Festive family recipes from home cook Peter Padman and his wife Ivy George

In their sunny Petaling Jaya apartment, Peter Padman and his wife Ivy George work hard, huddled at the kitchen counter, as they put the finishing touches on their family’s Christmas meal.

Their young adult children Shenna-Anne Shilpa Padman and Joash George Padman hustle in the background, ready to wash dishes or transfer food to new containers. Everyone has a smile on their faces, laughs a lot and the Christmas spirit is burning.

It is evident that this is a family whose fundamental strength is love. Steering this ship is Peter, a seasoned restaurant professional. He initially managed hotel restaurants before working his way up to manage hotels throughout Malaysia and beyond, a role he currently holds at a hotel in Cheras.

Peter grew up in a family where preparing big feasts for Christmas was the norm. His wife, Ivy, grew up on a plantation and says her mother would prepare huge spreads for family, friends and estate staff at Christmas.

When Peter and Ivy married, they started their own Christmas cooking traditions, anchored by their love for their little family and their penchant for feeding people. While some of their Christmas dishes nod to their roots and time-honored recipes, others are entirely new concoctions that have since become family favorites.

Like Peter’s Stuffed Chicken for example, a delicious meal that contrasts tender, succulent garlicky chicken with a creamy yet vibrant lemon butter sauce – an incredibly good and addictive combination.

“Actually, it’s my own creation, and it’s a little more Western, but in every hotel I’ve worked in, I’ve always made it a signature dish. It is stuffed with cheese and mushrooms and rolled in garlic and breadcrumbs. It is therefore also very popular within the family. They remember me because of that,” he says with a laugh.

Since getting married and starting their own little family, Peter (left) and Ivy have started their own Christmas cooking traditions and enjoy feeding their family and friends. — ART CHEN/L’Étoile

There’s also his Greek moussaka, which he learned to make while working in Switzerland and which has since become a family staple. Moussaka features layers of eggplant, minced meat in a tomato sauce and a rich béchamel sauce.

Peter’s version is spectacularly good – rich and succulent and yet so intoxicating that it’s hard to resist eating repeatedly.

“I did a cooking course in Switzerland and the chef there taught me how to do it. It’s a bit tedious because of the process: you have to fry the potatoes, make a bolognese sauce, fry the brinjals then make a white sauce. And it’s rich because it’s stuffed with lots of cheese and white sauce.

“In 1984, when I came back on vacation, I made this dish and everyone loved it. So every year if there’s a Christmas party, everyone will say, “Can you make your moussaka?” So it’s like a tradition,” he says.

Peter’s Christmas dishes also include traditional Indian dishes that his mother used to prepare, such as fish cutlets, which are breaded and fried round packets, filled with fish and potatoes and seasoned with a range of Indian spices .

For her part, Ivy is also preparing a mix of old and new dishes for Christmas. Her nod to yesterday comes in the form of her mother’s vegetable pilaf, filled with all kinds of vegetables and a comforting family dish.

“These days my 88-year-old mother calls me and says, ‘Can you give me the recipe for this?’ And I’ll say ‘But it was your recipe, I just changed it a little’. And she’ll say, ‘I don’t remember it tasting like that,'” Ivy says, laughing.

But perhaps it’s making desserts that Ivy enjoys the most because she can exercise her creativity and come up with new and inventive treats. Her delicious holiday-themed orange ginger cheesecake, for example, is something she and her son Joash made after brainstorming ideas for Christmas.

Although they have both come up with new recipes, Peter and Ivy’s Christmas menu still includes traditional Indian dishes like vegetable pilaf. — ART CHEN/L’Étoile

“He suggested ginger as a Christmas spice. So I worked around that and came up with an orange and ginger cheesecake. So it’s like a Christmas-themed cheesecake,” she says.

But for Peter and Ivy, the ultimate satisfaction of continuing to cook these festive dishes for Christmas is the reward of bringing their family together and feeding them good meals.

“Food brings people together. So when people say they look forward to our food at Christmas, it really lifts my spirits because the food I cook comes from the heart,” says Ivy.

PETE’S MOUSSAKA

For 10 to 14 people

12 potatoes, thinly sliced

10 long brinjals, thinly sliced

White sauce

125g of salted butter

2 white onions, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

500g rice flour

1 liter of chilled whole milk

200 ml cooking cream

4 bay leaves

300 g of parmesan

2 teaspoons of nutmeg powder

Meat bolognese

canola oil, for sautéing

4 white onions, finely sliced

1 whole garlic, finely minced

1 kg of finely chopped meat of your choice (chicken, beef or lamb)

250 g chopped celery

2 finely sliced ​​pickles

4 black olives, thinly sliced

4 green olives, thinly sliced

500 ml chicken/beef broth (depending on choice of meat)

1 can of pronto tomatoes (1.5kg)

4 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Fry the potato slices and brinjal and place them on separate trays on kitchen towels to absorb the oil. Let it rest

Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter in a deep saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until golden brown.

Add the rice flour. Incorporate with the butter until you obtain a paste. Add the cooled milk and the cooking cream. Keep stirring and don’t let the mixture become lumpy.

Add salt, pepper and bay leaves. Leave to simmer, stirring continuously.

The contents will begin to thicken, add the nutmeg powder and cheese. Continue stirring until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

To prepare the bolognese, heat a pan with oil and brown the onions and garlic. Add the minced meat and continue to stir with the chopped celery, pickles and olives.

Add the broth, pronto tomatoes and bay leaves. Continue cooking for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large baking dish, spread the butter and layer the sautéed potatoes, followed by the bolognese. The next layer will be brinjal and finally the white sauce. Top with a layer of 3 cheeses (mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar).

Bake at 180°C for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

CLASSIC STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

For 8 people

4 chicken breasts, peeled

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons of mustard paste

salt and pepper to taste

Italian herbs, to taste

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

6 slices of cheddar cheese, chopped

½ can button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 kg of golden breadcrumbs

2 beaten eggs to coat the shaped cutlets

Make a slit with a sharp knife to make a pocket in each piece of chicken breast.

Marinate the brisket with the chopped garlic, oyster sauce, mustard paste, salt, pepper, Italian herbs and Worcestershire sauce and leave for 2 hours.

Stuff each breast with cheese and mushrooms. Coat chicken breast with egg wash and bread crumbs.

Heat a pan with butter and place the chicken breast in it. Cover while cooking. This will ensure the meat is cooked evenly and stays moist. Turn it over and make sure it is nicely browned. When the cheese flows, this will be a sign that the meat is cooked.

A hearty meal is now yours to enjoy!

IVY’S COLD GINGER AND ORANGE CHEESECAKE

For 8 people

Base

300g finely crushed digestive biscuits

125g melted butter

½ teaspoon ground ginger Topping 500 g whole cream cheese

¾ cup icing sugar, sifted

pinch of salt

grated zest of 1 orange

¾ teaspoon ground ginger powder

½ cup white chocolate chips, melted

400 ml whipped cream

2 tablespoons chopped sweet candied ginger

Mix all the ingredients for the cheesecake base and press into the mold. Keep aside.

Beat the cream cheese, icing sugar, salt, orange zest and ginger powder with the melted white chocolate and mix; add cream and beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the chopped sweet candied ginger.

Pour over the base and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours. If desired, drizzle with melted dark chocolate before serving.