Ninie Ahmad: Off her yoga mat.

I have been making batches of nasi lemak (staple Malaysian breakfast with ‘fat rice’ as literal translation) using 90% organic ingredients lately for breakfast or brunch on weekends and so far, it has been a hit with my husband, my family and some lucky friends !

How possible (or impossible) is it to make ‘healthier’ nasi lemak?

Organic ‘Nasi Lemak’

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes (seriously!)
Serves: 2 (or double up the ingredients for 4)

What you need:

• 1 cup of rice (I refuse to use organic brown rice for this just because! )
• 1½ cup of organic full-cream milk (but I used low-fat today as I don’t stock full-cream milk at home). RM14.99 per carton from Cold Storage, Bangsar Shopping Centre
• ½ a can of Waitrose Organic plum tomatoes (you may opt to make tomato sauce from scratch but organic tomatoes cost around RM25 for FOUR!) RM6.99 a can from Cold Storage, Bangsar Shopping Centre.
• 2 tablespoons of organic sesame oil (or may use extra virgin olive oil for alternative. Say big NO to vegetable oil already!)

• 1 tablespoon of no-MSG chili paste
• 1 inch of ginger (I can’t seem to find organic ginger in KL ) – halved and bruised
• ¼ organic Japanese cucumber or organic English telegraph cucumber
• ½ a yellow Australian onion, sliced
• 2 pasteurized eggs (or may opt for organic free-range eggs, you can find them at Village Grocer, Bangsar Village. Con: they cost RM33.90 for TEN!)

• 1 fistful of gluten-free organic groundnuts. RM6.99 a packet and can be found at most bigger grocery stores.
• Filtered water, organic sea salt and organic brown sugar to taste and season
• 1 foot wide banana leaf as base
• 3 strands of pandan leaves

Notes:

- I get most of my organic vegetable supply from Jaya Grocer, Empire Subang
- DO NOT add on tamarind (asam jawa) juice if you are using tomatoes like me to prevent overly-sour ’sambal’
- Unless I have guest(s), I exclude ‘ikan bilis‘ (dried small anchovy) as part of the ’sambal’ (chili sauce) and condiments for personal (and household) preference.

How to prepare:

1. In this order, prepare the rice first as it takes about 20 minutes to boil
   • and then boil the eggs which takes about 10 minutes to boil
   • and frying the nuts and making the sambal can be done in between.
2. Rice:
   • Rinse the rice twice and at third rinse, drain the water and add 1½ cup of milk (rule of thumb to cook rice in electric cooker: 1½ cup of water / liquid for every cup of rice). Sprinkle some grinded sea salt and add the ginger. Using the knotted pandan leaves, stir the rice and set to cook in electric rice cooker (fyi, we have THREE O_o as our wedding gifts)
3. Eggs:
   • Fill the pot with ¾ full of water and carefully place the eggs using a strainer (to prevent premature crack) before the water starts to boil. Add salt to speed up the process.
4. Groundnuts:
   • Using medium heat (7 from 10 on ceramic stovetop), heat up the pan and pour sesame oil (I personally feel sesame oil is best used when frying nutty and fish based sauce, grapeseed oil for low-smoke and olive oil for pasta sauce / dressing). Carefully throw a string of onions to season and fry the groundnuts until its colour turn a hairline darker.
   • Filter the nuts and lay on two layers of kitchen roll for excess oil absorption. Sprinkle some grinded sea salt for seasoning.
5. ‘Sambal’:
   • Using the same pan and oil from frying the nuts, sautee the onion in medium heat (7 from 10 on ceramic stovetop).
   • Carefully add chili paste and stir evenly for one minute.
   • Pour half a can of plum tomato broth onto the sauteed onion and chili paste. Season with a pinch of brown sugar and sea salt. Add two plum tomatoes and crush using your spatula and stir the mixture for a minute.
   • Set heat at low (3 from 10 on ceramic stovetop) and let it season for a couple of minutes before turning the heat off.
6. At this point, switch off heat for the eggs and drain the water. Under tap water, peel its skin and cut into halves or quarters.
7. Using bamboo spatula, stir the rice to even out ‘fat’ from the milk and serve rice in a bowl with banana leaf as a base.
8. Serve rice piping hot.

There we have it – guaranteed heathier, cleaner, MSG-free
and most importantly, made-with-love organic nasi lemak!

Try it this weekend?

From THE SUN, Thursday July 8, 2010

Yoga instructor Ninie Ahmad offers eating tips to stay healthy and trim

by Anansa Jacob

Have you ever given a thought to what it means to have a balanced breakfast? That is, if at all you take time out to have breakfast. Quite a number of people skip breakfast entirely, either because of time constraints, or because they do not think it is important.

For celebrity yoga instructor Ninie Ahmad, the idea of skipping breakfast is a cardinal sin. Although not a trained nutritionist, the vegetarian has read up a lot about nutrition and healthy living, and firmly believes that we are what we eat.

“I read this saying once: ‘Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a prince and eat dinner like a pauper’,” she said. “It means that we should eat the most at the start of the day, (so) we’ll have the energy to work or be active. At night, we should eat less as our bodies will soon be resting.”

Ninie met us for breakfast at the Pappa Rich restaurant at The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur. On the menu was a selection of Pappa Rich favourites, all traditional Malaysian breakfast dishes.

We had Pappa curry laksa special with foo chok, Pappa char kuey teow, Ipoh kuey teow soup with steamed chicken, chicken porridge, otak-otak, roti bakar and roti stim with butter and kaya, half-boiled eggs and Pappa nasi lemak.

“Someone once asked me if it was healthy to eat nasi lemak, because I was seen having it every morning for breakfast,” she said. “To me, it depends on what you have with the nasi lemak. A simple one, with just boiled egg and sambal is actually okay.

“Nasi lemak is okay for me because I know I’m going to be using up all those calories throughout the day.”

She also thinks people should choose their breakfast meals carefully. “For instance, nasi lemak is a healthier choice than roti canai, because of all the bad oil in roti canai. But I sometimes crave for roti canai, so I do eat it occasionally.”

She explained that a craving is a sign that our bodies lack certain nutrients, “but if you have roti canai every morning, then that’s not a craving!”

She also pointed out the various positive aspects of the other dishes in the restaurant’s breakfast menu.

Half-boiled eggs are a good protein boost, as is otak-otak. The little bit of santan in the laksa is balanced out by the vegetables. As for the only ‘risky’ dish, char kuey teow, Ninie emphasised that moderation is the way to go.

“I’m not saying you should cut it out altogether, just that you need to have it rarely, or in small portions.”

Eating moderately spicy food for breakfast is also a good thing. “Spicy food helps raise our metabolic rate, which also contributes to weight loss,” Ninie said.

She also pointed out that Pappa Rich, which is one of her favourite places to have breakfast, also carries a range of vegetarian pau, ideal for vegetarians like her. “It’s also a healthier option for those who want to watch their diets.”

As much as possible, she tries to prepare her meals at home. She usually has organic cereals or pancakes for breakfast as they are easy to prepare.

“I normally make nasi lemak if I have a long Sunday ahead of me,” she added.

At the very least, she makes sure to have a blended fruit juice to get a burst of vitamins and fibre in the morning.

Ninie also stressed that the best breakfast is a simple, homecooked meal with a balanced list of ingredients.

“Everyone should make the effort to not only make sure to have breakfast, but to make it a healthy one.

“After all, it’s better to take care of our health now than later when we get ill from eating unhealthy food.”