KUANTAN, April 16 (Bernama) -- Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah made bubur lambuk as the special dish to be distributed to the inmates of the Penor prison as part of their breaking of the fast menu today.

In jest, the Queen said she called the porridge made from coconut milk, dried shrimp, fish, and vegetables ‘Bubur Che Minah Sayang’ after her name.

"In Pahang, bubur lambuk is the one with leaves, but in KL (Kuala Lumpur) porridge (filled with meat) is also called bubur lambuk. So, I want to change the name, I do not want to call it bubur lambuk anymore... (but call it) Bubur Che Minah because Tuanku Agong (Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) calls me Che Minah.

"Hopefully it tastes good with sufficient flavour, since we are all fasting, we can't taste it," said Tunku Azizah when met at the bubur lambuk-making ceremony held at the prison’s weaving workshop here today.

Also present were the Prisons director-general Datuk Nordin Muhamad, Pahang Prisons director Datuk Abu Hasan Hussain and Penor prison director Fayrouz Ahmad Zawawi.

Tunku Azizah said she was fulfilling the promise she had made to the inmates involved in the prison’s weaving workshop (Tenun Pahang weavers) to cook for them, adding that since it is the fasting month she decides to cook for all inmates.

The Queen also wished that such a programme could be an annual event involving other prisons.

At the event, three large-sized pots were used to prepare the dish to produce more than 2,500 bowls of bubur lambuk.

Meanwhile, an inmate known as Fauzi, 42, who has been in the prison for 16 years said it was different from the porridge he used to eat in his hometown in Sarawak, adding cooking the dish with other inmates is a delightful experience, especially during the fasting month.

Another inmate, Arif, 45, who will be celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri for the 22nd time in the prison said it was a new experience as he had never bought or cooked bubur lambuk before despite coming from Shah Alam, Selangor and having lived in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, which is popular with the dish during Ramadan.

"Fortunately, I had the experience of helping to make dodol before... as bubur lambuk also needs to be constantly stirred so it doesn’t get crusty," he said.

A non-Muslim Kuantan native, Seelan, 28, described his task as the ‘hardest’ as he was assigned to be the 'taster' to ensure it has enough flavour, adding that the experience is among his good memories in the prison.  

-- BERNAMA