Putting in the hours to make unique Raya pastry
KUALA LUMPUR: Norashikin Zainal Abidin has been making the popular ‘ biskut seroja’ for Hari Raya for nearly three decades now. It is therefore not surprising that the 47-year- old already has an established client base for the flower-shaped pastry.
Orders, however, seemed to have increased this festive season, so much so that she is spending over 12 hours a day catering to it, often even sacrificing her sleep so that orders would be met on time.
This is despite her starting work on Hari Raya orders three months ago. Inspired by a flower The recipe for biskut seroja was passed down to her by her motherin-law, Norsimah Ahmad. It was Norsimah who named the pastry ‘biskut seroja’, drawing inspiration from the beauty of the ‘seroja’ (lotus) flower.
Norashikin used to assist her mother-in-law in completing Hari Raya orders for the pastry before venturing into the business on her own. Prior to that, Norashikin held a job in the banking sector but resigned in 2004 to cope with the increasing number of biskut seroja orders. She started producing the pastry full-time 12 years ago.
With a little help from the Agriculture Department, she built a workshop behind her house in 2005 to facilitate mass production. She also bought an industrial mixer to aid the process.
“The process of making biskut seroja is intricate and requires a high degree of patience. I usually am able to produce only about 20,000 pieces for Hari Raya,” she told Bernama in an interview recently. A unique Raya pastry Making the pastry is rather labour-intensive as each pastry piece is shaped by hand.
Petal shapes are cut out of dough made of flour and butter before being fashioned together to form a flower. A filling of peanut butter, chocolate or pineapple paste will then be piped into the centre of the flower.
The complexity of the process forces Norashikin to limit the number of orders taken at any given time. She would need to spend over 10 hours to produce just 300 pieces of biskut seroja, working with one staff from morning until well into the evening.
“That is why I had to reject many orders for Hari Raya this year as I simply did not have the capacity to fulfil them,” she said.
At the moment, Norashikin is hoping to purchase a machine that can automatically cut out the petal shapes in order to reduce production time. A family recipe Norashikin first learned to make biskut seroja after marrying her husband Ruzlan Rose Abd Rashid in 1991.
Her mother-in-law used to serve the delicious pastry to guests during Hari Raya. Enamoured guests raved about the taste and enquired the recipe. Norsimah eventually agreed to accept orders for small quantities from her neighbours.
“My mother-in-law obtained the recipe when she was staying at the army quarters in Johor in the 1970s, when accompanying my father-inlaw who was stationed there.
“When my father-in-law retired and returned home, the biskut seroja made by mother-in-law continued to be the delight of guests who loved its beautiful shape and taste,” she shared.
Never the one to be stingy with her knowledge, her mother-in-law taught the villagers the recipe and technique of making the pastry.
Today, many in Jelebu know how to make pastry thanks to her. Norashikin herself would help her mother-in-law complete orders for Hari Raya. When Hari Raya comes around, many would be proudly serving the highly- sought after pastry.
“However, not many were willing to make it themselves as the work process is highly complicated, especially when it comes to shaping the petals,” she said. — Bernama