Happy Deeparaya!

Howdy people,

It is with great pleasure for me to wish my fellow readers who celebrate Deepavali and Hari Raya Aidilfitri a great er..well..Happy Deepavali and Happy Hari Raya! (the latter was intended, I knew it's gonna sound funny!)

Now, now, it is so nice to actually realise that I actually get a proper week off for the festive week(technically it's supposed to be from Friday to Wednesday, but whatever). You see, before this, I actually had another 1 week off at the end of September BUT that was for my mid-semester exams. Hehe, and to make things better, I only had one paper and had the rest of the week off though at that time I thought I was already having my mid-semester break.

Then came this! I initially thought it would be just 5 days of holiday BUT upon checking the semester handout, this is my mid-semester break! HURRRAY!!!!! *pops cheapest champagne available*

*Awkward silence*

*Realises no one is around 'cept the computer*

RIGHT, getting back to where I stopped, Happy Deeparaya to all! I love the fact that I can EAT such tasty and yummy food! You see, for Deepavali(it was 5 days ago, but still worth mentioning), my father received an invitation from a friend of his to come for her open house and yours sincerely definitely would not want to miss such a generous invitation especially when it comes to food, and Indian food at that! Of course, her mother actually prepared the food, she's(my father's friend) just in-charge of the invitations

She served delicious, tender mutton curry that was not too spicy but had a lot of flavor! The mutton was lean and not like your usual mamak or indian restaurant where the mutton cubes are usually lined with fat and best of all. It was well-prepared and the meat was well-cooked. It wasn't tough and it wasn't too chewy until it makes you think it was only half-cooked. It was perfect! When you have your first taste, the burst of flavor was so incredible along with the tender mutton that you can't help thinking "this is the best mutton curry I've tried." Truly, a very very talented cook.

Then came the rendang ayam (for Deepavali?) where it was different from any I've tried. Upon asking, it was actually her own recipe! Of course, being a cook, she would never reveal her secret ingredient but I can tell you for sure that it's WAY better than your average rendang ayam. You could actually taste the incredible mix of all the spices blended together that is so rich in flavor. You know most of the time when you go for mamaks or your nearest Malay restaurants, the rendang ayam they serve would usually taste very boring and while the salt may just be right, the taste of the rendang spices are almost non-existent, leaving nothing to savor but the chicken which will more often than not be a bit over-cooked which makes the chicken a bit dry and the flesh a bit hard.

For her third dish, well, not really a third dish but rather chutney(an Indian form of condiments that you eat with your main dish). She prepared fresh raisin chutney which was something new to me. I mean, I have tasted lotsa chutneys but never raisin chutney before. Heh, so when I first had it, it was GOOD! I mean, I love it! It was sweet, but natural sweetness and although the main ingredient was raisin(duh!), it was good and really went well with the briyani rice(of which she prepared herself also) and idli(Indian dumpling, or Indian "pau" for breakfast). It was fantastic!

She also prepared vegetables but they were the usual dish with one being the Indian mix salad(pineapple, cherry, cucumber, onions and the like) and the other the usual Chinese stir-fry vegetables(cauliflower, carrots, shredded shitake mushrooms). It was good though. Hehe..

The highlight was definitely the mutton curry, the rendang ayam and the raisin chutney. There may not be many dishes(about 5, excluding the briyani rice and idli), but the quality is definitely there. I wouldn't mind not having so many types of dishes so long as it's quality. Truth to tell, you can't find this anywhere else.

True. Authentic. Indian. Food. (TAIF, not TGIF)