Kampung Kepayang’s much sought-after Ramadan treat
IPOH: If Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur has its famous bubur lambuk, Kampung Kepayang in Fair Park, here, has its own ‘kanji’ which is sought-after by the locals come the Ramadan month.
This particular delicacy, which is a type of porridge, has rice, pulses and nuts as its main ingredients.
Only available during the fasting month, it is painstakingly prepared by the staff of the 100-year-old Masjid Al-Khairiah in Kampung Kepayang, and served free of charge to the kampung community and others who drop by the mosque.
“The tradition of making this kanji started in the late 1940s and it used to be prepared by the village elders. Back then, they used to cook it in a small pot and only serve it to the congregation,” recalled Mohd Isa Mohd, 79 years old.
Mohd Isa, who used to be a cook at an army camp here, is among the ‘old-timers’ who are involved in the annual affair of preparing and serving the Ramadan treat. He himself has been involved in it for 60 years.
The ingredients for the kanji are as follows: rice, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, ginger, groundnuts, peas, dhall, coconut milk, ghee, chives and Chinese celery. No meat or chicken is used but dried prawns are added to the concoction to make it more delectable.
On why the dish was simply called kanji, Mohd Isa said: “Actually I don’t know how its name came about. Our elders called it kanji and we followed suit.
“It was probably called kanji because of its texture because after the ingredients are cooked, the mixture becomes quite thick and sticky.”
He said 60 years ago, the mosque workers only cooked a small pot of kanji, which was served to the congregation who broke their fast there.
These days, however, two cauldron-full of porridge have to be prepared daily to meet the overwhelming demand from the public.
It takes about two-and-a-half hours to cook two cauldrons of the kanji, which requires about 30 kilogrammes of rice and can serve 200 people.
The kanji is cooked over a wood stove, with the cooks preferring to use rubber wood as fuel as it lends a distinctive aroma to the dish.
“Its taste and aroma just won’t be the same if it is cooked on a gas stove,” pointed out Mohd Isa.
It costs about RM500 to prepare two cauldrons of the kanji, with the kampung residents taking turns to bear the expenses.
Kampung Kepayang’s kanji has attracted quite a large following, with people coming from all over the state - Meru, Tanjung Rambutan, Gunung Rapat, Chemor and Buntong - to get their share of the Ramadan speciality.
“In fact, there’s one person who comes all the way from Taiping every day to pack some kanji to take home,” said the mosque caretaker Mohd Basir Mohd Tahir, 49 years old.
Rahim@ Umar Din, 75, from Gunung Rapat said the Kampung Kepayang kanji has been his favourite Ramadan meal since 40 years ago and he eats it when breaking fast. - Bernama