Tuesday 17 October 2006

Of buah ulu (bahulu) and such likes

Why Mak insisted on keeping the geese I never understood. They were noisy, they left their droppings everywhere in the back yard and worst of all, they were vicious! I was sitting on the doorsteps, minding my own business when out of nowhere, one of these creatures made a beeline with its outstretched long neck and aimed for my tushy!!! It was painful!

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But I guess, geese have their functions.They make a hell of a noise should intruders enter the compound in the middle of the night. And come raya time, their eggs were most sought after.

So, whose job was it to go searching for their eggs? Being shoved into the geese pen was not unlike being thrown into a hungry tiger’s cage. I had to keep looking back in case the attack came from the back while I wasn’t looking. After collecting the precious eggs, just like Jack in the Beanstalk story, I scrambled back into the house, hopefully with my tushy intact!

With the prized eggs, Mak made kueh buah ulu. And what a preparation it was to make buah ulu! (or is it bahulu? baulu?) Mak fried the flour first and then in one big tub we took turns to whisk the eggs and sugar. And before the days of blenders and magimix, it took the entire household to whisk the mixture before it was ready. I was told that some people would use the 'penyapu lidi' for that purpose. A clean one, of course. Then, be ready for the tearful bit of the cooking process. The mixture was poured into the moulds – some simple small, round or oval ones, some big gold fish ones – before putting in a big pot on a charcoal stove, preferably outside. The lid was filled with hot sand or burning coconut husks. That’s the conventional oven! Neighbours all around you would know that you have embarked on the buah ulu making mission, with the smoke going sky high.

Mak in her present condition, is always forgetful. But a few days ago, I received an SMS from my sis in law telling me that Mak suddenly said – “Kueh raya kat Kak Teh tak hantark lagi?” Hmm, that's another tearful bit.

Well, tell her anything, tell her a lie that I do have kueh rayas but never tell her that Kak Teh is making her own kueh raya because, even in her present state of mind, she will never believe that.

With just a few days to go, and not one buah ulu in sight, I suddenly thought of making some kueh raya. In my 26 years away, I have never attempted any. Kueh rayas came from Pasar Seni – mainly jam tarts and biskut suji. The rest I can live without. Now with the customs at Heathrow getting fussier with foods from our part of the world, I have resorted to ordering from friends, looking up recipes on the internet and I even consulted Mak Andeh, who like me did her baking only in Domestic Science classes yonks ago.

This week will be a real test – if i manage to make some jam tarts or biskut badam London – that will be my achievement this century.

To those of you still whipping out delights from your oven, “Bila makan tu, ingatlah Kak Teh di London!”
err anyone can put me out of my misery - buah ulu, baulu, bahulu?

67 comments:

mommy@lif said...

tuh dia... 1st person to comment :)

good luck kak teh... baca bismillah, sure jadik punyaaa!

Anonymous said...

Aunt Kak Teh,

Once reading the title, I thought of a fruit I've never heard of. Until to the part with big gold fish.. la.. kueh bahulu ka.. sebab chek (a teenage like me) tak penah dengaq pun org sebut bahulu - buah ulu. How that amazed me. By the way, Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin.

ubisetela said...

Used to help Arwah Tok to 'kepok telur' with a springy bouncy whisk and then getting choked by smoke from burning sabut.
Ahhh.. I miss those days.

Kak Teh said...

mommy@alif, thanks - my mak selalu kata, kita yang buatdia, bukan dia buat kita - tentu akan jadi.Insyaallah.

newreader - ye ke? kueh bahulu? hmmm - i suppose its the way itis pronounced. Nanti nak google! Selamat hari raya to you too.

Ubi, tu lah zaman dolu2!sebab tu kueh lebih sedap - banyak penderitaan sebelum tu!

Ruby M. said...

i always known it as kueh baulu!! buah ulu tak pernah dengar lak! hahha.. nampaknya i have to sign up at your club - club tak tau buat kueh, i can only help buat shape aje, and tolong makan :D selamat hari raya kak teh, maaf zahir dan batin sepanjang perkenalan. :D

Fauziah Ismail said...

