Tuesday 2 September 2008

First day of breaking fast

I've always tried my best to make sure we spend the first day of breaking fast every Ramadhan at my parent's place. It helps make a memorable start to the holy month. It's only my father and my mother left at home so they are always keen to have us come over. It gives a reason for my mother to display her cooking skills and feed her grandchildren to the max.

On the way over there, one of my sons asked, `Nenek nak masak apa untuk buka puasa, abah?' (What's grandma cooking for the breaking of fast?)

I replied, `Entahlah... kacang pool agaknya.' (I'm not sure, maybe kacang pool.)

Sure enough, that was what she prepared for our iftar or berbuka puasa meal. A mother can always read her son's mind, no matter where he may be, believe it.

As I've mentioned before in my post of 24 August 2008, my kids and I like kacang pool, especially the one cooked by my mom. My mom learned how to cook it because my father liked it in the first place. The tradition has now been passed down the line with my wife learning the recipe from my mom so that she can placate the tastes of her husband and sons.

In addition to the kacang pool, my father had brought home some bubur lambok (rice porridge) that was prepared and given away for free by the nearby mosque. My sister and her husband also came by and hence mom's tiny kitchen was packed with ten family members.

When the time to break our fast arrived, my three sons quickly tucked into the kacang pool voraciously. This prompted my father to proudly remark, `Tak rugi cucu-cucu atok minat makan kacang pool ni macam atok juga.' (It's good to see that my grandsons like to eat kacang pool just like me.') Seems that all my sons inherit their grandfather's appetite and penchant for good food.

Iftar meals at our home are mostly non-rice dishes. Dishes such as mee goreng, laksa, murtabak, mee hoon sup etc. If there are actually rice dishes, then they would be of the `special' variety such as nasi tomato or nasi beriani. Plain rice meals are served only for sahur (pre-dawn). My mother has been preparing it that way since I was growing up and now when I have a family of my own, I had my wife practice the same.

12 comments:

Chahya said...

This kacang pool thing is new to me. I wonder how it tastes...

Nurie said...

Salam Ramadan to you & family. Breaking fast with families is one of the best thing! Somehow it is different from normal dinner gathering... :-)

Sedapnya makan kacang pool, murtabak, laksa...*drooling*

Anonymous said...

Salam berpuasa!

Fadhil said...

-> Hi Chahya,

Hmm... camne ek nak describe rasa kacang pool ni? The mashed beans are cooked with spices (ketumbar) and has a taste similar to masak kurma (that's probably the closes that I can describe). You tear off a piece of bread (my mom prefers french loaves) and dip it into the bean mix.

It's somewhat of an acquired taste because not everyone likes it.

-> Salam Nurie,

Hope you are also having tasty ramadhan iftar over there in Riyadh.

-> Hi Michelle, thanks for the wishes.

Anonymous said...

Owh my god........


i thought im the only one who take iftar with non-rice dishes......

sound special to me. Kacang pool is really delicious. My mom also like to make it as well.

Fadhil said...

Hi nicq,

Nice to know of another fan of kacang pool.

Sometimes, when we have relatives over for iftar, they ae surprised that we don't have plain-rice meals.

Thanks for dropping by.

Unknown said...

Hope its still not too late to wish you a blessed Ramadhan! I don't come to you page much during the daytime coz its a challenge to my puasa... what with pics of food and all... Hehehe....

Fadhil said...

Verse,

Ok... I'll reduce on the food pics. But I'll add more drinks pics... heheheh...

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Oldstock
I normally go to the shop at Larkin to get kacang pool. I like the thick bread used to dip into the dish. My...I'm salivating already.
Can you tell me where your mother get the kacang to make the kacang pool?
My mother has been bugging me to find it.

Fadhil said...

Hi Fauziah,

The kacang in kacang pool is called kacang parang or kacang kuda. In English it's called broad beans or fava beans.

We haven't found the raw kacang here in JB (or perhaps we have not looked hard enough). Our supply of kacang parang comes from Singapore.

I'm not sure where the Hj Kacang Pool stall at Larkin get their supply from. My dad says their kacang is probably from the canned variety but I doubt it because it wouldn't be very economical.

Tell you what... if I meet Hj Saiful (the stall owner) next time, I'll ask about it and let you know.

In the mean time, if you want to try to cook kacang pool in small quantities, you can look for the canned stuff labeled as `Foul Medames'. It's possible that some of the supermarkets in KL stock this stuff, seeing that there is somewhat a sizeable Arab population in KL nowadays.

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Oldstock
Thank you for the information. I know where I can get the canned fava beans in KL. My mother would be thrilled to bits.

Fadhil said...

Salam Fauziah,

You're most welcome. Is it you or your mom who's going to cook this dish? Any chance of me tasting some? Hehehe..