Ramadan Special Part 2: Celebrity Chef Ili Sulaiman presents 3 Beloved Recipes for Iftar

You’ve just seen Sahur ideas by Ili Sulaiman, now it’s time for her Iftar recipes. For Buka Puasa, she brings you these well-loved, tried and tested, true-blue Ramadan and Eid traditional recipes that every Malaysian loves.

Oh yes, and in this segment of Ramadan Specials, she is going to present Rending too ─ Beef Rendang. No Hari Raya can be complete without it!  Now if you’ve ever wondered how to cook rending to its aromatic perfection, wonder no more!  You have Ili Sulaiman’s step-by-step instructions to guide you from start to finish.

You can enjoy the Rendang on its own or have it to accompany Lontong ─ another traditional dish that will be presented here that is usually eaten during Eid or for Buka Puasa. And then of course, there is the evergreen and always loved Ayam Masak Merah which would pair beautifully with Nasi Tomato. The recipe can be found in Ramadan Special Part 1.

About Celebrity Chef Ili Sulaiman

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[dropcap letter=”T”]o know more about Ili Sulaiman, go check back Ramadan Special Part 1 where she presents three easy Sahur recipes you can whip up in no time.

The effervescent Ili Sulaiman ─ whose mum is half-Chinese and half-English and whose dad is half Sri Lankan and half-Malay ─ was once a corporate lady, did you know? Well, she’s hung those power suits up in exchange for an apron eversince she made it big on the cooking scene back in 2015 when she hosted her first cooking show called Diary Mangkuk Tingkat Bersama Ili which aired on Astro.

She hasn’t looked back since and has gone on to host a slew of cooking shows of her own including the Asian Food Network’s series ─ Home Cooked: Malaysia and Family Feast with Ili.

She is famous in publications too and is the darling of many newspapers and magazines ─ including the one where she was dubbed The Dapur Goddess by The Sundaily and where she was the covergirl said to be steering Malaysia’s name to global heights through food on Prestige Magazine. On her own, Ili Sulaiman has shared her home-style cooking in a hot-selling cookbook called For the Love of Food.

Ili Sulaiman’s increasing popularity has found her an amazing Instagram following of over 100,000 followers (at last count). She has been very occupied sharing video shows, tutorials and cooking ideas and recipes with her fans online. In fact, with cooking set to be going on more at home especially with the extension of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) till June 9, 2020, Ili Sulaiman is nowadays, busier than ever.

“I’m just shooting a lot of videos and sharing a recipe a day with my followers. I’ve also been testing out new recipes and sharing old content, because everyone’s cooking so much more now, which is great. So this is the perfect time to share insights so people don’t stop cooking even after all this is over,” she says, referring to the pandemic.

And so, without further gilding the lily, here she is and here they are ─ Ili Sulaiman’s beloved traditional recipes for Iftar. Get those pans out and let’s start cooking!

Vegetarian Lontong

Lontong is a familiar dish often eaten during the Eid month. Not only is it creamy and comforting, it’s so easy to make!  Ili says you can eat it on its own or have it on the side with Beef Rendang, which will be shown below.

• Creator: dishbyili
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Minutes
• Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

For Frying

• 1 Packet of Square Tofu, cut into triangles
• 1 Packet of Tempe, cut into cubes
• 5 Dried Chilies, soaked in hot water
• 5 Red Chilies
• 2 Inch of Ginger
• 5 Cloves of Garlic
• 6 Red Onions

For Lontong

• 2 Pieces of 1 Inch Galangal
• 2 Pieces of Lemongrass
• 400ml of Coconut Milk
• 1 Teaspoon of Turmeric
• 500ml of Water
• 1 Carrot, Chopped Batonet
• 5 Long Beans, Chopped Long
• 1/4 Small Pumpkin, Chopped
• 1/4 Cabbage, Chopped in Squares
• A Handful of Soohoon (Glass Noodles)
• 2 Sheets of Fuchuk (Beancurd Skin), cut into squares

Instructions

1. In a frying pan with oil, fry up the tempe and tofu until golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
2. In a blender, blend up the dried chilies, red chilies, onions and garlic to a fine paste.
3. Using the same oil you used to fry the tofu and tempe, pour it into a pot and heat up.
4. Once oil is hot, pour in the blended chili paste and cook until the colour darkens. Add in some salt, turmeric powder, galangal and lemongrass. Continue cooking for 1 minutes
5. Next, pour in the coconut milk along with some water and stir.
6. Once boiling, add in the carrots, long beans, cabbage and pumpkins. Let it simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
7. Then, add in some soohoon, and fuchuk. Cover and let it continue to simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Once done, turn off the fire and serve it over some compressed rice cakes (nasi impit).

