Fasting Feast
Last Sunday marked the start of Ramadan, when Muslims begin their month-long fasting ritual. Although many people understate the challenge of abstaining from food and drink for the better part of the day, I personally find it to be quite a daunting task. Every evening as I break fast, I am humbly amazed at my own, albeit small, personal achievement in this annual test of faith.
Of course, just as it is with school tests where most merely pass and only a few succeed with flying colours, my fast is completed with many imperfections and faults. But I am extremely grateful to belong to a religion that seeks the best of its followers, yet at the same time immensely tolerant and understanding of human frailties. And so I begin each day with the hope that each fast will be better than the last, and pray that I gain more from this test of faith than simply hunger and thirst.
Fasting always brings back the best memories of growing up in Malaysia. The Ramadan Bazaar is a Malaysian institution equal in stature to the venerable pasar malam (night market), where we would browse through stall after stall selling the most cherished dishes in the country, from nasi biryani gam to nasi dagang, the common kuih talam to kuih pelita, those fragile puddings delicately flavoured with pandan and coconut milk, filled in rectangular cubes of banana leaves. And then there will be at least one stall selling ayam percik, grilled chicken basted with a spicy gravy, that will provide the unmistakable smoky aroma and air pollution that accompanies every Ramadan bazaar.
For tonight, I find myself with a rapidly ripening avocado. Avocadoes, like bananas, bruise quickly, and so I decided to make an avocado smoothie, if only to get rid of the avocado before it goes to waste. It was in fact, a really good way to get rid of avocado, as the resulting smoothie was thick and rich. Every heavy gulp was a luxurious thirst-quencher, the neutral but unmistakable creaminess of avocado counterbalanced by the faintly-sweet addition of a drizzle of honey and sugar (actually, it was more than a drizzle).
For the main meal, it was a simple, traditional Malay arrangement; rice with an accompanying dish of vegetable and meat. The vegetable dish was a stir-fried assortment of deep-fried eggplants, capsicum and Chinese broccoli, liberally drizzled with a dressing of soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. The meat was opor ayam, chicken slowly cooked in coconut milk and kurma powder until most of the liquid has evaporated.
To finish off the meal, I baked chocolate macarons. To be honest I’ve never had macarons before so I’m unsure if my macarons turned out into what they’re meant to be, but all the same I’m quite happy with the result; a chewy shell that gives way to a very moist chocolate ganache filling.
To all Muslims, have a blessed Ramadan ahead.