Just Too Little Time

Ramadan is over, today all Muslims in the world are celebrating Eid ul-Fitr or Indonesians call it Hari Lebaran. In Indonesia, this is the time when Muslims visit their family and friends to ask for forgiveness for any wrongs they have committed in the previous year. We will say, “Mohon Maaf Lahir Batin” which means “forgive me from the bottom of my heart/soul”.

My in laws are Muslims so we’ll be visiting their house today to wish Selamat Lebaran. We expect to eat ketupat there also. Ketupat is a type of rice dumpling, made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch which is then boiled. As the rice cooks, the grains expand to fill the pouch and the rice becomes compressed. Here ketupat is traditionally eaten during Eid, usually served with various vegetable and meat dishes. Most (if not all) of the accompanying dishes are cooked in spicy coconut milk.

Unopened cooked ketupat