Malaysian Indian - Cuisine

Cuisine

The contribution of the Indian community in Malaysian cuisine is enormous. Indian cuisine has had a strong influence on traditional Malay cuisine resulting in the popularity of curries in Malaysia. Indian restaurants are well received by Chinese and Malay Malaysians. They have become an important fixture in everyday Malaysian life and is the venue of choice for watching live English football matches. Mamak restaurants and stalls refer to eateries owned and staffed by Indian Muslims. The word 'Mamak' is sometimes erroneously used to describe any Indian restaurant. Roti canai, nasi kandar and rojak pasembor are Indian dishes unique to Malaysia. Nasi kandar is sold exclusively in Indian Muslim restaurants and the sauce recipe is kept secret. Unlike Indian cuisine in the United Kingdom and other Western countries which tend to focus on North Indian cuisine, Indian cuisine in Malaysia is largely based on south Indian cuisine as the Indian diaspora here is overwhelmingly Tamil, although some northern dishes such as tandoori chicken and naan bread are common. Southern breakfast delicacies such as idli, vadai and dosa (spelled in Malaysia as 'thosai') are common. The appam is a favourite breakfast dish in Tamil homes. Idiyappam is known as putu mayam in Malay and usually sold by mobile motorcycle vendors. The murukku is made to mark Deepavali or Christmas. Banana leaf rice meals with various meat dishes and condiments are served in restaurants during lunch and dinner and in Indian households during special occasions. Mutton is highly favoured and served as either varuval (dry curry) or peratal (thick curry). Fried bitter gourd, banana chips, papadam, rasam, yoghurt and pickels are the usual condiments. Deserts and sweets include payasam, halva, mysore pak, palgoa and ghee balls.

• Cendol

• Pasembur, also known as Indian rojak

• A cheese naan

• Butter chicken

• Chennai filter coffee

• Indian version of nasi lemak

• Banana leaf rice

• Masala chai

• Variety of Halva

• Nasi kandar

• Roti tissu