Bubur Kapur a signature offering at Kpg Hilir Ramadan bazaar
SIBU: It is usually during Ramadan that local food lovers would find unique culinary treats that are not available at any other month.
One peculiar example is the ‘ Bubur Kapur’, which literally translates as ‘Lime Porridge’ and in this case, it does not refer to the green citrus fruit in any way.
“It is actually the lime (calciumbased alkaline paste) used as accompaniment to the betel nut and leaf, consumed by the local natives who would occasionally spit out the blood-red juice that is formed as a result of the mixing and repeated chewing of the three ingredients.
“It may sound bizarre, but I have been selling ‘Bubur Kapur’ for years now and every year, the demand for it keeps rising,” Dinah Japar – a hawker at Kampung Hilir Ramadan bazaar – told The Borneo Post here.
It was quite difficult to interview the 57-year- old yesterday as she was busy packing her specialty porridge and entertaining the endless stream of customers at her stall.
“As you can see, my ‘ Bubur Kapur’ is selling way better than hot cakes,” she quipped.
Dinah said she would only sell the porridge during Ramadan month – a period when she would experience brisk business.
Her ‘ Bubur Kapur’ is divided into two types – the one using plain sugar and the other with ‘gula apong’ ( palm sugar). Each packet goes for RM2.
On average, Dinah – who has been a food vendor for over 10 years – sells 100 packets every day throughout the fasting month.
Asked on the preparation of this unique sweet dish, she said the whole process would take two days.
“I pour the ‘kapur’ into a large pot and simmer it over slow fire until the paste thickens further to a point that it is gummy in texture. After that, I pass the mixture through a sieve before leaving it rest overnight.
“The next day, I simmer the ‘santan’ (coconut milk) to avoid it from getting spoilt easily. After that, I mix them (the ‘kapur’ and the ‘santan’) together and let the mixture cool before packing it,” she said, adding that her customers seem to prefer the ‘gula apong’ variety to the plain sugar one.
Meanwhile, many youths here are taking the initiative to help their parents sell various ‘ buka puasa’ ( break- of- fast) treats at their respective stalls in Kampung Hilir Ramadan bazaar.
Anyone making a stop at the ‘kuih’ ( local cakes) stall manned by Muhd Haziq Mud would definitely be spoilt for choice.
However, the 19-year-old quickly pointed out the traditional ‘Kuih Bungkur’ as the hot favourite among his customers.
Much like ‘ Bubur Kapur’, one could only find ‘Kuih Bungkur’ in abundance during Ramadan.
“Everybody loves ‘ Kuih Bungkur’ because of its awesome combination of flavours – the rich and fatty taste of the coconut milk, the velvety texture of the rice flour and the fragrant sweetness of the ‘gula apong’,” he said.
However Haziq – a native of Kampung Hilir – lamented about the insufficient supply of banana leaves, which are used to wrap ‘Kuih Bungkur’.
“On average, we sell about 120 pieces of ‘Kuih Bungkur’ per day – each sells for only 50 sen,” he said.
Muhd Izzanie Hakimi Rajli, 12, who hails from Kampung Datu Lama here, is helping his parents sell their homemade soy drink.
“Many have said that our homemade soy drink is very delicious – more delicious than the ones sold at the market.
“It has a rich and sweet taste, and we produce fresh batches every day. That is why our customers love it – many would buy more than one bottle,” he said, adding that a small bottle sells for RM1.50, while the large bottle is RM4.