Pulut-filled Raya

Every family has its own traditional Raya staple and for Aiman Ahmad Anuar, it’s ketupat sotong

AIDILFITRI is here! And there are so many reasons to celebrate — a successful fasting month, the much-anticipated gathering with family and friends as well as the beginning of the holiday season. And the one thing that everyone will be looking forward to? The food!

The Raya period will unleash traditional delights that we usually only get to sample once a year when we or visit open houses. Everything from rendang to lemang is readily available during this festive time.

Raya food is about what’s close to the heart or, in some cases, to the belly. Since all of us grew up with different traditions and different cuisines, it makes sense that every household has its signature Raya spread.

Each rendang tastes different, each ketupat is uniquely folded and every home serves something special for the first day of the celebrations.

Some serve laksa, others lontong, and there may even be soto ayam that is the

in some homes.

In the case of my family, due to our mixed heritage — Indonesian, Johorean and Orang Ganu (Terengganu) — we inevitably end up serving dishes from all three cultures.

There’ll always be laksa Johor, nasi dagang and even gado-gado. But if there’s one dish that is synonymous with our celebrations and one that I can only get during the Raya season, it’s ketupat sotong (sticky rice-stuffed squid).

When this is served, then Raya has definitely arrived for my family and me.

TRADITIONAL TREAT

The dish is believed to have originated from Terengganu and Kelantan but no one actually knows which state came up with it first.

However, the two cultures have their own respective ways of preparing it and this is how you can tell where the dish you’re sampling is from. My family makes it in the Terengganu style and it’s absolutely delicious.

Terengganu-style ketupat sotong is the epitome of traditional cooking in the state, using methods and ingredients native to it.

And like all Terengganu dishes, it’s relatively easy to make although it does take a little bit of time.

The basic ingredients for this dish are simple: Sticky rice, squid, sugar, salt ginger, shallots, fenugreek and coconut milk. The amount of ingredients to be used depends on how you like your dish.

In my family, we like to crank up on the amount of ginger, shallots and fenugreek because we love strong flavours.

If you prefer more subtle aromas, mini-

A traditional treat from the East Coast.

mise the amount you use.

We also love using fresh coconut milk because Terengganu dishes are not meant to be thick. It’s slightly watery, thanks to the lack of coagulants in the natural coconut milk.

GRANDMA’S SPECIAL

After you’ve determined the amount of ingredients, you’ll need to figure out how you want to cook your sticky rice.

Some families steam it first before stuffing their squid because it quickens the cooking process.

Others will stuff their squid with uncooked sticky rice so that the gravy will get a chance to seep into the rice, giving it a richer flavour. My family prefers the latter technique.

While this dish is delicious, there’s one downside. Whichever technique you use, your squid will end up with a slightly rubbery texture.

Ketupat sotong needs at least 20 minutes to boil in the prepared gravy so the flavours can seep through. And in the case of squid, that’s already 19 minutes too long.

One way around it is to use smaller squid because they have less rice in them, hence it takes less time for the flavours to come together.

Actually, there’s no helping it because, no matter what, the dish will end up being a bit rubbery.

You may wonder why such an odd dish holds so much significance for my family, especially during this time of the year.

It’s because my grandmother had used it as her “carrot” to lure her KL-based grandchildren.

Each year, without fail, she’d call and tempt us with this pulut-filled delight because she knew we’d not be able to get it in KL. Eventually it became a tradition that none of us would dream of not having on Raya day.

Whatever your family food traditions, it’s important that they’re maintained for the next generation.

So take the chance during this Raya season to learn to make your family’s signature dish or spread. Who knows, one day you’ll have your own family to serve, and they’re going to need some traditions to help bring them together. Just like my grandmother has been doing all these years.