Food and beverage in Betawi cultures are various; one of them is ketan uli. Ketan uli is usually served in Muslim Holiday, Idul Fitri or Idul Adha. The process of making Ketan Uli symbolizes the tight togetherness among families. This is shown by a job description between women and men.
In common, Ketan Uli was made in another old Betawi event: Kerbau Andilan tradition to welcome Lebaran. Beside Ketan Uli, there are also geplak, wajik, kue lapis pepe and dodol. They are getting to vanish now.
Not everybody knows that the making of Ketan Uli has a deep meaning. “Usually men mash Ketan (sticky rice) and the women cook it. The job description has special meaning for the Betawinese people,” Alim Molana, one of Betawi figures living in Warungbuncit, South Jakarta, told beritajakarta.com, Friday (11/27).
“A lot of people believe that there is a mystical thing shadowing the process. If the maker forbids it, the making of Ketan Uli won’t succeed,” Molana said.
The ingredients of Ketan Uli are sticky rice, yeast, salt and coconut grated. Wash clean the sticky rice and put it into the water in two to six hours, cook it until cooked. Move the cooked sticky rice in a bowl, pour coconut grated and salt.
Another process has to be done is mashing the sticky rice while it is still hot, so that you will have soft sticky rice. After that, wrap the soft sticky rice in a banana leave in some parts. Leave it there to be cool and ready to eat.
Molana explained that Ketan Uli is served as a symbol of modesty and religion.
Beside in Jakarta, Ketan Uli is also used as the completion in a Javanese sacred tradition, for example in Yogyakarta and Surakarta.