- Friday, February 28, 2025
Indian Rojak is a fusion of Singaporean-Indian cuisine featuring 23 varieties of deep-fried vegetables and meat, served with a peanut and tamarind-based gravy.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Biryani and Indian Rojak rank among the top eight beloved dishes in Singapore that residents wish to preserve in the multi-racial nation.
Biryani, a dish still prepared by third-generation descendants of south Indian migrants, has become a staple among Singaporeans of various backgrounds.
Syed Kassim, a 50-year-old hawker who operates a food stall established by his grandfather 50 years ago, hails from a family of early migrants from Ramanathanpuram in Tamil Nadu. Kassim is one of the few remaining hawkers in Singapore, where efforts are being made to safeguard the hawker culture.
Another popular dish mentioned is “Indian Rojak,” a fusion of Singaporean-Indian cuisine featuring 23 varieties of deep-fried vegetables and meat, served with a peanut and tamarind-based gravy. Sagubarsadiq, a 38-year-old hawker of Indian descent, continues to run his family’s Indian-origin food outlet, started by his father 34 years ago.
The list of popular dishes compiled by local gas supplier City Energy, which aims to promote traditional foods, also includes laksa (noodles in coconut milk gravy), chicken rice, Hokkien mee (stir-fried noodles), and char kway teow (Chinese fried noodles). Additionally, Malay foods such as nasi lemak (coconut milk rice) and mee rebus (noodles in thick coconut gravy) are featured.
City Energy CEO Perry Ong emphasised the cultural significance of Singapore’s hawker food, stating that it goes beyond being delicious cuisine. He noted that hawker food is a unifying cultural icon that brings together people of different races, languages, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds, reminding them of their shared heritage. City Energy supplies city gas to hawkers and food centers across the island state.
A recent survey conducted by research organization RySense earlier this year revealed that nine out of ten respondents believe it is important to preserve Singapore’s hawker centers, underscoring the public’s strong attachment to this culinary tradition.
(With agency inputs)
