In Bentong Prison, Pahang, the women inmates have been busy in the kitchen following recipes shared with them by the prison’s royal patron, Tengku Ampuan Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
During a recent visit on Wednesday (March 27), Tunku Azizah was seen teaching the inmates how to prepare and bake seven different types of cakes and cookies.
The women have been successful in generating demand for their baked goods such as cookies and cakes, as well as items like “asam pedas” paste and rendang betawi in preparation for the upcoming Aidilfiri celebration.
According to Bentong Prison Superintendent Mohd Zulkifli Zakaria, the inmates are struggling to keep up with the high demand, particularly for the Mazola and Arab cookies.
He mentioned, “The high demand is because people want to taste items made from Her Majesty’s recipes. Although the price may be a bit ‘high,’ we have many regular customers ordering them for events and gatherings.”
These cookies are not just limited to Hari Raya, but are available throughout the year, as shared by Mohd Zulkifli at an event held by the Prisons Department at the Banquet Hall of the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya recently.
Since 2018, Bentong Prison has caught the attention of those seeking Raya cookies after Tunku Azizah graciously shared her recipes for 12 types of cookies with the inmates, all of which are halal certified by Jakim.
Some of the recipes shared by Tunku Azizah include Mazzola biscuits, Arabic biscuits, custard biscuits, milo biscuits, and Scottish shortbread biscuits.
Additionally, Tunku Azizah, who is also the Royal Patron of the Prison Department’s Arts and Crafts, imparted her culinary knowledge, particularly in pastry making, to a select group of female prisoners.
With regards to the “asam pedas” paste and “Rendang Betawi,” Mohd Zulkifli mentioned that these products can only be purchased at Bentong Prison’s My Pride sales gallery and the Malaysian Prison Department Cooperative. – Bernama