Kak Teh,
For a few years now, it had been "kuih tunjuk' (choose and buy). This year Mak decided to make some. The house smells like a bakery now.
Nak buat susah tapi buah ulu or bahulu memang sedap. Served with hot tea.
Selamat Hari Raya to you and family

Anonymous said...

make those kuih's and put them on amazon! then everyone back here can have a taste of your success story! :)

Selamat Hari Raya Kak Teh!

Kak Teh said...

maknenek, baulu pun baulu ler..i thought because of the shape - macam buah - jadi buah ulu ler...

x-matters, i would prefer 'kuih tunjuk' anytime - tapi kat sini nak tunjuk tang mana?

vern, that will be the day equal only to the success story of our astronauts in sapce!!

kyora said...

hee.. ingat ade buah yang saya memang tak tahu, my mum buat bisnes kuih raya, nanti kak teh 'tunjuk' dari email pun sampai kut..

selamat hari raya, this my 1st time raya dekat benua lain, argkkhh.. makin dekat makin pedih.. adeh!

Ely said...

i had been telling myself to bake some cookies for raya. but it seems like i am too busy trying to do up the house. and then we're left with just one weekend...this weekend to bake. so...maybe i'll just masak lauk raya with no cookies lah :(

Maaf Zahir Batin to you and family KT...huggs

Pak Tuo said...

Kak Teh,

Gambar angsa tu macam minta kena sembelih aje...
jadikan rendang angsa Raya ni.

Alamak kuih punya hal I surrender.
Anyam ketupat ok.Cari buloh ok but please kacau dodol alamak 'Heavy Duty'suroh orang lain.....

OK dokee..See ya later my lady.

Pulau Pandan jauh ketengah
Sebelum Airmata jatuh ke tanah
Minta maaf hai rakan taulan.

Ya allah'peliharalah perkerti orang-orang yang halus diIdil Fitri mu ini.Amin

Salam Adil Fitri buat Kak Teh Sekeluarga.

p.s.tak payah bauhulu kak teh letak kan butter scorn aje....kikikiki

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh...ingat lagik dulu2...kalau mak nak buat kuih baulu...memula berebut2 nak enjut telur dengan gula tu...dalam pasu besar...bila dah penat tangan baru le surrender...bab membakar tu memang tak best sebab kene asap sabut...tapi bila time angkat...nampak kuih tu cantik cokelatnya...sukaaaaaa...!!

Tapi sekarang susah nak dpt yang sedap mcm mak buat...kalau beli kat kedai pun..banyak gulanya...garing sebab diorang nak simpan lama...

Kak Teh...lady suka makan kuih baulu cicah air kopi...tak pun cicah dengan air Orange F & N...hehehe...

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT HARI RAYA buat Kak Teh sekeluarga...Maaf Zahir Bathin...

dari Kak lady...

Kak Elle said...

kak teh baolu , baulu hentam aje lah asal sedap di makan.I find that now adays they bake it in the oven which is too crispy.I prefer the old method of bakar ngan arang bara atas bawah.Masa kecik2 dulu tolong arwah nenek enjut kan telur ..adoiiiiiiiii penat!This year I buy from Bengawan Solo.Most likely a quiet affair this year because of BIL.He has stroke at 41yrs,no tumour alhamdulillah..the left facial muscle affected.Arresting bleeding point now has started him on asprin.

Anonymous said...

I've never forgotten about you Kak Teh since I got to know you last year. As usual, I hope you received it in your mail!! ;) I shall ingat Kak Teh and family in London when I makan kueh baulu. :)

My prayers for your mom.

Anyway, Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir & batin to Kak Teh and Family.

Anonymous said...

hahahahah that is so sweet kak teh...!! but then baulu memang is an all time fAvourite..:0) lepas ni mesti ramai teringin nak poskan kuih baulu kat kak teh... :0)

Anonymous said...

