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.

There are two types of ketupat in the above picture. The small ones are cooked with coconut milk while the bigger ones are just plain rice. Those ketupat were from our neighbors. It’s another tradition here during Eid that is to share food with neighbors whether they celebrate it or not. Though we don’t celebrate Eid at our house, every year our Muslim neighbors will always send us some food, it’s their way to share their happiness during Eid. In return we usually send them cakes or fruits. Happy Eid ul-Fitr