Mr. Nathan, like many other leaders of Singapore, always put "country before self". Singapore was his first love before his lovely wife, Mrs. Urmila (Umi) Nandey Nathan. With her, he had two children, a daughter, Ms. Juthika Ramanathan Cheong & a son, Mr. Osith Ramanathan, and in due course, he was blessed with 3 grandchildren, a girl (Monisha Cheong) & 2 boys (Kiron & Kheshin Cheong).
Mr. Nathan was a hero to many of us. Those who know of the Laju incident, probably are aware that he risked his life for the hostages on board. He loved art and he loved people, often stopping to meet different people from various walks of life. I myself had the pleasure of hearing a story from my father.
My father once witnessed a boy who had fallen off his scooter and started crying. Many people stopped to see what happened. As soon as the boy's father helped him up, President Nathan himself walked up to the little boy and dusted his pant legs off the dust and sand that had collected. He did not worry whether he would get his hands dirty. After that, my respect, admiration and love for the man has not and will never be the same again.
Mr. Nathan was a foodie according to all his friends and family. His favourite was nasi briyani and he preferred simple local dishes like mee goreng (fried noodles), char kway teow (flat rice noodles with soy sauce) and nasi lemak (mixed rice).
Mr. Nathan passed away on 22nd August 2016 at Singapore General Hospital following a stroke at the age of 92.
In this episode of Lunch Box Surprise, I chose to do a vegetarian nasi briyani (Indian Malaysian rice with curried meat) in his memory. I opted to do a low fat version of this, as Mr. Nathan was like a grandfather to the youth and so, I chose to dedicate this healthier version also to our senior citizens, who are health conscious.
Here is the recipe for your viewing pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdS8HVXjadI
Ingredients
Nasi Minyak (Rice)
1/2 cup Basmati or any other Indian long grain rice, washed, soaked for 1/2 an hour and either parboiled or cooked
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Indian clarified butter (desi ghee)
1 small stick cinnamon (daalchini: Hindi, kayu manis: Malay)
4-5 pcs green cardamom (elaichi: Hindi, photo: Sindhi, buah pelaga: Malay)
3 pcs cloves (laung: Hindi, cengkih: Malay)
4-5 pcs black peppercorns (kaali mirch ka daana: Hindi, biji lada hitam: Indonesian)
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 small onion, blended or chopped finely
1/4 tsp saffron, mixed in 1 tbsp hot milk (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania: Hindi, dhaana: Sindhi, serbuk ketumbar: Indonesian/Malay)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi: Hindi, serbuk kunyit: Indonesian/Malay)
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 tsp (or 1 small drop) kewra essence* or rose essence
1/4 tsp (or 1 small drop) pandan essence (screwpine essence)
Mock Meat
100g mock mutton (vegetarian), defrosted and cut into chunks
Pinch of meat tenderiser or a little bit of raw papaya juice
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp Indian clarified butter (desi ghee)
1 small stick cinnamon (daalchini: Hindi, kayu manis: Malay)
2-3 pcs green cardamom (elaichi: Hindi, photo: Sindhi, buah pelaga: Malay)
3 pcs cloves (laung: Hindi, cengkih: Malay)
2-3 pcs black peppercorns (kaali mirch ka daana: Hindi, biji lada hitam: Indonesian)
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 small onion, blended or chopped finely
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania: Hindi, dhaana: Sindhi, serbuk ketumbar: Indonesian/Malay)
2 tsp biryani masala (can be found prepackaged at any Indian supermarket)
Little lemon juice
Garnish
2 tbsp coriander leaves (dhania patta: Hindi, kotmir: Sindhi, daun ketumbar: Indonesian/Malay), finely chopped
2 tbsp cashew nuts, roasted
12 slices onion, air fried or sautéed
METHOD:
1. Prepare your mock meat first. In a bowl, mix mutton, tenderiser, ginger and garlic paste, as well as lemon juice. Stir well and let it sit for at least 1/2 an hour, to soak up the flavours.
Nasi Minyak (Rice)
1. Heat oil and ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Stir till onion is golden brown.
2. Add very little water, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cover and cook for a little while. The water is only required so that the onions do not burn.
3. Add artificial flavourings and rice; stir well. For best results, you can also add saffron milk as mentioned above.
4. Cook till water vanishes. Keep rice aside.
Mock Meat
1. Heat ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
2. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Mix well and add meat.
3. Add spices, salt and a little water. Mix well, and cover and cook for a little while, so that all the flavours are absorbed.
4. Add lemon juice and biryani masala, mix well and cover for a little while more.
Assembling
1. Put some nasi minyak on one side of the plate.
2. Put some meat on the other side of the plate.
3. Garnish this with coriander, air fried onion and cashew nuts.
4. Serve and enjoy however you like. I served with curried potato, pickles (achar) and fresh homemade yoghurt.
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| Vegetarian Nasi Briyani As prepared by myself (lilpanda108) |
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| Our Former President of Singapore Mr. Sellapan Ramanathan (SR Nathan) 1924-2016 |
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