Stirring things up, one more time.
September's Bazaar Ramadhan, held by the Ladies' Association of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia in New York, was a wonderful opportunity to delve into Malaysian home cooking, though Muslims who were observing the monthlong dawn-to-dusk fast were obligated to take their food to go, for the evening meal. Last weekend's Bazaar Hari Raya (the full name, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, translates to English as something like "celebration of the end of the fast") offered a reprise where everyone could eat and enjoy at the same time. Seats were at a premium, but good spirits carried the day.
Shown above and below: a spicy peanut-based sauce, which appeared in more than one variation; hardboiled eggs; curry puffs; rojak, a fruit salad dressed with a shrimpy-spicy sauce and crushed peanuts; chicken rendang, cooked in coconut milk and spices; nasi lemak sotong kering, a rice platter with cuttlefish; mee rebus (ree-Boos), boiled egg noodles soaked in a gravy made from potato, seafood, and spices; laksam, a rolled-noodle version of the Malaysian spicy soup called laksa; kueh ketayap, caramelized grated coconut and palm sugar rolled in a pale green, pandan-flavored crepe; kuih keria, or sweet potato mini-doughnuts; banana-filled, coconut-covered glutinous rice snacks (less sweet than they look; durian fritters; pandan-flavored agar-agar gelatin treats; and the sweet mung bean porridge called bubur kacang hijau.
As it did in 2008, the delegate's dining room at the United Nations will present a Malaysian food menu early in 2009 (details to follow). For another of the less formal, more festive events at the Malaysian mission, though, you'll need to wait till next autumn.
Bazaar Hari Raya
Banquet Hall, Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations
313 E. 43rd St. (First-Second Aves.)
Sponsored by the Ladies' Association of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia in New York
October
