Indian Vadai and Putu Mayam hawker and the Rojak Hawker



The South Indian delicacy Vadai (or Vada or Wadeh or Bara), and  Idiyapam (or Putu Mayam in Malay or String Hoppers) are perennial favorites, not just among the Indian community, but equally enjoyed by the Chinese, Malays and the Eurasians. Their popularity has brought about a variety of names probably due to distorted versions of its original name in the Tamil language when pronounced by other ethnic communities.

The Vadai resembles a doughnut and is often offered with onions and/or pawns embedded in the dough which is then deep-fried. There is another  version of the Vadai which is made entirely of lentils. However this version does not resemble the doughnut, as it is a circular lump with no hole in the centre.These delicacies are snacks, and their popularity has not waned. The Vadai is best savoured with fresh crunchy green chillies. One bite of the Vadai followed by one bite of chilly is the way to eat it!

 The Idiyapam is usually eaten with fresh grated coconut and brown sugar and is popular a breakfast dish much favoured by kids.

I have fond memories of these two Indian hawkers who would come by each day, each carrying a huge basket balanced on his head. All he had was a small length of cloth which was coiled up tightly into a ring and placed on his scalp as a cushion for the basket which must have been very heavy. It looked precarious but I never witnessed a basket falling off. It was indded a sight to behold!

 Joining the ranks of hawker who carried their wares in baskets balanced on their heads was a Malay woman who did likewise, selling her popular rojak dish. I have always had a preference for spicy food and one of the delicacies that comes to mind is a traditional Malay/Indonesian rojak. It is essentially a fruit salad prepared with some spicy condiments. It was a salad quite unlike the rojak that we have now. The fresh ingredients were a mixture of raw fruits and vegetables. She used unripe bananas and sweet potatoes, star fruit and pineapple, and the preparation was done in a wooden bowl with a wooden pestle. Unlike the rojak that we are familiar with, her version did not have prawn paste
Without fail I would look forward to the arrival of this betel-nut-chewing Malay woman whose teeth were badly stained by her addiction to a combination of sirih (leaf of a plant), betel nut  and tobacco. This was a common indulgence among Malay and Peranakan women. She would come by each week with a huge wicker woven basket balanced on her head. It was not a small load, and must have weighed at least twenty kilograms. She had everything she needed to carry out her trade including a small wooden stool for her to sit on while preparing her rojak. She had a cheerful disposition and when she smiled, one would think that she had no teeth. The fact was that her teeth were totally blackened by years of betel-nut munching. Her unique dish of rojak is perhaps a lost treasure, as I have yet to come across anything that is remotely similar. I have never figured out the other condiments she used.




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