Celebrations for Eid al-Fitr or Lebaran are eagerly awaited by people of all ages. This is when friends and families get together - and where Eid traditions as well as special Eid dishes are some of the major highlights of the festival. During Eid, you will always find dishes that play a big part in the feast on any Eid table in Indonesia.
1. Beef Rendang
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No Indonesian Eid table is complete without Beef Rendang, which is a dry beef curry with a spicy, fragrant flavor. Beef Rendang is one of the main dishes that is served during Eid Al-Fitr - usually along with ketupat or lemang. The ground spice paste made mostly from ginger, shallots and lemon grass combined with the slow cooking process further enhances the unique flavor of Beef Rendang. The dish is cooked until all the liquid evaporates – the traditional method takes hours to cook, which results in well-flavored perfectly tender meat.
2. Satay
Satay is well-known as a street food but it is also included on most Eid tables accompanied with ketupat, lemang and usually with peanut sauce. This particular delicacy consists of well-spiced meat being skewered and grilled – the satay meat has a spicy, smoky flavor. Beef, chicken, and mutton are the most commonly used meats. Satay is almost never left out from the list of dishes on the Eid table in Indonesia.
3. Opor Ayam
Opor Ayam is one of the most popular Eid dishes in Indonesia and is known for its aromatic flavor. This chicken dish is cooked in spices along with coconut milk and is usually served with ketupat and sambal goreng ati – sometimes boiled eggs are added when serving. The Opor Ayam’s amazing flavor comes from a mixture of spices such as – cumin, coriander, and galangal. Don't be surprised to find different variations of this dish when you visit different parts of Indonesia.
4. Ketupat
Image Credit: Meutia Chaerani, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An Eid feast in Indonesia will always have ketupat – which are diamond-shaped packets made out of palm leaves that contain steamed glutinous rice. The flavor of the steamed rice dumpling comes from the leaves and coconut milk. Ketupat is usually eaten with beef rendang, sayur lodeh, and similar meat or vegetable dishes. This simple but delicious dish is also a symbol of Ramadan. The interwoven palm leaves symbolize the wrong doings and sins committed by people and the white rice represents purity and forgiveness.
5. Lapis Legit
Lapis Legit is also known as the thousand-layer spice cake or Spekkoek and is often eaten during Eid Al-Fitr. The cake is fragrant and get its buttery, spicy taste from ginger and a mixture of spices such as anise, cinnamon, or simply spekkoek powder. There are both colorful and simpler varieties that can be found in bakeries and during the Eid festival - variations with fruits or nuts can be found as well. Creating the layers is time-consuming, but this cake is definitely worth to be eaten during very special occasions like Eid.
