For the love of herbs
Author finds poetic and practical routes to encourage people to grow, use and learn about local herbs.
SITTING on the wooden swing tied to a tree branch near the edge of the jungle in Penang, the little girl relished the tickling of the pegaga
(a local herb) beneath her feet. It is a warm memory and one filled with wonder.
At that time, little Umi didn’t understand why her parents loved to eat pegaga, which was so bitter. Decades later, Dr Umi Kalthum Ngah finds herself writing about
pegaga and many other local herbs.
An academic at the Engineering Campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia for 34 years, Umi has since retired and obtained another degree, a Bachelor’s with Honours in Psychology. The grandmother of five is the author and illustrator of 30 fiction and self-help books. Her latest, published late last year, are Di Laman Herba and Herba Selangor Warisan Rahsia Bonda,
her first foray into herbs and food.
Di Laman Herba features illustrations of 26 herbs accompanied by a short pantun (Malay poem) describing each herb and its benefits.
“Our youngsters need to be taught to at least recognise these herbs,” explains Umi, 63, as she talks about her books in a Zoom call from her home in Seberang Perai, Penang.
She relates a story about asking her brother to get pandan leaves from her garden.
“He brought back tiger lily leaves instead!”
Although it seems funny, at the time Umi was puzzled.
She then realised that many don’t know what pandan leaves look like. The festive season offers the perfect opportunity to introduce the new generation to the world of local herbs in the kitchen.
Umi will be celebrating Hari Raya with her family in Bangi, Selangor. Her son who works in Mexico is visiting for a month. Umi will be cooking a family favourite, her mother’s chicken rendang.
Local herbs will also be used to spice up the Hari Raya meals.
She emphasises the importance of learning about herbs and even planting them ourselves.
“If you buy ginger, you can’t buy the small amount that you intend to use. You have to buy it in bulk. So, you may use a little bit and the rest would probably just go to waste. Why not just plant it yourself?” she asks.
She admits to loving art as a child but never having had the opportunity to pursue it when she got older. Inspired by the late Dr Gwen Smith who carved out a second career in writing later in her life, Umi decided to learn illustration after retirement. And who better to teach her than the best? She was lucky that renowned artist and illustrator, the late Yusof Gajah, took her under his wing.
“Pak Yusof was a very thorough person. Every time I showed him a drawing, he would tell me to do it again,” says Umi, chuckling at her mentor’s perfectionism.
It was Yusof who suggested that Umi start drawing herbs from her garden. Then came the inspiration to write and illustrate Di Laman Herba. He was also the reason for Umi’s decision to write the book in the form of poems. He introduced Umi to an editor, Datuk Hajah Zaiton Ajamain who specialises in poems. Zaiton liked the idea and was willing to help her with this project.
Coincidentally, while Umi was illustrating and writing Di Laman Herba, she was approached by Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib for a book project involving herbs.
“Saari Sungib contacted me and my friends at Pertubuhan Penulis Isu-isu Wanita about this and asked for my help,” explains Umi. Saari had launched a few community gardens around Hulu Kelang and he wanted to encourage more people to develop community gardens in their neighbourhoods.
Umi took on the project as the co-ordinator, working with several writers to bring the project to fruition.
Herba Selangor Warisan Rahsia Bonda has articles, insights, recipes and tips about herbs. The book contains recipes by Bonda Siti Fatimah Mohd Nor, a traditional Malay midwife. Within the community, Bonda Fatimah is recognised as an expert on herbs. Her recipes are valuable and they are her legacy; many of the recipes are for general good health and have been used by past generations.
Umi says the book was written to encourage the concept of a community garden. Mainly aimed to help the B40 community, the gardens provide access to herbs or other vegetables that can be planted there. The community garden is not just therapeutic for those who love to get their hands dirty and grow plants; it also allows neighbours to bond as a community.
According to Umi, her team worked on this book during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, which provided unique challenges. They had to wait until the lockdown eased just to get a photo of Bonda Fatimah.
Umi hopes that readers would use her books as a guide to educate themselves about local herbs and maybe take the initiative to start their own herb garden.
“Herbs are a must for mealtimes in my family,” says Umi. She trained her grandchildren to acquire a taste for herbs by starting small. Her children and grandchildren grew up eating raw herbs, called ulam in Malay.
Di Laman Herba is available at oyezbookstore.com or The Museum of Picture Book Art in GMBB in KL. Herba Selangor Warisan Bonda can be bought at Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat Adun Hulu Kelang or via Whatsapp at 013-284 7892.