s traditional fragrant herb rice. This is a vegan version so that we don’t confuse our team with two versions of the same rice. Nasi minyak translated from Malay language to mean“oily rice”. It is usually cooked with evaporated milk and butter. However, since Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen’s version is vegan, we cook our jasmine and parboiled basmathi rice with different type of aromatics, unsweetened rice and cinnamon milk (homemade by local Lahad Datu Chef April ) and together with Malaysia’s very own Carotino Oil which is packed with anti-oxidant properties and rich in natural pro-vitamin A, Vitamin E and natural source of Omega 3 &6.
Kurma Ayam (Classic) – Kurma Ayam is Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen’s take on the popular Malay wedding dish – Chicken Kurma. This is a milder in heat type of curry (even children could eat this without complaining that its spicy. This was one of my very first exposure to curry when I was a kid). Nevertheless, lots of different spice such as cardamom, star anise, cloves, fenugreek, cinnamon are crucial at shaping the taste of kurma curry. Some people like their kurma curry runny but we like ours thick. The Classic Version of our Wedding Rice comes with Chicken and Potatoes Kurma Curry.
Nangka Tempeh Nuggets with Potato Kurma (Vegan) – For the Vegan version of the Wedding Rice, Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen cooks up potato kurma. This is a milder in heat type of curry (even children could eat this without complaining that its spicy. This was one of my very first exposure to curry when I was a kid). Nevertheless, lots of different spice such as cardamom, star anise, cloves, fenugreek, cinnamon are crucial at shaping the taste of kurma curry. Some people like their kurma curry runny but we like ours thick. It is then topped up with homemade Nangka and Tempeh nuggets.
Pineapple Chutney – This is our take on the popular Malay relish that is influenced by the Indian Kitchen often referred to as pachedi or how Malaysians refer to as pajeri. Our Pineapple Chutney is made from locally sourced and farmed pineapples. It is a sweet, tangy and spiced condiment that adds character to the creaminess of the kurma curry and the rich Nasi Minyak.
Cucumber and Mint Salad – A great refreshing touch to the Wedding Rice is freshly cut kampung cucumber and mint salad with calamansi vinaigrette. The organic mint leaves come straight from our garden (a gardening project that I am personally proud off as it took many trials to get it grow well and healthy). The cucumber and mint salad gives the perfect zesty balance to the whole meal
