Savory spicy ‘mujair nyatnyat’

Buried treasure: Underneath the minced, yellowish spices of basa genep lies the tasty mujair. BD/Ni Komang Erviani

After enjoying the beautiful view of Batur lake and its mountain in Kintamani, enjoying the delights of mujair nyatnyat should be next on your agenda when you visit Bangli.

Made of mujair fish (a type of tilapia), mujair nyatnyat is a genuinely traditional dish of the regency located 60 kilometers northeast of Denpasar.

The most famous place for mujair nyatnyat is the Bagong Restaurant which is located in downtown Bangli, about 25 kilometers from Kintamani. Every day, the restaurant sells around 70 to 100 kilograms of mujair, or 200 to 250 fish. “The fish are supplied from Lake Batur,” I Wayan Sukamara, also known as Pak Bagong, the restaurant’s owner, told Bali Daily on Thursday. Mujair nyatnyat uses yellow seasoning with a savory, spicy flavor.

The seasoning uses many kinds of local spices such as garlic, kaempferia galangal and lemongrass. The combination of these spices is called basa genep. All the ingredients are chopped and fried. Add coconut milk to the seasoning and put it on the fried mujair. In Bagong Restaurant, mujair nyatnyat is served with plecing kangkung (spicy water spinach salad) and sambal matah (shredded raw onion). The restaurant also serves a small bowl of soup made of labu siam (chayote) and red beans.

Apart from serving mujair nyatnyat, the restaurant also serves fried mujair and grilled mujair. “Most of my customer order mujair nyatnyat. But we serve other dishes as alternatives,” Bagong said. For a beverage, you have to try the traditional drink of Bangli called loloh cemcem. The green beverage is made of the essence of cemcem leaves, betel leaves and katuk leaves, with coconut water. Young coconut shavings are added to the drink. Some people believe that loloh cemcem can relieve a sore throat, but no research has proved this. Bagong started his business in 2004, when he retired from Bangli Legislative Council. To enjoy mujair nyatnyat, you have to pay Rp 30,000 (US$3.12) per portion. The loloh cemcem costs Rp 10,000. For students, Bagong has a special price of Rp 8,000 that includes rice, mujair nyatnyat and plecing kangkung.

— Photos by Ni Komang Erviani