KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 — The Kelantanese sure know how to whip up delicious rice dishes, like the nasi kerabu. Literally translated from Malay, it means rice salad, as essentially it’s a riot of thinly sliced herbs and vegetables, all mixed with rice.

You also have salted egg, grated coconut or kerisik, fish floss tossed with coconut or serunding ikan, fish crackers or keropok and a dash of fermented fish sauce or budu, an essential Kelantan condiment that ramps up the taste of this dish. Some places also serve it with a dollop of spicy sambal or the more fragrant sambal tumis made with chillies, coconut milk and spices.

What makes the dish stand out is the unique blue tinged rice. The light blue shade is naturally extracted from the butterfly pea flower or bunga telang. In Kelantan, they also serve a yellow rice version where turmeric is used to colour the rice.

The dish takes quite considerable work to prepare with its many components. For instance, the fish floss requires that the fish be grilled, deboned and flaked into tiny pieces before it’s pounded in a mortar and pestle with toasted grated coconut, onions and chillies.

Your nasi kerabu can be accompanied with anything you like. Usually it’s a small fried fish that is coated with a floury batter tinged with turmeric, or daging bakar or grilled beef slices. One unique item is the solok lada or stuffed green chillies with fish paste mixed with grated coconut. Some even just add pickled whole garlic bulbs, a nod to the state’s Thai influence.

So how do you eat this dish? Just remove the shell from the salted egg and mix everything up together before eating. It’s essential that you mix it all up to enjoy the combination of flavours from each ingredient.

Patatimo, 11 Jalan Wangsa Delima 10, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur

This place serves nasi kerabu throughout the day until 4am! What makes them stand out is their generous portion of vegetables and herbs served with the rice. This makes it easy to eat without any accompaniments. At night, the place also serves pisang goreng cheese or cheese topped fried bananas, a popular snack.

Kesom, F-G-46, Jalan PJU 1/45, Aman Suria, Petaling Jaya.

For a refined version, drop by this place run by a Pasir Mas native. Their nasi kerabu uses fluffy basmati rice that makes it lighter on the stomach. Pair your rice with a selection of their curries like the creamy gulai raja berangkat with salted fish, beef rendang or even ayam goreng berempah. This place also serves the rarely seen khao jam or green-coloured rice made with an assortment of herbs plucked in Kelantan.

Restoran Hatinie, 18-20, Jalan Selendang 10/10, Section 10, Shah Alam

Drop by here early morning to dine on nasi kerabu that is tossed with a mix of vegetables and herbs, kerisik, serunding ikan, budu and their super spicy sambal. You can choose to pair it with ayam percik, daging bakar or solok lada. The place also has delicious laksam and nasi dagang. Select your items from the various stalls and pay at the counter. During the weekends, you get a choice of all kinds of kuih including an East Coast favourite, pulut pagi or glutinous rice soaked in palm sugar syrup and topped with freshly grated coconut. Satay is also served in the morning.

Warong Kelate Masakan Pantai Timur, 90-112, Jalan Pandamaran Jaya 15, Klang

Look for this shack that serves delicious Kelantan food in the morning by spotting the long queue of people. Their nasi kerabu served on a pretty floral plate is delicious with its fragrant serunding ikan and kerisik. Eat it with a plate of their juicy satay topped with peanut sauce.

Chun Buri Seafood, Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kg Baru, Kuala Lumpur

For night birds, this bustling place in Kampung Baru just a few minutes’ walk from the LRT station serves an array of Kelantan food like nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and laksam. Try their delicious and rich-tasting gulai ayam with your plate of nasi kerabu or the freshly fried ayam goreng berempah. There’s also a selection of Southern Thai food, like the popular glutinous rice with fresh mango and tom yam. You also can get kerang bakar or grilled cockles here.