Rainbow Ghee Rice/Nasi Hujan Panas

Malaysia is always famous for its variety of foods. Although the whole country is like a huge dining place, there are still foods ‘belongs’ to certain places or places that stand out as representing some particular cooking or foods.

Due to the geographical location and history back ground, apart from cuisines which representing the three major races, Terengganu food has shown the influence of Thai culture and taste. Terengganu has abundance of rice based dishes such as nasi dagang, nasi kunyit, nasi kuning, nasi berlauk, nasi lemak and nasi kerabu. There is laksam, laksa Terengganu, otak-otak, sata, pulut lepa, ketupat sotong and kerepok lekor. Dining out is relatively inexpensive and there are always plenty of choices range from hotel food to hawker food.

The Nasi Hujan Panas is a Nasi Minyak of Terengganu or Ghee rice .This rice is prepared with both ghee and margarine .You can fully use ghee as well ..No problem!

4 cups basmati rice

½ cup evaporated milk

1 chicken stock cube

3 tomatoes ,chopped

1 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp margarine

Salt to taste

Pink,green and yellow colouring

Ingredients B

3 shallots,pounded

1 nip garlic,pounded

I in ginger ,pounded

3 cloves

2 star anise

1in cinnamon stick

1 lemon grass, white part only,bruised

2 screwpine leaves,knotted

Wash the rice and soak for 30mins,drain.

Heat ghee with margarine, once melted, throw in cloves,cinnamon sticand star anise. Add in and sauté shallots,garlic ,ginger,lemon grass and screwpine leaves  until aromatic. Pour in about 3 cups of water and salt to taste.Leave it to come boil, pour in evaporated milk,crumble in chicken cube and add in chopped tomatoes. Add in the drained rice and stir well.Close lid and leave to cook or you can transfer to a rice cooker .Once the rice is ¾ cooked , mix in yellow colouring and combine the colour well with the rice thoroughly. Leave to cook until dry. Then sprinkle green and pink colouring here and there .Granish with some shallot crisps and chopped spring onions.

 This rice dish is usually paired with gulai ayam/chicken curry, or kurma daging/beef kurma and kurma ayam/chicken kurma..and nasi minyak is never without a side of acar timun or nanas/pickled cucumber or pineapple..the acar can be either savoury or non-savoury..either way, it completes the whole nasi minyak ensemble.

Do return back to check out the Chicken Kurma recipe!!


Adapted: Chef Hanieliza