When I was kid, I had always loved the month of Ramadhan. It is a whole month of seemingly endless home-cooked meal, prepared with love hours before berbuka. There is rarely a bleak day where all the festive food was served full of colours with wafts of delicious aroma.
These days, however, as I enter the realm of the working adult, I find it difficult to have a proper meal at home. We often must make do with what we have, in terms of time and budget, and try our best to recreate those delicious home-cooked meals.
At Butterkicap we recognise how often we get strapped down with little time and tighter budgets, and have listed out 5 easy and affordable recipes that can help you recreate wholesome meals at home on the go and on the cheap, especially for you to break fast with in this fasting month of Ramadhan.
1. Nasi Goreng
Nasi goreng,, be it Nasi Goreng Kampung or Nasi Goreng Cina is an easy recipe to make especially when one is short on time and money. For this particular list, we have decided to share with you the recipe of our very own Nasi Goreng Biasa as we believe it is one of the easiest form of nasi goreng to make for Ramadhan meal and it has the magic Butterkicap touch in it.
Want the recipe? Get it here!
Total cost: RM 7.83
Cooking time: 20mins
2. Cucur Ikan bilis
Cucur ikan bilis is an easy snack to prepare. Not only it is cheap, it is also not time consuming. In this age of innovation and technology, companies are coming out with an easy way to cook food. If you were to go to the market, you can find a variety of cucur ikan bilis mixture brand in colourful packets with a selection of flavour and taste. For this article, Butterkicap have decided to share with you the best cucur ikan bilis from scratch.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of flour (RM2.39/200g)
- 2 cups of anchovies (RM2.00)
- 1 bunch of chives – finely chopped (RM1.00)
- ¾ cups of Holland onion – chopped in cubes. (RM1.69)
- 1 red chili (RM 0.20)
- ¼ tea spoon of bicarbonate soda (RM0.10)
- 1 tablespoon of sugar (RM 0.04)
- 1 tablespoon of salt (RM0.02)
- ¼ tablespoon of turmeric (RM0.02)
- ½ cups of hot boiled water
- 1 ½ cup of room temperature water (250ml)
Total: RM7.46
Method:
- Mix all the dry ingredients above. Pour a little amount of water into the mixture till the mixture reaches the desired viscosity.
- If the mixture is too runny, add in ½ cup of flour little by little. Add in hot water and let the bicarbonate soda to rise.
- Heat up the oil in the wok and fry the mixture. Wait till it is golden brown, take it out from the oil and let out the excess oil.
- Put it aside and then serve it when it is time for break-fasting. *
*Cucur ikan bilis is best served hot and best eaten with its own sauce.
Cooking time: 15 mins
3. Ayam Goreng Berempah
One of the ways to make a Ramadhan meal much more fulfilling is by having fried chicken. BUT, not just any normal fried chicken. Ayam goreng berempah is the king of all fried chicken. It makes every bite leaves wanting more. Apart from being easy to be prepared, it is one of those dishes that goes perfectly well with almost everything. Want our version of ayam goreng berempah, get it here!
Total: RM 17.37
Cooking time: 1 hour
4. Mushroom Soup
Mushroom soup is one of those heart-warming meal that can balance the oily and fried dishes that you’re having for berbuka. It is not only a healthy meal but it is an easy meal to prepare for those who are busy working adults.
Ingredients:
- 400g of oyster mushroom (cut in small pieces) (RM4.80)
- 10 fish balls (to be cut into 2) (RM0.60)
- 3 cloves of red onion (chopped finely)(RM1.69)
- 2 cloves of garlic (RM0.03)
- ½ spoonsful of dry shrimp (soaked & remove the excess water) (RM1.50)
- 100 ml of water
- ¼ white pepper
- ¼ salt
Total: RM8.62
Methods:
- Heat up the oil in the wok. Fry the garlic and onion till fragrant and then add in the dried shrimp. Fry the mixture till the shrimp turns golden brown.
- Next, add in water, salt and the white pepper to the mixture.
- After, the mushroom has been chopped into small pieces, add it in with the mixture with the fish ball. Mix well till the mushroom has withered.
- Taste and if needed, add in salt. Served it in a bowl while it’s still hot and add in the fried onion.
Cooking time: 15 mins
5. Dadih
Instead of buying expensive pannacota, why not make an easy, simple and cheap Malay-style pannacota, popularly known here in Malaysia as dadih. Dadih is made by freezing flavoured buttermilk as dessert. Want to try making one? Try the recipe below.
Ingredients:
- ½ pack of agar-agar (RM3.50)
- 1 ½ cup of sugar (RM0.96)
- 3000ml of water
- 200gm of milk powder (RM1.06)
- strawberry flavor colouring (RM1.00)
Total: RM 6.52
Method:
- Add in the agar-agar with 2,000ml of water till it boils and dissolves.
- Next, mix the flour with the flavour colouring. Mix well till it comes to a boil.
- The mixture is then pour into a cup in which it should be cooled down before put it in the fridge.
- Only take it out from the fridge when you want to serve it.
Cooking time: 15 mins
So, there you go, our shortlist for a full course meal from a light starter to a yummy dessert that will only cost you less than RM50. We hope even with a modest budget and limited cooking time, you will be able to have and enjoy a fulfilling Ramadhan meal.
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