The rise in popularity of Indian food among the diverse communities in Miri
Photo shows a spicy briyani set, accompanied by a simple ‘achar’ (marinated vegetables) and ‘papadum’ (crispy crackers made from legume-based flour like lentils or chickpeas).
EVEN during the current Movement Control Order (MCO) period, food remains among the things that everyone is still prioritising over.
The takeaway system is now the new norm when it comes to food, as Mirians can continue to enjoy their picks of culinary delights – thanks to the availability of food delivery apps, namely the two most popular ones, Food Panda and Grab Food.
We are already accustomed to motorcyclists, either those donning the signature pink T-shirts or wearing the bright green ones, zooming past the traffic or waiting at eateries to collect customers’ orders.
We can also see takeaway promotions splashed over billboards or the sides of big vehicles like express buses, and not to forget, the annoying pop-ups whenever we surf over the Internet.
Actually, we are still spoilt for choice, even during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Local city resident R Ang tells the writer: “I am glad that Miri street food scene has now entered the Covid-19 version. My life as an office worker has become more stressful than ever.
“Because I am single, I need to eat out. I am presently boarding with my relatives, but I don’t eat with them. So takeaways are the only answer to my lifestyle.
“I have not begun using Food Panda yet as I can still queue up at the restaurant to collect my order and bring it to the office, or home. It’s quite convenient for me.
“I love variety in my food, and among my favourites is Indian food, which is more than just ‘roti canai’.”
For this feature, the writer intends to highlight the popularity of Indian food among the diverse communities in Miri. It is worth reporting that there only about 1,000 Indians living in Miri, comprising the local-born folk and the expatriates.
‘The popular flatbread’
Roti canai are very popular among Mirians, especially during breakfast time (during non-MCO times, of course). In pre-pandemic times when dining-in was allowed, roti canai stalls had always been crowded.
Still, during the MCO, these stalls are always ready to whip out takeaways within minutes as batches of pre-kneaded dough are already on standby in huge basins, ready to be cooked over the hotplate whenever an order comes.
Very seldom do we see slow-moving cooks and servers at these stalls – they have been trained to work very fast.
A local roti canai lover, who wants to be identified only as ‘Ariffin’, tells thesundaypost that he could easily get a good stack of the flatbreads in less than 10 minutes at a stall in Morsjaya.
“After that, I would be on my way home, not far from this stall.”
Ariffin said the roti canai stall in Morsjaya had been of great help for him and his family throughout the lockdown period.
“This stall is clean, serving an array of freshly-cooked dishes ready by 11am every day.
“But for a family of five, having several roti canai is already good enough as my wife can easily prepare some cucumbers with a side of ‘sambal belacan’.
“At work, my office has not been fully staffed throughout the year – more than half of us are working from home.
“Thus, having takeaways is a simple way of fulfilling our craving for street food, and it is time-saving too.”
‘A set each of idli and poori, please’
Saguna busy preparing food at her stall.
Madam Saguna’s stall operation is a one-woman show, but she is capable of cooking for more than 150 diners every day, except on Sunday.
Her usual working day starts at 5am, beginning with the preparation of the ingredients and other must-haves for her much sought-after offerings such as ‘poori’ (deep-fried bread), ‘idli’ (savoury rice cakes), ‘chapati’ (also a flatbread, but sturdier than roti canai), green curry, fish curry and ‘resam’ (spicy sweet-sour broth) – just to name a few.
Locals and expatriates always crowd her stall for their ‘tapau’ (takaways), as parking is convenient at this section of Jalan Padang Kerbau, near Miri Hospital.
A diner’s view of the spacious Coconut Grove Food Court near Miri Hospital.
Saguna’s stall is set up inside a food court managed by a Foochow man surnamed ‘Sia’, who handles the drinks and also the ‘Chinese Economy Food’ section.
Despite the busy atmosphere, Sia maintains his friendly demeanour and strives to make all his customers happy and wanting to return to the food court again and again.
The eatery itself is a spacious property, with a breezy-cool ambience and the premises being surrounded mainly by coconut trees.
The banner at Saguna’s stall shows her main menu items.
Prior to setting up her stall last year, Saguna never thought of becoming a food operator in Miri. She used to cook food to be offered to the Indian temple at Taman Tunku during special occasions or religious ceremonies. From time to time, the temple committee would offer free food to the devotees, especially during thanksgiving sessions.
It was probably from there that many people began to know about Saguna’s delicious food and encourage her to open her business.
Opportunity later knocked – Sia, the food court boss, offered Saguna a stall at a very special rental rate.
Her menu prices are also very reasonable – a set of ‘Nasi Lemak’ is only RM3; with a few more ringgit, you can add a special assortment of meats into the order.
For a quite-fulfilling takeaway meal, the price can go up to RM11.
Betty Wong, a nurse from Miri Hospital, says it is always a joy for her going to Saguna’s stall.
