By Home cook Sumiitra Yiohan Sooriaarratchi
This traditional Malay dish is a favourite of the Datuk Gong – an earth deity worshipped in Southeast Asia. It’s made for special occasions. Nasi means cooked rice and kunyit is the Malay word for turmeric; the turmeric root is used to give the rice its yellow color.
The accompaniments that go with this nasi kunyit is chicken curry and salaadhey or Sri Lankan salad.
The nasi kunyit is made with a higher quality fine grain white rice. Soak the rice in water with slices of the turmeric root (about 3 pieces sliced) and 3 slices of tamarind for about 1 to 2 hours – the longer the better.
When you see the rice grains expanding in size it’s time to proceed to cook the rice. Cook the rice in the same water that was used to soak the rice. Add a pinch of salt to the rice. Add half a cup of coconut milk. You can add more if you like to have a creamier taste. Also add one pandan leaf cut into three pieces. Start to cook the rice in a rice cooker and when the it is done mix some white pepper corns (about 1 table spoon for three cups of rice) into the cooked rice.
Serve with chicken curry and salad.
Refer to the post below for the chicken curry recipe.
