Rendang

Rendang is a favourite aromatic beef curry made with 13 herbs, spices and ingredients such as lemongrass, ginger, galangal, garlic, onions, coriander, fennel, cumin seed, star anise, chilli paste, soy sauce, toasted coconut and coconut milk. The curry is slow cooked for hours and it is normally served with sticky rice and a crisp cucumber salad.

Ketupat

Just like how Chinese New Year is not complete without Mandarin oranges, Hari Raya without ketupat is a crime. These delicious rice grains are filled inside weaved coconut palm leaves and boiled till the rice is cooked. This is perfect with rendang or serunding or you can even have it with satay and dip it into peanut gravy.

Dodol

Sticky dodol is a sweet treat that comes in all sorts of flavours such as coconut, durian and even pandan. It’s chewy and it’s made out of coconut milk, palm sugar and glutinous rice flour that have been cooked for up to nine hours. If you don’t have any friends making this in their homes, head to the supermarkets or night markets – you’re bound to be able to find some.

Serunding

This yummy dish is actually beef or chicken floss made with spices and cooked until it is dry. Ask any of your Muslim friends and they will swear that next to the ketupat, this is an essential dish for Hari Raya. The floss can be a little spicy and is delicious when accompanied with ketupat or lemang.

Nasi Lemak

Everyone loves a good nasi lemak. The rice which is cooked in coconut milk and eaten with spicy chilli called sambal, is not only popular among the locals but many foreigners are also very familiar with this dish. The sliced cucumbers, fried peanuts and anchovies make this simple dish a must-have during the festive season.

Kuih Karas

Traditionally made from rice flour and coated with syrup, this kuih can sometimes be mistaken for birds’ nests because of how it looks. It’s sweet, crunchy and light, making it a good snack to have when visiting homes. It’s a little tricky to find these in markets, so if you know someone who can make this, it’s probably a good idea to try get it sent to you from back home.

Hotcourses Malaysia would like to wish all Malaysians Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!