TO ease the preparation of food for pilgrims during wuquf at Arafah and Mina, Tabung Haji will provide ready-to-eat (RTE) meals, including curry chicken and chicken tikka masala.
What makes the meals special is that they come in food pouches and are prepared at an RTE retort factory in Jeddah, about 45 minutes away from here.
Malaysian Haj Delegation head Datuk Seri Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman and Tabung Haji senior officials visited the Taj Food factory to get a better understanding of how the food was packed to ensure quality control.
Syed Saleh said nearly 60,000 food pouches would be distributed to Malaysian pilgrims.
“Malaysian pilgrims will get the RTE chicken curry food pouches for dinner in Arafah, chicken tikka masala for dinner in Mina and a yet-to-be finalised menu for lunch in Mina,” he said after touring the factory.
Preparing the RTE meal is quite simple. Just empty the food pouch into boiling water for 10 minutes, and the meal is ready for consumption.
Syed Saleh added that RTE meals could prevent untoward incidents such as a fire if prepared at an on-site kitchen.
“Also with an on-site kitchen, we need to have raw materials that will be pricier during the haj season.
“And it is also quite challenging to find kitchen helpers and cooks who can prepare Malaysian food, and are willing to work only for five days in a year.”
Syed Saleh said with RTE food, it would not require a large storage space and the food pouches could be stored at room temperature. The prepared RTE meals have a shelf life of two years.
“When we free up space originally meant for food storage and kitchen, we can use it for the pilgrims.
“As you know, space in Arafah and Mina is limited.”
Taj Food chairman Datuk Jameel Sulaiman Bondagji said the technology, know-how and factory design were from Malaysia.
“Since our products are made in Makkah, there is no issue about halal or not halal.
“Many of our workers are Malaysians and, of course, we are looking at future partnerships with Malaysian companies.”
Taj Food has a production capacity of more than 20 million meals per year and the products are registered with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
Taj Food offers local and international cuisines with authentic homemade flavour.
Among the available RTE menus are chicken biryani, chicken kurma, chicken curry with potato, beef curry with potato and beef stroganoff.
Later, the TH delegation was given the chance to taste Taj Factory’s RTE food.
I like the beef stroganoff with the subtle taste of oregano blended smoothly with the mushrooms and beef. It was so good, I had two helpings.
I later learnt that the RTE food was prepared about a year ago, which caught me by surprise.
It tastes as good as a freshly-prepared meal.