Tip:

Lontong can be eaten with a side of some delicious Rendang or sambal sotong (see below).

Ayam Masak Merah

Ayam Masak Merah is the food to Buka Puasa with. It is usually eaten with Nasi Tomato and a side of fresh Malay salad (ulam), but even if it is eaten with hot, fluffy white rice, it’ll hit the spot just the same! Second helpings please!

• Creator: dishbyili
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Minutes
• Yield: 5-6

Ingredients

• 1 Whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces
• Salt
• 1 Tablespoon of Tumeric Powder
• 6 Onion
• 6 Garlic
• 2-3 Inches Ginger
• 5-6 Fresh Red Chilies
• 2-3 Birds Eyes Chili
• 2 Stalks of Lemongrass
• 2-3 Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 1 can Tomato Puree
• 1 Fresh Tomatoes
• Salt and Sugar
• Water

Instructions

1. In a bowl, put in all the chopped chicken. Marinate the chicken evenly with salt and turmeric powder. Set aside.
2. Blitz together the onions, garlic, fresh red chilies and birds eye chili.
3. Grind the ginger and smash the lemongrass with the back of a knife.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil until golden on all sides. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
5. Remove the oil from the skillet, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Cook and stir the chili paste with ginger until fragrant.
6. Add in the tomato puree and stir in some water,adding more if needed.
7. Add in the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a boil.
8. Add in all the chicken, salt and sugar and let it simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and lastly toss in the tomatoes and cook for another 5 mins. Serve hot.

Tip:

Ili says you could choose to even add in some green peas to this Ayam Masak Merah dish. Add in some sliced onions just about two minutes before the dish is cooked to add a slight crunch to your Ayam Masak Merah dish.

Rendang Daging

Rendang Daging is a stewed beef dish typically made during Ramadan or during the Eid festive season. It is usually eaten alongside lemang and nasi impit. Rendang is a must-have during Hari Raya because it has become such a tradition! Cook it up and have it shared or sent out to your loved ones and relatives if they are not there with you during the festive season.

• Creator: dishbyili
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 2 Hours
• Total Time: 2 Hours
• Yield: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 kg beef, sliced thinly
• 4 Cups of Thick Coconut Milk
• 250g of Grated Coconut to make Kerisik (grated, toasted and ground coconut)
• 3 Turmeric leaves, slice finely
• 3 Kaffir lime leaves, slice finely
• Salt to taste

Spice Blend

• 30 Dried chilies, soaked in hot water and discard seeds
• 6 Shallots
• 4 Cloves of Garlic
• 5 cm Ginger
• 4 Stalks of Lemongrass
• 2cm Galangal
• 2cm Turmeric Root
• Salt and sugar to taste

Instructions

1. To make the kerisik, toast the grated coconut in a dry pan over low heat. Stir constantly until the coconut becomes golden brown and set aside.
2. Blend the spice ingredients until fine. Put the beef, spice blend, and coconut milk in a pot and stir over medium heat and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and cook until the gravy thickens. Add kerisik, tumeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves, salt and sugar to taste. Cook until the meat becomes tender and the gravy is thick, for about 2-3 hours over low heat.  Make sure to stir it every once in a while to avoid the bottom getting burned.
4. Once done, slice up some kunyit leaves very thinly and mix it in together with the rendang.
5. Serve with a side of lemang or nasi impit.

Tip:

Ili Sulaiman says The trick to making sure your beef gets super soft and tender is to cook the rendang over low heat for a long time.

All recipes and images by Dish By Ili

If you’d like to find out more about Ili Sulaiman, do visit her Facebook fan page or go to Instagram by @DishByIli + @ilisulaiman.

Don’t forget to check out all things Ramadan for your family by checking back at Motherhood.com.my.