Its BAULU.

Bukan bau-lu (as in, lu pakai minyak wangi apa sampai gua mau pengsan!), balu-mu (as in, kesian Pak Semat tu, balu dia kena cari kerja sejak dia meninggal) and definitely not hullabulloo (a possibility when Kak Teh buat kuih).

Lap you Kak Teh!! See I comment, jangan kata I tak comment ;)

Anonymous said...

Kakteh, I am no help when it comes to names but I am sure I have eaten this cake before. It was touching to read that your mum thought of you and your kueh raya. A mother's love never ceases.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, i nak yang bentuk ikan mas tu!!!!

Kak Teh said...

kyora kejora, welcome to my blog! Dah khatam semua blog on sentraal?

Ely, soon you'll have your mum with you and bolehlah bermanja-manja, nak makan apa pun boleh.

Pak Tuo - nampak gayanya scones dengan jam and butter as well as croissant -hahaha!

Kak Teh said...

Kak Lady, biasalah tu - bila mula nak buat kueh sungguh bersemangat! Bila dah penat Maklah yang kena habiskan semua.

Kak Elle, Alhamdulillah no tumour - harap he is well on the road to recovery. Insyaallah.

MM, thanks - I'll be waiting for it!! Have a good raya!

Kak Teh said...

simah, kak teh dah lama tak makan bahulu dah tak rasa nak makan...dulu masa kecik2 memang suka. Now nak jam tarts saja and kueh sugee.

uja - amboih macam-macam hal! Macam ni kena buat Donny! Ulat bulu tak ada? hehe!

Judy, I was so touched when I read the message thatI couldnt reply at all. There was such a big lump in my throat.

melayuLondon, bila kita boleh buat kueh sekali?? memang dah lambat daaah. Maknanya makan kat rumah kak midahlah!

Nazrah Leopolis said...

my favourite kueh bahulu memory is falling into a huge brown tempayan of frothy yellow batter when i was a wee one..ppl still make fun of me about it.

coincidently, the same thing happened to mr boss when he was a kid. haha.

and you bake? wow.

Ordinary Superhero said...

It's buah ulu!!!, I insist. That's what we call them in my kampung. :)

Anonymous said...

bah ulu? hehe! no excuses this year, good luck making your tarts! remember to show them off once you're done... ;)

HCI said...

Kak Teh, please ask your hub on why is it that bahulu orang terengganu dan orang kedah tak serupa? Me org Ganu and hub orang Langkawi, Kedah ler tu, so most conveniently, bahulu is out of the raya picture, kerana bahulu kita berdua tidak sebulu, kah, kah, kah.

HCI said...

Kak Teh, sekali lagi, kalau ada tips kenapa the difference in outcome between Terenggan and Kedah, probably they can meet halfway in the recipe.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, so much effort was put into making the original bahulu, that's why they were delicious. The ones we get from supermarket nowadays are so tasteless and no smell of smoke!!
And them geese, they used to chase us on our way to school in the 60's, I took the longer walk to school to avoid their path!!

Count Byron said...

KT selamat hari raya to you and family. I love geese.. they are very graceful creatures.. my mom used to keep them once.
Kueh for Kak Teh.. how much love she has for you.. May Allah bless her and all mothers!

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, semalam waktu I tengah buat biskut almond london, terselit dalam hati nak tanya kak teh whether this biskut exist in London. I wonder why it is called Almond London.

Kuih baulu, my hubby's favourite. A couple of years ago, jenuh I cari the recipes to buat kuih baulu, siap beli acuan tembaga tapi bila buat, hubby kata tak sesedap yang arwah mak dia buat..booo...hooo mana boleh sama kan kak teh?

ManaL said...

Instead of laying golden eggs, jadi golden bahulu yea kak teh. I never knew telur angsa is for bahulu as well coz i thought telur itik is the main ingredient. Anyway, probably different state, daerah uses slightly different method to produce one squishy, not too crispy, not so puffy, not so kecut bahulu.

