Ketupat as One of Traditional Malay Food

Ketupat Palas

Ketupat Palas

One of traditional Malay food that often served during Eid festival, ketupat is famous not only in Malaysia but also in Indonesia, Philiphines, Singapore and Brunei (where it is known by the name of Patupat in Kapampangan. Puso in Cebuano, or Ta'mu in Tausug). Also known as rice cake or rice dumplin, ketupat is made from rice or glutionous rice and then wrapped in woven palm leaves pouch. 

This ketupat is usually served with “Rendang” (dried beef of chicken curry), “Lontong”, “Lodeh” and also satay together with ground nuts gravy. The origin of ketupat passed down through the generations as it is believed that seafarers used to bring cooked rice together during their long sea voyages. And the palm wrapping just meant to keep the cooked rice fresh and unspoiled. Usually stored hanging in bunch in the open air, ketupat can lasts several day before it starts to rot. 

In Malaysia, there are two common types of ketupat that famously served during Eid festivals, which are ketupat nasi and ketupat palas. Ketupat palas is usually associated with the northern states of Malaysia (Kedah, Perlis and Penang). It has triangular shape and wrapped in fan palm lave or also known as palas leave (Licuala Grandis). And the rice used is sticky rice or some people call it glutinous rice. As for the other type of ketupat, it uses normal palm leave as wrapper which woven in square shape and uses normal rice. This type is more famous with southern and central states of Malaysia. 

Preparing ketupat starts with getting the leaves for making the pouch. For some people, the leaves is acquired from the wild but some prefer to just buy it from the supplier. As for making the pouch, only the yong leaves are used as they are more malleable. 

After cleaning up process of the leaves is done, the weaving process then starts. Basically this job requires skill to get it done in short time without an error. The pouch is made up of two strips of palm leaves twisted and woven tightly together to ensure no rice spills out of the pouch. But different types of ketupat do have different style of weaving. For ketupat nasi, it is more on cross-weaving the leaves to get a chequered pouch while for ketupat palas, it is more on round-weaving where the pouch looks like a triangular tube. 

Once the pouch is ready, it is now time to fill it up with rice. Before that, the rice must be cleaned up and thoroughly rinsed to remove any impurities. Then, the rice is inserted into a small opening made on the pouch (basically this opening is a loose joint that will get closed once the pouch is tighten up). Once the pouch filled up with the rice (only a third of pouch capacity), the opening needs to be closed by tying the receptacles of the pouch to narrow down the opened joint. 

Then it is time to proceed with the boiling process. Water is pre-heated in a large cauldron and once the water has boiled, a bunch of ketupat (usually tied in five to six pouches per-bunch) is put into the cauldron one by one. Number of ketupat that can be boiled at a time depends on the size of the cauldron. One important note during this boiling process is to make sure that the water is pre-heated and has totally boiled up before inserting the ketupat. This is to ensure that the ketupat doesn't spend unnecessary time in the unboiled water as it tends to be soggy due to excessive amount of water absorbed. And for sure, experience in much needed in order to make a well-boiled and firm ketupat. 

Time taken during the boiling process might vary depending on the amount of water and ketupat used. Some tips in making nice ketupat is to constantly check the ketupat during the boiling process. This is because every boiling process in making ketupat differs from one to another thus the best method to get it well-boiled is to constantly check it. Lift the ketupat bunch with a stick to inspect the texture and be careful in handling it as the ketupat is still hot. 

Once cooked, the ketupat will be lifted out of the cauldron and left aside to let it cool down. People normally cut the ketupat only when it is served as to preserve it longer. 

Besides using palm leaves or palas leaves to make the pouch, some people sometimes subtitutes this palm leave with plastic bag. But then it is no longer called ketupat as it famously known as “nasi impit”. However, the concept is nothing different with rice used and packed in plastic bag then boiled in hot water. The pros of making nasi impit instead of ketupat is that people save more time in preparing it since it involves no weaving works. The rice is inserted in to a quarter (approximately) of plastic bag capacity and then stappled. It takes shorter time to prepare nasi impit then ketupat but what is missing the aroma of the palm leaves used as a pouch. Ketupat might takes longer time to be prepared but the aroma it gives is so much sought-after that some people wouldn't mind to burn their midnight oils to weave the pouch, only to be satisfied with the taste and aroma of traditional ketupat. 

And due to modernization, we can also have instant ketupat nowadays. Just head to any supermarket and you can easily find the package of “ketupat mini”. But don't expect it to come with the palm leave pouch as it is pre-packed in small plastic pouch (might as well called as mini nasi impit). And even the rendang and ground nuts gravy can be found easily in the supermarket. 

As it is famously served during Eid festivals (Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Aidiladha), ketupat also served together with satay. Some satay seller make it a standard for the satay they sell but some make it optional. Since eating the satay only will not actually make your stomach full, ketupat is served to complement the satay and best eaten with the ground nuts gravy (kua kacang). Most satay seller usually pre-pack the dice-cut ketupat together with cucumber slices and onions besides the satay itself and the gravy nuts. 

During Eid festivals, ketupat is normally served together wih beef or chicken rendang and also lontong. The serving is quite standard for any Malay houses during this festive season. And don't be surprised to find that ketupat nasi served together with the ketupat palas as for some people, both types have their own advantages. Ketupat palas has thicker texture and a little bit sticky, and the good thing is it can be eaten on its own since the glutinous rice used adds some taste into it. But then, it is definitely best eaten together with rendang and lontong. 

Unwrapping ketupat might be one's favourite thing to do during Eid. Cut it into mouth-size cube and dip it into rendang or you can pour the lontong gravy into your plate and drool yourself with the tasty traditional taste passed down from generations to generations. With kids nowadays prefer fast food than traditional delights, it is our responsible to make sure that ketupat still exist in the future.