Ketupat

Ketupat (in Indonesian and Malay) or Kupat (in Javanese and Sundanese) is a type of dumpling made from rice packed inside woven palm leaf pouch. It is commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and the Philippines (where it is known by the name pusô in Cebuano, bugnóy in Hiligaynon, patupat in Kapampangan and Pangasinan, or ta’mu in Tausug). It is commonly described as "packed rice", although there are other types of similar packed rices such as lontong and bakchang.

How To Make

Step1: Weave the leaf on your right hand into the one on your left in an alternating fashion. Keep holding on to the leaves as you do this. This step takes the most getting used to; concentrate on getting the hang of it.
Step 2: Once done, it should resemble the photo.
Step 3: Take the narrow end of the leaf and weave it upwards, keeping to the alternating pattern. Once you get to the top, take a left turn and keep weaving to that corner. (i.e. weave along two sides of the ketupat)
Step 4: Turn the ketupat around. Repeat the previous step of going up and to the left. (i.e. weave along the other two sides of the ketupat) The narrow ends should now be at the same corner.
Step 5: Take one of the wide ends and weave towards the corner opposite the one with the narrow ends. (i.e. weave along one side)
Step 6: Repeat with the other wide end. (i.e. weave along the other one side) The wide ends should now be at the same corner, opposite from the corner with the narrow ends.
Step 7: Neaten the ketupat. Start by folding a small corner of the wide end and tucking it like a hook into the corner. Carefully tug the leaf along its path.
Step 8: Do the same with the other wide end of the leaf – fold the end and hide it under a weave and tug it gently along its path. You will have to do this several times for both leaves.
And done

HOW TO COOK

1. Wash empty ketupats casings and set aside to drain.
2. For 30 small ketupat casings, I used about 1-1/2 kilos of plain local rice (I used Kedah Beras Tempatan)
3. Wash rice and then set aside to dry. It is easier to fill up ketupats when rice is dry, or the rice will stick to your fingers.
4. Make the ketupat opening larger at the end where the longer leaves are and fill up to 45% full of the casings with rice.
5. Seal that opening by tightening the leaves with a pulling motion. Knot them twice.
6. At the opposite end of the ketupat casings where there are two short parts of the coconut leaves jutting out, tuck the loose ends into the ketupat to seal the hole.
7. Bring a large pot of water (add 3 tbsps of salt) with ketupats to a boil. Lower heat to small and simmer the filled ketupats for 5 hours, ensuring that they are covered with water at all times, i.e. refill water when the water level goes down. This makes the ketupat rice last longer and not go bad easily in a few days.

Categories: Common Ingredients