Eid Mubarak!
Happy Eid!
Selamat Idul Fitri!
Eid al-Fitr is a major holiday in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world which is located in Southeast Asia.
Many Indonesians are still preparing the Idul Fitri festival in traditional and eco-friendly ways.
The main menu for the holiday is called Ketupat. It is a Javanese rice cake cooked inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf, an eco-friendly, compostable material.
Here is the diamond-shape container looks like:
This is the video how to make the Ketupat pouch:
The pouch will then filled with rice and boiled in water. Here is the traditional way to cook it with a big pot on top of wood stove:
Here is what they look like when they’re ready:
According to this Indonesian news, Ketupat was started to become an iconic meal on Eid in Indonesia since the 15th century.
Ketupat can be eaten with other side dishes like chicken curry or Rendang.
Rendang is another iconic meal on Eid in Indonesia. It is a chunk of meat slow cooked and braised in coconut milk seasoned with more than 10-20 different herbs and spices.
The traditional way to cook Rendang is using a big wok on a wood stove. Cooking rendang requires patience because it needs constant stirring to slow cook it for more than one hour until the meat is tender and coconut milk is caramelized.
After Rendang is ready to be consumed, it can be stored for weeks without refrigeration. The herbs and spices used to make Rendang are the natural preservative agents.
Prior to refrigeration technology, this style of cooking enabled preservation of the large amount of meat. The cooking technique flourished because of its role in preserving meat in a tropical climate (see Wikipedia). Additionally, the taste of Rendang improves the more it’s reheated.
Aside from preparing meals, there are more ways to celebrate Eid al-Fitr the eco-friendly ways. Here are some ideas for decorations from recycled materials from our families in Indonesia. Enjoy!