“Even though she is working alone, the waiting time is never too long. Usually, my order comprises up to five different takeaway sets for myself and my friends at the hospital, and all of them would be ready within minutes.
Saguna’s special ‘Indian Green Curry’ incorporates lots of fresh herbs and spices.
“Her food is really nice and I can taste all the spices that she uses. She’s definitely not stingy with her spices.”
According to Saguna, she always sources her key ingredients directly from India and Kuala Lumpur.
She also discloses one fact – a decent dhal (lentil) curry is never meant to be ‘hot and spicy’.
“You can make it spicier by adding more dried chillies, but the recipe itself does not make the dhal curry hot.”
Wong is a true fan of Saguna’s lentil dish.
“Saguna cooks the lentils in a special way. Her dhal dish is not watery, and she adds some potatoes, tomatoes and carrots into it,” says the nurse, adding that she could also buy extra packets of lentils from Saguna.
Saguna only makes her pooris upon order to maintain flavour and freshness. Her set is accompanied with chutney and curry.
This unleavened whole-wheat flatbread is usually eaten for breakfast, or as a snack or a light meal.
According to former Miri Hospital director Dr Uma Devi, pooris are also served at the temple along with other vegetarian dishes.
Saguna’s vegetarian item, Indian-Style Beansprouts, is usually reserved for the early birds, or for special pre-orders.
“Pooris are especially tasty and flavourful because a chef can add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and other spices when rolling the fresh dough. Each flatbread is deep-fried in ghee or vegetable oil – each piece would puff up like a ball in the hot fat.
“When eaten fresh out of the pan, a well-made poori could give one that great sense of well-being,” says Dr Uma.
Saguna’s idli set comes with dhal curry and chutney, but customers can request for extra accompaniments too.
Saguna also has an ‘idli’ set in her menu. The batter consists of fermented black lentils and ground rice, which is best left overnight before filling it into moulds and putting them into a steamer.
The fermentation breaks down the starches, so idli is a very healthy food, even for people with sensitive tummies.
Just like her poori set, Saguna serves her idlis with dhal curry and chutney, but customers can request for extra accompaniments too.
Indian takeaways at Permyjaya
In Permyjaya, there are quite a number of Indian food outlets in the rapidly-growing residential area.
One of the residents Julian Anyau says for his household, they would order takeaways during the day as the family would only cook for dinner.
“My wife is a teacher, so we need to fit things according to her schedule during this time of the pandemic.
“I can watch over the cooks at the restaurant as they prepare the order. I must ensure that they maintain a very high level of hygiene.
“During this MCO period, we choose Indian food due to convenience – the orders only take a few minutes to be prepared and the location of the restaurant is very near to my house,” says Julian.
‘Briyani Pansuh – A beautiful fusion’
At Beautiful Jade Manis Commercial Centre in Miri city centre, a very interesting new dish is now on the takeaway menu of a Pakistani-owned food outlet.
Named ‘Briyani Pansuh’, the innovative dish is very competitively-priced and with it being featured on the outlet’s takeaway menu, any cityfolk can enjoy this wonderful culinary fusion in the comfort of his own home.
Briyani is already a famous rice dish in Sarawak, with many versions available such as those from India, Pakistan, the Middle East, as well as the African and European continents.
Usually, long-grain rice is used as it is able to absorb more liquid that is already laden with strong flavours such as rosewater, fennel and saffron.
‘Pansuh’, on the other hand, is truly Sarawakian in nature. It connotes a traditional method of cooking, where the ‘vessel’ is a bamboo.
One can pretty much cook anything the ‘pansuh’ way – chicken, pork, fish, rice and game.
Florence Enau, an American who has become a long-time resident in Miri, enjoys having roti canai and some side dishes as takeaways.
She would refry the ‘roti’ to make it crispier – just the way she likes it.
“I like Indian food. Since moving to Miri, I have come to know almost all the Indian food stalls.
“The service is generally good and we can collect our takeaway orders very quickly. We need variety in our food.”
A friend, T Chang, remarks: “Besides all the ‘rotis’, ‘idlis’ and ‘parathas’ (another type of Indian flatbread, not too far different from chapati), we can order chutney, and mutton curry that is cooked in their special spicy ways. We can also enjoy a lot of vegetarian dishes offered by the bigger Indian stalls.
“I used to enjoy sitting down and eating ‘thosai’ (Indian rice crepes) with chutney and dhal.
“Now I miss that relaxing dining time with my friends. I even ‘tapau’ their special ‘marsala chai’ (special spiced tea) if it’s on the menu.
“That special tea comforts me. You must try it.”
Chang also advises us to ‘put more spice into our lives’.
“Spices like cumin, turmeric, garlic and coriander are abundant in many Indian dishes. They help us boost our immune system.”
Who knows – having extra spices in our food might help us fight better against Covid-19.