'Kraca', escargot from Purwokerto

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purwokerto, Central Java

"Hmmm. Yummy. It's hot and tasty. Once you taste it, you won't stop," said Suryati, 23, while eating a stewed snail.

Suryati is one of many Purwokerto residents who has become addicted to this particular cuisine, known as kraca. It is not a popular delicacy in other areas, though, mainly because people outside of Purwokerto are not familiar with it.

By custom, people only eat the stewed snails during Ramadhan. This delicacy fades away from the market once the holy month ends.

"Kraca tastes really good. It's best to eat it right after you break your fast or after the tarawih (Ramadhan nighttime prayer). It's hot and delicious," said Parto, who eats the snails every evening during Ramadhan.

"You have to be careful when eating kraca. There is a technique for eating it, but don't worry the vendor will tell you how," he said.

A handful of kraca, placed in a small plastic bag big enough to hold 0.25 kilograms of sugar, costs Rp 2,000 (less than 25 US cents). There is a smaller package that sells for Rp 1,000 each.

In Purwokerto, stewed snails sell like hotcakes. Vendors usually get to their food stalls to start selling the snails as early as 2 p.m.

To prepare the dish, vendors stew the snails inside their shells. But before they are cooked, they are cleaned.

First, the snails are soaked in a container of water for about three hours. This process allows the dirt to seep out of the shell, according to Sukarti, 50, a vendor who works along Jl. Pemuda.

Then put the snails in water and boil for about two hours.

"Later, you season and wait for half an hour. Then they are ready for sale," Sukarti said.

Although it takes hours to prepare the snails, Sukarti said the process was not so difficult, and the seasonings used were the same as those used to make beef stew.

"Just add more pepper to make it really hot," she suggested.

She said that every day she bought between seven and 10 kilograms of snails from her supplier for between Rp 2,000 and Rp 3,000 per kilogram, depending on the quality and the size. She prefers smaller snails.

"They should not be too big. People like the ones that are a bit bigger than a marble. They should not be bigger than a Ping- Pong ball," she said.

She said bigger snails were not as tasty as the smaller ones. She also warned against buying snails that were not fresh. As an experienced vendor, it is easy for her to ascertain the condition of the snails by smelling them.

"If it tastes bad, that means that the snails are not fresh," she said.

Sukarti, who has been in the kraca business for five years, sells the delicacy in small plastic bags for Rp 1,000 each. Five kilograms of kraca fill 50 of the plastic bags.

Another vendor, Supiah, 34, said she sold an average of 10 kilograms of kraca every day.

"On a good day, I can sell up to 20 kilograms. But on average, I sell about 10 kilograms," she said.

In Purwokerto, the delicacy is easily found along Jl. Sawangan, Jl. Setasiun and Jl. Pemuda.

The kraca along Jl. Sawangan, where Supiah runs her business, is the most popular.

"It's not bad. I can save money for the Idul Fitri holiday. This is a blessing from God," Supiah said.