Eid al-Fitr or Lebaran is a special holiday in Indonesia. First, it is because it is usually very long on, at least a week or so. Then, Lebaran is the celebration of victory for Muslims after a month of fasting. It is no wonder that there are many special foods you can find during this period. Let’s talk about Betawi traditional Lebaran snacks because there are lots of them.
Betawi is a predominantly Muslim tribe, originally from Jakarta area. They have some special snacks and cookies when celebrating Lebaran. Here are some of the Betawi traditional Lebaran snacks that you can enjoy.
Kue Satu
Some people also call this Kue Satru (Satru Cake). It is mainly made of green bean flour. This cake is indeed very interesting. The mold is made out of carved wood, and to extract the cakes, they have to softly knock the mold. The cake is brittle, it is a symbol of the fragile faith during Ramadan fasting.
Kue Biji Ketapang
Ketapang is known as Indian Almond in the English-speaking world. This tree has an almond-like fruit (biji ketapang), though it is inedible. The cake is not in any way related to the fruit, except that it has a similar shape. It is actually made of flour, shredded coconut, eggs, and other smaller ingredients.
Kue Akar Kelapa
Akar kelapa means the root of the coconut tree. Again, this cake has nothing to do with the actual root, only has a similar shape. Unlike many other cakes, kue akar kelapa is not sweet. It is a savory, a little bit salty, and crunchy. Also, this cake is commonly paired with fried peanut, enjoyed with tea in the afternoon.
Dodol Betawi
The cake is somewhat omnipresent in the western part of Indonesia. However, each region added its own flair to the chewy cake. The main ingredients are simple, mainly sticky rice flour and palm sugar. However, the cooking process takes a lot of time. It is chewy, sweet, and brown. You can usually buy it in a cylindrical form.
Kembang Goyang
This crunchy cake is also available in many other regions in Java. Kembang Goyang literally means the ‘dancing flower’ because it has the shape of a flower. This cake also has other names; as Antari or Matahari (sun) cake. It is savory and sweet. It is made of sticky rice flour that is fried on a special mold.
Tape Uli
This is actually a combination of two delicious cakes. The first one is white sticky rice mashed and steamed into a glutinous savory cake. The second one is tape ketan hitam, fermented black rice that tastes sweet and sour. The combination creates an indeed unique taste, an explosion of flavors.
Manisan kolang kaling
Kolang kaling is a unique delicacy, made from unripe sugar palm fruit. Furthermore, there are several complicated steps to create this delicacy, even involve soaking in lime water. Generally, kolang kaling is white but very receptive to coloring. This chewy delicacy usually has many colors, especially during Lebaran.
Even though Betawi is not a big tribe in number, they have quite a rich culture. It is reflected on the many delicious Betawi traditional Lebaran snacks.
