A Must-Have For Raya

By FARIDAH BEGUM

The festive spread is just not complete without the ketupat.

MENTION ketupat, and cubes of compressed rice comes to mind. For many, it is an accompaniment to our favourite satay, a great conveyance for the multi-flavoured peanut sauce.

Its bland taste makes it suitable for almost any spicy and thick sauce and fills up the stomach when rice is not on the menu.

While we all know what ketupat is, what does ketupat stand for? Why ketupat and not just nasi something or other?


Demand: The ketupat is now enjoyed all year round with delicious meat dishes.

From my own research of a good number of kampung folks, which in the end started a debate after the terawih prayers recently, I believe the true meaning of ketupat is “ketuk sampai mampat” or “ketuk sampai padat” – which means knock until compressed.

For many who know ketupat in its fully cooked form may not realise that rice is fed into the square pouch, woven from young coconut fronds, and after several fillings, it is softly knocked at the base to ensure the rice is tight and no space is left in between the rice. If any holes or spaces are left, then they would be filled by excess water and the end product would be soggy and not compressed.

The pouch is filled half-full or even two-thirds for a harder version and then cooked for about three hours in a pot of boiling water and then left to hang and drip dry before it is consumed some hours later.

During the Hari Raya festivals, it is one of the must-haves. Today, since time is of the essence, many companies have begun putting on the store shelves instant ketupat that no longer need the coconut frond pouches but are instead filled into HDPE plastic bags and then cooked the same way as the traditional ketupat.

The ketupat is now enjoyed all year round with delicious meat dishes such as rendang, serunding (meat floss), peanut sauce and with the delicious satay or skewered meat.

Another variation of the ketupat is the ketupat daun palas, which is a triangular piece woven from the leaves of the fan palm.

Instead of rice, glutinous rice is used and it is later cooked in coconut milk and it is most often a delicious triangular piece of cake that goes well with all the dishes and sauces mentioned above or on its own, as most children would have it.

Extremely popular in the East Coast states and available in all nooks and corners of the country, the ketupat daun palas comes in two versions: one that is just glutinous rice and a little salt and another comes with a sprinkling of black-eyed peas, which adds a nice twist to the compressed rice cake.

The ketupat, both rice and glutinous rice, actually keeps well without refrigeration for about three days and if it is to be kept for longer, they can be frozen or kept in the fridge for a few days and recooked, either steamed or boiled again. In the case of the ketupat daun palas, it is best fried in shallow oil to seal its freshness after a couple of days.

Ketupat is also popular as a quick snack as it can be reheated and eaten with sugar, meat floss and sauces.

For the brave gourmets, it is also a good substitute for noodles in curry laksa, laksam and other creamy gravies and even with curries.

During the Hari Raya season, these ketupat, and even the pouches or the raw ingredients like the coconut fronds, are easily available in wet markets, the pasar tani and the festive markets set up specially by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) at most towns in the country about three days before the actual celebration.