'Ketupat' casing business a moneymaker during Idul Fitri

By Emmy Fitri

JAKARTA (JP): For most Jakartans, the Idul Fitri celebration would not be complete without feasting on some ketupat (rice wrapped in young coconut palm leaves).

Although it is unclear when and where the dish was first introduced, ketupat has become an integral part of the holiday tradition, particularly for Betawi (native Jakartan) people.

An Idul Fitri menu will include the festive delicacy instead of plain rice and it is usually served with opor (meat or chicken dish cooked with coconut cream and various spices) and sambal goreng (chicken and potato fried in a spicy sauce).

Guests and relatives, who visit in order to ask for or convey forgiveness, are offered the cuisine in almost every house and they can be guaranteed that all will taste the same.

The ketupat season has been an unexpected windfall for people such as Panihaki, 29, who sold the young palm leaves and the plaited ketupat casings made from the leaves outside Kramat Jati Indah department store in East Jakarta.

Panihaki was one of dozens of seasonal sellers who helped satisfy the public's craving for the annual specialty last week.

But unlike other sellers, who came in groups on public transportation from outside the city, Panihaki drove his own Suzuki pick-up along with two relatives Enung, 32, and Fauzi, 18.

Panihaki said most of the ketupat casing sellers had come from West Java but they spread themselves around the city.

"I came here four days ago (four days ahead of the Idul Fitri celebration last Friday) and brought with me more than one ton of young coconut palm leaves," he said.

Panihaki usually sells coconuts and owns at least 150 coconut palms, which he said he inherited from his father, in his hometown of Banten in West Java.

It is the young leaves, which are still light green in color, that are needed to make the ketupat casing.

By simply slashing the young leaves from the palms, Panihaki, the father of a six-year-old daughter, has an instant moneymaker.

"(Removing the new leaves) will help the palms grow faster because as far as I know the palm will grow better than if it's not cut at all."

He said his earnings from this year's sale of ketupat casing could reach between Rp 400,000 (US$40) and Rp 500,000, about the same as last year.

He acknowledged that the leaves were not as good as last year due to the prolonged dry season and the patchy rainfall over the last few months.

"But I hope they will sell out like last year so that I can share the money with my relatives," he said.

From his earnings, Panihaki had to set aside a portion for living expenses during the three men's four-day stay in Jakarta.

"We sleep in the car and buy cheap food around here," he said.

Panihaki sells the ketupat casings during the Idul Fitri holiday to look for extra money.

Initially he used to accompany his father, who was also a coconut seller, to sell the casings in Jakarta.

And he learned how to transform a long leaf into a neatly plaited wrapper from his family and neighbors.

"In my village, almost all people, from the smallest to the oldest, whether man or woman, can make a ketupat casing like this," he said, adding he can plait one in less than 10 seconds.

In his hometown, offering and eating ketupat and its complementary dishes during the Idul Fitri holiday is not a tradition.

"We usually have dodol (taffy made from sticky rice, coconut milk and palm sugar) during the Idul Fitri celebration, not ketupat like in Jakarta," he said.

Like most other sellers, Panihaki's casings cost Rp 700 for 10, but he also offered bunches of leaves, containing 500 pieces for Rp 10,000.

Some people want to make their own casings of various sizes and shapes, he said.

Panihaki said buyers should think twice about the time and energy they would waste making them by themselves as the prepared ones were much cheaper.

With his mission complete, Panihaki can return home with some additional rupiah in his pocket.

"I'll leave on Takbiran night (the eve of Idul Fitri), or as soon as all the casings are sold," he said, adding that he hoped to be home in time to say the morning prayer with his family.