INDIAN ROJAK

Serves 8

Rojak means mixture in Malay and there are two versions of this dish in Singapore—Indianrojak and Chinese or Malay rojak. The Indian version consists of many different fried fritters—up to 12 different kinds—some boiled ingredients and a few raw vegetables served with a sweet and spicy dip made of sweet potatoes and peanuts. In the 1950s and 1960s, itinerant vendors selling Indian rojak would carry the cooked sauce and ingredients in huge pots hung on the ends of a bamboo pole slung over their shoulders. Many of these vendors moved on to using motorcycles with sidecars in the 1970s, but today, itinerant vendors are a thing of the past. Many of these itinerant vendors came from Thakkalai in Tamil Nadu. The original recipe for the sauce included sweet potatoes as a thickener, but many stalls selling Indian rojak today use biscuit crumbs to thicken the gravy.

Rojak Gravy
Chilli paste 100 g (3½ oz)
Red chillies 4
Garlic 3 cloves
Ginger 50 g (1⅔ oz)
Shallots 150 g (5⅓ oz) peeled
Water 100 ml (3½ fl oz)
Cooking oil 3 Tbsp
Tamarind pulp 200 g (7 oz), mixed with
1.5 litres (48 fl oz / 6 cups) water and
strained
Sweet potatoes 850 g (1 lb 14⅓ oz), peeled,
steamed and mashed until smooth
Salt 2 tsp
Jaggery (palm sugar) 150 g (5⅓ oz),
chopped
Peanuts 150 g (5⅓ oz), roasted and pounded
White sesame seeds 3 Tbsp, roasted

Prawn Fritters
Plain (all-purpose) flour 150 g (5⅓ oz)
Rice flour 80 g (2⅘ oz)
Egg 1
Salt 1 tsp
Water 200 ml (7 fl oz)
Orange-red food colouring (optional)
a few drops
Small prawns (shrimps) with shells
300 g (11 oz)Cooking oil for deep-frying