Ketupat or packed rice is a type of dumpling from Malaysia. It is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled. As the rice cooks, the grains expand to fill the pouch and the rice becomes compressed. This method of cooking gives the ketupat its characteristic form and texture of a rice dumpling. Ketupat is usually eaten with rendang (a type of dry beef curry) or served as an accompaniment to satay or gado-gado. Ketupat is also traditionally served by Malays at open houses on festive occasions such as Idul Fitri (Hari Raya Aidilfitri). During Idul Fitri in Indonesia, ketupat is often served with chicken curry, accompanied with spicy soy powder. Among Filipinos, Pusô is also traditionally used as a pabaon or a mobile meal, traditionally brought by workers as a type of packed lunch, served with any selection of stews. "Pusô" is also widely eaten in the side streets of Cebu with pork barbecue, chicken skewers, and other grilled selections.
Varieties
There are many varieties of ketupat, with two of the more common ones being ketupat nasi and ketupat pulut. Ketupat nasi is made from white rice and is wrapped in a square shape with coconut palm leaves while ketupat pulut is made from glutinous rice is usually wrapped in a triangular shape using the leaves of the fan palm (Licuala). Ketupat pulut is also called "ketupat daun palas" in Malaysia.
Ketupat nasi (rice)
Local stories passed down through the generations have attributed the creation of this style of rice preparation to the seafarers' need to keep cooked rice from spoiling during long sea voyages. The coco leaves used in wrapping the rice are always shaped into a triangular form and stored hanging in bunches in the open air. The shape of the package facilitates moisture to drip away from the cooked rice while the coco leaves allow the rice to be aerated and at the same time prevent flies and insects from touching it.
Rendang
In Malaysia, rendang is traditionally prepared by the Malay community during festive occasions. Though rendang is sometimes described as being like a curry, and the name is sometimes applied to curried meat dishes in Malaysia, authentic rendang is nothing like a curry. In Malay classical literature, rendang is mentioned in Hikayat Amir Hamzah as early as the 1550s.
Rendang is made from beef (or occasionally chicken, mutton, water buffalo, duck, or vegetables like jackfruit or cassava) slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices for several hours until almost all the liquid is gone, allowing the meat to absorb the spicy condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying as the liquid evaporates. The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender. The spices may include ginger, galangal, turmeric leaf, lemon grass and chillies. Chicken or duck rendang also contains tamarind and is usually not cooked for as long as beef rendang.
Beef Rendang
There are two kinds of rendang: dried and wet. Dried rendang can be kept for 3–4 months, and it is for ceremonial occasions or to honour guests. Wet rendang, also known as kalio, can be found in Minangkabau restaurants, and without refrigeration, it should be consumed within a month.
Rendang is often served with rice, ketupat (a compressed rice cake) and lemang (glutinous rice barbecued in bamboo tubes) in Indonesia, as well as in Malaysia.
How to Make Ketupat
These firm rice cakes are usually cooked in individual baskets of woven coconut leaves so that the rice swells until it fills the basket and becomes firmly compressed. Here is a simple and more practical way of producing similar results in Western kitchens.
Ingredients : Serves 6
500 g
4 cups
Short or medium grain rice
Water
Banana leaf or aluminium foil
Method :
Bring the water and rice to the boil.
Cover tightly with lid.
Turn heat very low and cook for 35-40 minutes until all water is absorbed.
Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Then press rice into a cake tin or pie plate to a depth of about 2.5 cm (1 inch).
Use a piece of washed and greased banana leaf or greased aluminum foil to cover the surface of the rice and put another plate on top.
Press down very firmly the plate.
Put a weight on top and leave at room temperature for a few hours, until very firm.
Remove weight, plate and banana leaf and use a wet knife to cut rice into 5 cm squares.
Serve with spicy peanut sauce or Rendang.
How to Cook Rendang
Ingredients
1/2 Cup Oil
3 cm (1 1/4 in) Cinnamon Stick
2 Cloves
4 Star Anise
2 Cardamom Pods
500 grams,(1 lb.) Topside Beef, cubed.
1 cup thick Coconut Milk
1 Slice Asam Gelugor, or 2 teaspoons dried Tamarind Pulp soaked in warm water for juice.
2 fragrant Lime leaves, very finely sliced.
1 Turmeric leaf, very finely sliced.
2 Tablespoons Kerisik,(see Helpful Hint below).
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Salt to taste.
Spice Paste
2 Shallots
2 cm (3/4 inch) Galangal (from Marks & Spencer !!!)
3 Lemon Grass
2 Cloves Garlic
2 cm (3/4 inch) Ginger
10 Dried Chillies, soaked in hot water
Steps
1) Chop the spice paste ingredients then puree in a blender until fine.
2) Heat the Oil in a Pot on a Medium setting until hot, then turn down to Low and add the Spice paste, Cinnamon, Cloves, Star Anise, and Cardamom and cook for 5 minutes. If it starts to burn, add a tablespoon of water.
3) Add the Beef, Coconut Milk and asam gelagor or Tamarind juice.
4) Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until the meat is almost cooked.
5) Add the Lime and Turmeric leaves,kerisik,sugar and salt.
6) Lower the heat and simmer until the meat is really tender and the gravy has dried up.
Approximate cooking time is 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
7) Helpful Hint :-
Kerisik is ground coconut.
To prepare the kerisik, roast 10 oz,(300 g) of fresh grated coconut, either the traditional way in a dry Wok,stirring constantly, or in a slow oven until brown.
Then grind finely, preferably when hot, because then it's crispy and easier to grind. Coconut oil may be produced if the coconut is old, in which case, simply combine it with the ground coconut.
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