More and more Indians savouring Malaysian cuisine: Chef

Malaysian cuisine has Indian and Chinese influences with a generous mix of herbs and exotic spices and though not much high on the Scoville scale it is becoming a favourite among Indians, says visiting chef Muhammad Lisarni.
"Our cuisine has a lot of influence of Indian and Chinese food. We use many spices of Indian origin in our cuisine," says Lisarni, from Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, who is anchoring the nine-day Malaysian food festival here.
"Many Indians have developed a liking for Malaysian cuisine because of its flavours and traditions," he says.
The festival, which began on May 23 at Tamra, the dining restaurant at Shangri-La's Eros Hotel, has seen foodies relishing traditional Malay dishes like Rendang, Laksa and Satay.

Lisarni says though spices common in India like coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, dry and red chillies and star anise are widely used in Malay cuisine, dry chilli powder - an important ingredient in Indian cooking - is a strict no-no.
The Scoville scale is used to measure the spicy heat of chillies.

"We also use a lot of lemon grass, coconut (grated and milk), wild ginger flower buds, Kaffir lime leaves, Calamansi lime and bok choy in our food," he told PTI.
The starters on offer are Ayam Panggang (Malay spiced grilled chicken) and Kambing Percik (Grilled lamb rack with Malay spices) to be had with Sambal and Kicap (sweet and spicy soya sauce) and Air Asam (tamarind sweet and sour dip).

The main course non-vegetarian dishes include Rendang Tok (dried tenderloin stew with spices and grated coconut) and Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi (chicken in spicy coconut and turmeric gravy).
The vegetarian fare has Terung Goreng Bersambal (Deep Fried Eggplant with Chili Paste), Pajeri Nenas (Pineapple in dry coconut stew) and Sayur Munir Goreng (stir fired mix vegetable with coconut gravy).
There are also Nasi Tomato (Basmati rice with tomato paste), Kerabu Udang Dengen Soohoon (prawns and glass noodle salad), Serunding Ayam (spicy dried chicken floss) and Sup Sayur Cendawan (plain oyster mushroom soup).
The sweet dishes include Bubur Cha-cha (sweet potato and Taro in coconut stew), Kuih Bingka Jagun (Corn flavoured cake), Pengat Pisang (sweet banana in coconut stew), Bubur Kacang Hijau (green bean sweet porridge) and Kuih Cha-cha (glutinous rice with custard).

The festival was organised in association with Tourism Malaysia and the Malaysian High Commission.