Btw, eid mubarak to u, kak teh. Maaf zahir dan batin.

Anonymous said...

.

bahulu. come home then....

dudaesimboyo

.

~ GAB ~ said...

Kelantanese call it Buah ulu, and surprised me when Kak Teh has the idea on the name as such since Kak Teh is not a Kelantanese. Or are you?

Anyway... those angsa...tell ya, I fought some with them when I was a kid...

Arena said...

Bahulu tau, bukan bau Lu.. kekekke.. erkkk Kak teh, saya pon banyak takut same itu angsa.. asyik nak nyudu orang jek.. kalau pergi rumah makcik, nak turun kereta pon takut...tapikannnn bau sabut terbakar pon gamaknya best, sekarang nih..hahhaha..

Unknown said...

KakTeh,
My late Mak was like your mom too. She had her three pairs of geese and insisted to keep them until a couple of weeks before she died. She called them Babu.
I'll think of you when I eat baulu.

wonda said...

Kak Teh,
Yeah, at first, I thought it was some new fruits I have never eaten before until ... . When I was little,I couldn't get the name right and pronounced it as bahu bulu (or bau bulu?). At that time, my Muslim neighbor used to rear geese too. The whole gaggle came after me, not just one! I jerit and lari kuat-kuat for my life then.
Selamat Hari Raya to you, your family and all the Muslim friends!

Kak Teh said...

nazrah, you did whaaaat? and Mr Boss did whaaat?? OMG! what did it taste like after that?

OSH! Yeay!!!! U are my hero and so Buah Ulu it is then! Itis now official that we call it BUAH ULU!!

may, bah ulu pulak! well if and when , may, if and when...and looks like it is more IF then when.

Kak Teh said...

has, so and hubby opposite of me and hubby ler. I kedah dia orang teganu kiter. hmm, i doubt it if he knows the difference. This Ramadan, he has been poorly. Demam and batuk sangat.

mama Irma, hahaha - stories abt being chased by angsa...oh my God that brings tears to my eyes. Masa nak pi mengaji Kuarn kena ambik detour - angsa punya pasal!

CB- they may be graceful BUT vicious . It hurts just thinking abt it. And MAK? well, tonight She is flying home - back to her house, in preparation of her raya there.

Kak Teh said...

Norabella, hehe - mee bandung mana ada di bandung, peking duck tak ada di peking, so biskut london tak ada di London! Hmmm - mesti try buat! aiya...yr hubby tak boleh lah compare dengan mak buat...memang tak adil ler..

manal - eid mubarak to you too. dunk a baulu in the tea for me.

dudaesimboyo - nak balik, nak balik, tapi nak buat macam mana?

Kak Teh said...

Gab, am not Kelantanese but during my younger days, i had been mistaken as kelantanese. kelantanese students in campus used to give me their 'protection' cos theythink I was from Pasir Mas. So, I made donno and shut my mouth. kalau cakap they would know I am from kedah.

arena..ehem, ehem, ada can bawa kueh sugee sekotak?

anasalwa, ours were called Babu too! i wonder why!!

wonda aka alice, hahaha - you had to make me roll on the floor again! Bau bulu??? hahahaha! Why on earth would anyone want to eat anything with that name?

AuntyN said...

Buah ulu tu cakap orang kampung sebelah sini Kak Teh. Baulu bahasa standard tu. Terrer lah Kak Teh tahun ni, Alhamdulillah, it's never too late to try something new or should it be something old?

Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir Bathin

| nur hafizah | said...

Salams Kak Teh

Heheh .. Nice entry on that. Here, we call it simply, Baulu.

:D

And, of slalunya kita tak buat .. Beli aje dekat JB. Sekarang dah ada Baulu Choc Chip & e.t.c ..

Anyway, all the best in the making of the baulu Kak Teh.

Be positive, insyaAllah ok..

