By K. KASTURI DEWIHARI Raya is never complete without the traditional favourite, ‘lemang.’
What more if the lemang is traditionally prepared using firewood, bamboos and banana leaves.
Traditional lemang maker Yahaya Saad, 65, popularly known as Pak Ya to the locals has been in the business for more than 30 years.
He uses bamboo from the backyard of his Sungai Burung house in Balik Pulau, Penang, to make the lemang.
He first cleans the bamboos and cuts them into 60cm blocks before inserting banana leaf into them.
Then the glutinous rice and coconut milk are filled into the bamboo.
The bamboo shoots are then placed at a certain angle beside a fire for nearly four hours.
“You need to check the coconut milk in the bamboo after about an hour and if it has dried, then the bamboo has to be turned,” he said, explaining that the lemang would not cook evenly if this was not done.
Yahaya, who will patiently sit in front of the fire to make sure the lemang turns out just right, is usually helped by his eight children.
He said despite a price increase this year due to the increase in the prices of glutinous rice and coconut milk, his customers especially the regulars had not cut down on their orders.
He has so far received orders for over 1,000 pieces for Hari Raya.
“Previously I sell the lemang for RM10 each but now I have increased it to RM12 because the price of a sack of rice has gone up from RM150 to RM180 and the price of coconut milk has increased from RM4 per kg to RM5,” he said.
He said lemang was a hit not only among the Malays but also the non-Malays who enjoyed eating it with either “serunding or rendang”.
Besides taking orders during the Ramadan for the breaking of fast functions and for Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Yahaya also sells his lemang near the Bayan Baru mosque every afternoon during Ramadan.
Source: http://thestar.com.my
