More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!

Telly Nathalia & Antara
June 15, 2019 | 2:51 pm
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A 'Lebaran Ketupat' parade featuring 'Topat,' rice cakes wrapped in coconut leaves, at Batulayar Beach near Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. (Antara Photo/Ahmad Subaidi)
A 'Lebaran Ketupat' parade featuring 'Topat,' rice cakes wrapped in coconut leaves, at Batulayar Beach near Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. (Antara Photo/Ahmad Subaidi)

Jakarta. You wouldn't believe it, but Indonesian Muslims didn't use to eat rice cakes during Idul Fitri. The delicacy, called ketupat, used to appear on dinner tables only seven days later, during Lebaran Ketupat, or "Rice Cake Idul Fitri."  

The tradition is no longer popular in Indonesia, but is being revived in some regions. On Wednesday, the official day of Lebaran Ketupat, Muslims all over the country celebrated the tradition in a variety of ways – riding a hot air balloon, joining a panjat pinang contest (climbing a slippery pole to claim prizes), or feeding ketupat to hungry cows. 

After all that, it was time to eat the soft, fluffy rice cakes! They are most commonly served as a rice substitute in traditional dishes like soto ayam (chicken soup) or pecel (vegetable salad with peanut sauce).

In some parts of Indonesia, though, the rice cakes themselves are replaced with something more local. In Gorontalo on the island of Sulawesi, Lebaran Ketupat is the time for dodol (toffee) and nasi jaha (sticky rice cooked in bamboo).

More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
Rice cakes are traditionally served with savory broth during Lebaran Ketupat in Surabaya, East Java. (Antara Photo/Moch. Asim)
More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
A rice cake 'tumpeng' ('rice mountain') flavored with chocolate being paraded in Blitar, East Java, to celebrate Lebaran Ketupat on Wednesday. (Antara Photo/Irfan Anshori)
More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
Rice cakes fed to cows during a Lebaran Ketupat celebration in Boyolali, Central Java, on Wednesday. (Antara Photo/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
A Lebaran Ketupat hot air balloon festival in Pekalongan, Central Java, on Wednesday. (Antara Photo/Harviyan Perdana Putra)
More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
'Panjat pinang,' a game where boys climb a slippery pole to claim prizes, in Jepara, Central Java, on Wednesday. (Antara Photo/Yusuf Nugroho)
More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
A 'swim with buckets' race in Jepara, Central Java – a local Lebaran Ketupat tradition. (Antara Photo/Yusuf Nugroho)
More Rice Cakes After Idul Fitri? Why Not!
Fishermen in Sampang on the island of Madura fix and clean their fishing equipment, a long-held tradition on the eve of Lebaran Ketupat. (Antara Photo/Saiful Bahri)

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