Is it too late to wish you Salam Ramadhan ..? Ok maybe a Slamat Hari Raya would be better .. ;)

Kak Teh said...

auntyN, Jadi confirmed lah yang Buah Ulu tu perkataan resmi! hehe - kita orang utara yang meresmikan.

BTB -hmmm i suspect that too. kalau dia buah mee maggi pun hangit, apa kurang kak teh - keropok pun kak teh basuh sebelum goreng!

MySoul, thanks for dropping by and no, its not to late. Selamat hari raya to you too!

Ordinary Superhero said...

Kak Teh, thank you, thank you... *swelling already*. Eh, Demo oghe Pasir Mah ko?. Samo lah kito. :)

Anonymous said...

Eid Mubarak, kak teh..semoga sentiasa di limpahi rezeki dan diberkati Allah.

Nef

Kak Teh said...

OSH, ish kak teh orghang Kedah lah! depa saja ingat kak teh orang pasir mas - depa kata complexion macam orang sana. Kak teh pun tak tau apa maksud tu.

Nef - same to you - selamat hari raya to you too and maaf zahir dan batin .

MA said...

Kak Teh tumpang lalu,

BTB eeiii see de leg laa bro. Masak maggi mana boleh hangit kalau masak maggi sup.

Kak Teh : I never liked kuih bahulu (yup thts wht we call it down south), entah ngapa, maybe it's too rich kot.

I'd settle for tart nenas anytime.

wonda said...

Kak Teh,oklah,how about buah bulu? Shape macam buah,ringan macam bulu kan? To add to your misery, here is a tongue twister for you:-
buah ulu, baulu, bahulu, bau bulu, buah bulu.... eh, apa lagi? No wonder I kena spoonerism! :)

(NB - read your Jan.15th,'05 entry. My comment:- Birds of the same bulu flock together! Haha!)

Kak Teh said...

Mak Andeh, silakan, silakan!! yes, jam tarts for me anytime!

wonda...i thought you might enjoy it!

aaah the hullabaloo over bauhulu never ends!

Anonymous said...

Just to add to the hullabaloo, according to Kamus Dewan, the right word is baulu. Anway, teringat zaman merantau dulu. Orang kampung hantar baulu, semperit, macam-macam lagi dalam tin tapi bila buka, semua hancur jadi sagun. Terpaksa le guna sudu makan kuih raya.

Sri Diah said...

Dear Kak Teh; Selamat hari raya to you and family. Pasal bahulu ni, mak saya kata `kocok telor' bila kita lenguh nak stop je dia kata "eh kocok, jangan berhenti, nanti bantat!" Jiran pulak kata `pukul telur'. Sorang jiran lagi kata `pam telur' Ha ha ha samalah dengan bahulu/buah ulu/baulu. Sama je.

Ordinary Superhero said...

Kak Teh, of course I know you are not from P Mas. :)

That's a compliment. Orang kata oarng Pasir Mas memang come come belako.

Atok said...

...and to lazy-tongue Kelantanese, 'buoh' is simply 'woh'. so, jadilah > 'woh ulu'.

i think, beza antara woh ulu Ktan and buah ulu kedah is, woh ulu Ktan normally darker and softer, tak ranggup and lighter brown like buah ulu kedah (or penang). am i right here?

my guess, pasal in Ktan/Tganu, we don't goreng the tepung.

Anonymous said...

Hi Kak Teh,

Chomp..chomp
munch..munch..munch
slurrrp..slurrrp..
munch..munch..munch
sip..aah..
burp..(oops excuse me)

Duh...Kak Teh you pesan I makan banyak2, tengok apa dah jadi..tak renti2 ni makan raya delights especially buah ulu? I only know it as bahulu(ignorant me)..ha ha!

I agree any kueh cooked in that wonderful smoky traditional oven sure tastes better. Traditional kueh do need that 'smoke' as an important ingredient!


Chomp..chomp
Munch..munch
sip..aah

Oh yes..

