'Asyura' 4TenthMuharram

It is just a cultural tradition in my family dinner @Happy Village and not on religious grounds whatsoever to have Bubur Lambuk or sometimes called as Asyura on 10th Muharram as part of our Iftar breakfast cuisines. 

Here, in a land surrounded by beautiful mosques and lovely voices of muezzins's call for prayers brings nostalgic feelings to me for they remind me of my late Abah who was once an Imam in my evergreen and peaceful hometown. The mosque was just adjacent to our home-sweet-home which made it plain sailing for late Abah to go for his prayers with the other villagers even at old age. The garden surrounding the mosque also was once the playing ground for my friends and me each evening with our sepit udang game or ting ting before we called off the day to the chagrin of our Moms :)

Particularly during this time of the sacred day and month, when I was young before going to boarding school, my late GrandMa Nyai and ever caring Dear Mom will be busy preparing foodies for breaking fast! What I remembered and certainly liked most was that they also cooked the delicious savory dish Asyura and sent to the mosque for the people to savour after their Maghrib prayers. In fact, my late Grandma Nyai cooked  the Asyura Johore style which was a savory dish. The ingredients among others include rice porridge cooked with meat, chicken and ground nuts plus other spices and some coconut milk. Whereas in other parts of Malaysia, especially in the northern areas such as Kedah there is sweet Asyura mainly made of rice flour with corn, bananas, sweet potatoes and jaggery or gula Melaka. Instead of looking like porridge, the sweet asyura has 'bingka' look!

This evening to commemorate the sacred month, I prepared Asyura for Mr Right and me for dinner. It may not be the same as Grandma Nyai's or Mom's but, from the look and taste - it was quite closed to the original recipe. I would like to think so :-D but most importantly Mr Right liked it! He won't touch if the porridge is sweet but he'll surely finish a bowl full if the dish is savory! And more often than not, he will have a second helping. Definitely Mr Right isn't a sweet tooth person ...

Mr Right's favourite: My Asyura Johore style

An image of sweet Asyura - Bubur Asyura Manis (Utara) copyright of Sajian Hati balqis-resepiku.blogspot! TQ Blogger for the image :D