food unites the family

Hola friendsss!!!! it has been a long time since my last post. As our teacher assigned us to talk about our memory about eating traditions / food in our family, i recalled so many activities that i did with them not just eating together but also other activities such as travelling and camping. 

I still remember last 7 years’ raya celebration with my family. One day before hari raya which we called as ‘malam raya’, we gathered at my grandparents’ house to have our grand iftar. Basically grand iftar is our biggest event which we do it every year. The women in the family cooked many delicious foods that are always been in the family tradition such as smoked fish with its seasoning, ‘ayam percik’ where the chickens  are  marinated with garlic, ginger, and other seasonings. The gravy is made from coconut milk, lemongrass, and dried chillies. The men will make lemang ( bamboo filled with sticky rice and are roasted on fire)  The most awaited dish which is also my favourite is ‘sotong sumbat’ where we used big squids and put sticky rice into their bodies. It is boiled with palm sugar and some tied pandan leaf.  Why I remember this iftar is because it was also to celebrate my birthday. I was so happy because everybody gathered and brought me gifts. At that time I was 12 years old and it was like the final year before I entered secondary school.  After maghrib, we break our fast on the last day of puasa with dates and then we performed our maghrib prayer before we continue eating. This is to prevent ourselves from being lazy after we eat a lot during the iftar. Then, we eat together with the family. We didn’t eat the dishes on the dining table but we sat on the floor because it is our tradition (logically because there were so many people and the dining table doesn’t fit all of us.  After that they went to the mosque for tarawikh. And to be honest, I didn’t go to the mosque as I was really full and just wanted to have fun during that time haha. After everyone came back to the house, we played firecracker and fireworks together with my cousins and relatives.