Duh can't stop eating ni (and to think I need to get into some kebayas, sigh) and yes, I do think of you in London. Anyway my dear, here's wishing you and family,

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI
MAAF ZAHIR BATIN.

maklang said...

Kueh bolu kalau orang nogori kata kak teh...

Tapi tak kiralah asal kueh jadi lembut, makan aje...

Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir batin!

Anonymous said...

hai kak teh...seme org is talking about the 'king' of kueh raya shall i put it??? hmmph anyway i think i know who u r referring to...i don't know her personally but her sister A is a student at warwick salu jumpa kat surau...but the rest of the siblings ok jer dok ngan family why she alone yg 'suffer'??? (but i didn't really followed her story)...selamat hari lebaran semoga berbahagia di hari raya walau tanpa baulu

Mama Rock said...

ooh kak teh, thinking of sneding you something but i missed my bro's flight to london. dia dah pi pun and coming back on eve of raya. tak pe lah takde rezeki, mungkin next time. anyway selamat hari raya and have fun!

ROYAL JESTER said...

ish..if I were staying in London and ambik order, sure laku my biskut kan?hehehe..i used to take orders too tapi this year tak larat la ..hehe..
Good luck and as you said, if you bake or cook, you will make sure its the best. I'm sure it'll be gr8.
Selamat Hari Raya, maaf Zahir batin and thank you for everything. May Allah bless you and your family, always...

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, as far as I can remember my mom called it buah hulu. I suppose, bila dah cakap laju-laju dia jadi bahulu. Cakap laju lagi terus jadi baulu. Orang dulu-dulu, way before the days of bahasa sms, pun pandai truncation juga.

I remember the spring whisk, the tempayan that contains the beaten eggs, the sand and sabut oven. I remember being 'enlisted' to help whisk the eggs. I remember the sound the whisk made; "kepuk... kepuk... kepuk...". I remember asking my mom every few minutes; "dah mak?" and mak would say "belum lagi..." and I would go on "kepuk... kepuk... kepuk...." all the time eyeing my bicycle outside.

Thanks for bringing back those memories kak Teh.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh,

rasanya kalau orang utara , depa ak kata kueh bahulu....its BAULU or BAHULU...they omitted 'kueh'
tuh...

Kak Teh said...

hey, exchapelside, macam ni nak kena teka and by process of elimination, I think boleh lah agak sapa...cannot be rocky as he wld leave his name, cannot be ataj, because wife was his him, cannot be fauzi or dt fauzi omar as he had wife and family too with him, cannot be azizi or farush...must be pak aji ke?

sri, hahaha ! funny, thanks for yr input!

OSH, I know, i was told that it was a compliment. haha, but not now lah!

Kak Teh said...

atok, ye ke di sana tak goreng tepung? ni dah bauhulu tak authentic ni!

Ruby, stop! stop! stop! you are overdoing it!! tell u what...MAS open house is the best!!

Mak Lang, tak apa asalkan rasa sama, kan?

Bintidaruis, Abt S tu - entahlah wallahualam.

mamarock, thanks, its the thoughts that count!
pu3, eh u memang pandai buat kueh ke?

Kak Teh said...

rkaru, so so true!! Nak tolong beria-ria tapi sekejap aje dah tanya, "Dah sudah?"

anon, betul tu - kita tak pakai kueh.

minnie, lamanya tak nampak!

Honeytar said...

Kak Teh: kebetulan, that same day, Tuesday this week, our orders (thousands of bahulu) from Melaka arrived at the office.

I took pictures & the virtual bahulu will for your viewing pleasure. :))

Kak Teh said...

honeytar, so so so unfair --BUT thank you! I saw the pix!

bibliobibuli said...

selamat hari raya, kak teh! thinking of you ...

High Power Rocketry said...

Poor goose.

lctung said...

If u r nostalgic about old kitchenware e.g. kuih bahulu mould made of copper, check out my blog
http://galleriapingganlama.blogspot.com

Enjoy