Culinary Inspirations: Trays of delightful offerings
Shafee and I celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary in 2023. Our nikah (solemnisation) ceremony was held on June 12 1966 at the government quarters at 3420 Bukit Guillemard (now Bukit Ledang), Kuala Lumpur, and the bersanding (wedding reception) ceremony six months later at my father’s house at Jalan Mayang, off Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

It was held over two days, on Dec 9, 1966 for relatives and on Dec 10 1966 for friends. We had by then moved out of the government quarters in Bukit Guillemard as my father had retired from government service.

In those days, there were no wedding planners, caterers, make-up artists and others to organise weddings. Neither were there hotels with ballrooms large enough to accommodate hundreds of guests nor the specialised wedding halls that have sprung up today.

My nikah and bersanding ceremonies were held at home and my mother organised everything with the help of her two sisters, Aunty Nom and Chu, and her sisters-in-law. Her father, Tok Mat, had fourteen children, nine boys and five girls, so there was plenty of manpower. I was the second eldest of Tok Mat’s grandchildren and also the second one to get married, the first being Abrizah Abdullah (Ivy).

All the cooking over the two days of the reception was done gotong-royong style headed by the main cook, Pak Dol, specially brought in from the Istana in Johor Bahru, and helped by my father’s cousin, Zaleha (Mak Nod) Hassan, a well-known cook in Muar (who became even better known after she won first prize in The Star newspaper’s first cooking competition in the 1970s). Tok Mat’s cooks, Embok and Mak Sinah, and my uncles also assisted with the cooking and serving.

My eldest aunt, Mak Long Maimunah, a school teacher, played a major role as she was a woman of many talents. She sewed the bedspread for my wedding bed and also designed the pelamin (wedding dais) and sewed the gold-plated filigree flower pieces onto the steps.

Halwa maskat takes at least three days to make.

She was also my Mak Andam (make-up artist and hair stylist) and a matron of honour during the bersanding ceremony. Moreover, she prepared the dulang hantaran (trays of wedding gifts) for the nikah ceremony.

Aunty Nom made my five-tiered wedding cake from real fruit cakes, not the Styrofoam-wrapped fondant or royal icing cake which was the usual offering in those days.

Dulang hantaran are obligatory for Johorian weddings. The groom’s side traditionally prepares either five, seven or nine trays to which the bride’s side reciprocates with an additional two trays, thus seven, nine or eleven.

The gifts are usually personal accessories such as a watch, ring, wallet, handbag or Qur’an as well as cakes and fruit, all beautifully presented on matching trays.

There are two types of dowry—mas kahwin, an obligatory gift from the groom to the bride after the nikah ceremony symbolising the beginning of his responsibility towards his wife, and wang hantaran, a customary but voluntary gift from the groom to his bride’s family for the wedding ceremony.

The amount of the mas kahwin varies from state to state. In Johor, in the 1960s, it was common for the bride’s side to request that the wang hantaran be sa ribu serba satu—RM1,000 in cash plus a set of jewellery composed of earrings, a small brooch, necklace, ring and bracelet. It became a joke in those days that Johorian brides were expensive.

When I got married, my father went against convention when he informed the juru nikah (marriage official) that the mas kahwin would be RM22.50 following Johor regulations, not the amount set by Selangor which was then RM80 (today increased to RM300), and no wang hantaran was required.

At the time I was married, at least one of the dulang hantaran was traditional kuih (kuih warisan), not the elaborate royal icing cake that we see nowadays. It could be any one of the following: dodol megan, halwa maskat, kuih kepal, penganan kacau keledek, penganan kacau labu, wajik pulut or wajik ubi. These kuih have one thing in common — the mixture has to be stirred for several hours and thus require time and energy to make. Because they could keep for about a week, they were ideal for the dulang hantaran. However, the making of these kuih requires skill and experience and only a few people can make them. Mak Nod knew the right person.

Dodol magan is made from rice flour, glutinous rice flour, green pea flour, coconut milk, eggs and sugar.

Dodol is a sweet toffee-like confection made of rice flour, coconut milk and sugar that is popular throughout much of Southeast Asia. There are many varieties of dodol but relatively unknown is dodol megan, which is made from rice flour, glutinous rice flour, green pea flour, coconut milk, eggs and sugar.

I remember Embok whisking the three types of flour, coconut milk and water in a heavy-based brass pot. She would then whisk the eggs separately until frothy and add to the mixture, then whisk in the sugar until well combined. The mixture was then cooked over low heat until it thickened, congealed and turned shiny. Embok would place the dodol megan on a serving plate, gently fluff up the surface with a fork to create a nice texture and then make a decorative design on the surface using a pastry pincher.

Halwa maskat (halwa means ‘sweet’) most likely originated in Muscat, Oman, and was brought to Malaya by Arab traders or cooks. I had the opportunity to taste various types of halwa maskat when I visited my daughter Sharinaz in Muscat in the late 1990s where her husband was posted.

The Omanese halwa is darker and spicier than the Malay version. It takes at least three days to make halwa maskat as the flour has to be ‘washed’ for three consecutive days to remove the gluten before the sediment is ready for use.

On the third day the sediment is added to the syrup together with saffron and ghee, and stirred for several hours over medium heat until the mixture congeals and oil appears on the surface. It is then poured into a cake tin, decorated with cardamoms, almonds and cashew nuts and left to set.

Penganan kacau (penganan means kuih and kacau ‘stir’) is another traditional dessert made from eggs, coconut milk and a choice of sweet potato or pumpkin. The ingredients are mixed together in a wok and stirred continuously until the mixture thickens. It is then placed on serving plates.

This particular kuih dates back to the time of Temenggung Daeng Ibrahim, the father of the first sultan of modern Johor, Sultan Abu Bakar. The court ladies gave the kuih Sanskrit names based on the heroines in old Malay hikayat and romances. Penganan kacau keledek was called mega wangsa (‘noble clouds’), while penganan kacau labu was given the evocative name puspa mingrat (‘flower of the realm’). The difference between them lies in the colour, with penganan kacau labu being the brighter of the two. It requires a great deal of effort and patience—some three to four hours of stirring—to achieve the right consistency. My cousin and co-author Hamidah Abdul Hamid (Adek) makes decorative designs on the surface of her penganan using a pastry pincer.

At Adek’s wedding on Dec 9 1969, which was graced by the Sultanah of Johor, Tun Aminah, a stunning and impressive centrepiece adorned the main table. It comprised seven tiers of kuih warisan in the shape of a dome.

Halwa maskat formed the base followed by gradually smaller sized layers of penganan kacau labu, dodol megan, wajik pulut, penganan kacau keledek, and wajik ubi, topped by kuih kepal.

The recipes for the above kuih are in the book Johor Palate: Tanjung Puteri Recipes.

Datin Kalsom Taib is an award winning cookbook author and publisher. The opinions expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
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The writer recalls the traditional delicacies that were meticulously made for her wedding.