Mbak Ika and Iin during my more infamous Indonesian trip adventures. We were visiting the Water Castle in Jogja but it was closed and there was one way in: by climbing the roof to an open window!
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Making Ketupat Daun Palas
by fairy (26-Nov-2003) | Readers Say

In the Malay world, ketupat has always been the signature food item that must be prepared, served and eaten during the Muslim festival of Hari Raya or Eid. Whether you hail from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore or Brunei, celebrating the arrival of the month of Syawal without this specially compressed rice treat would be the most unnatural, if not unthinkable, thing to do.

People go to great lengths to get ketupat for Hari Raya; some will pre-order them weeks on advance. My family on the other hand prefers to make our own ketupats. My parents would enthusiastically round up our family members just a day or two before Eid to menganyam (weave) and masak (cook) ketupat daun palas.

There are two kinds of ketupat that I am familiar with in Malaysia: ketupat nasi and ketupat daun palas. Apparently ketupat daun palas is a Northern Malaysian (Penang, Kedah, Perlis) specialty and since I grew up eating ketupat daun palas, I find them to the best tasting ketupat, reason being that they are cooked with coconut milk while ketupat nasi is just made of plain rice.

 We started our ketupat project with these daun palas which are long leaves from a palm tree of the Licuala species. You can purchase them from the pasar (marketplace) especially during the fasting month of Ramadan just before Hari Raya. In the days of old, these leaves were sometimes used for making the roof on top of kampung houses.

The leaves need to be wiped clean from their hairy husks before you start working on them. Trim the tip and unfold its fan-like leaf, like so.

You would then roll the leaf up like you would homemade cigarette to make it more flexible.

My dad always tells me that you start out by folding the one corner of the daun palas into a cone.

After a series of funky twists and turns of the daun palas, you'll get a pile of beautifully woven ketupat shells. This is a skill that I've never quite been able to grasp, much less describe in writing. You can pretty much give me banana peels to weave ketupat shells and save the daun palas from my destruction.
An empty ketupat is useless on its own unless you plan to just use them for decorative purposes. So stuff your ketupat up with rice, of course! The rice is of the beras pulut type, mixed in with water and santan (coconut milk) (with a pinch of salt to taste) and cooked until halfway done.

For aesthetic purposes, Mom likes to trim off the long end of the ketupat.

Sometimes people will choose to not cut that long end of the ketupat and will instead use it knot the ketupat. This secures the ketupat content from spilling out.

It's funny to say this, but ketupats have sexes too! Depending on how you fold your ketupat shell, you'll get a ketupat betina ("female" ketupat) or a ketupat jantan ("male" ketupat)! Makes me feel like sending out congratulatory cards for every "boy" and "girl" ketupat we make! :D
My mother would always say don't make your ketupat too big, like this big bad "boy" ketupat! Bigger ketupats take longer to cook. So make small and medium-sized ketupats, you'll be glad you did.

Once you've stuffed all your ketupat shells with the half-cooked rice, heap them all up in a giant pot, after filling the bottom of the pot with few inches of water. The ketupats will take about an hour or two to cook, depending on how many exactly you lumped into your pot.
When done, the color of ketupat leaves will turn a yellowish brown. The aroma of freshly steamed ketupat in their daun palas casing is a wondrous sensation to the nose.

Unwrapping a ketupat is one of my many favorite things to do. A well-made ketupat daun palas will turn out nice, firm and chewy. It will also taste flavorful and rich, and will be somewhat oily to the touch. Ketupats are best eaten with beef or chicken rendang. For some however, eating ketupat daun palas on its own is a reward in itself!

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Update! (23 Dec 2005) Read about how the ketupat photos from this article made their way into a book published by McGraw-Hill called Weavers of the World!
WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT Making Ketupat Daun Palas:
#51. thyanx 4 dis web..
u help me to solve my assignment
Posted by mawar berduri on 22-Jan-2008, 11:15 MYT

#50. Thank you for the "Know-How" of Ketupat Palas. Before this I only how to eat and really enjoyed eating it but know since I moved to a rural area, I could get the Daun Palas easily and been googling for the recipe. Well actually I didn't know I brought it as I thought in the first place it was Daun Kelapa! Furthermore I couldn't get any local for made to order. I guess it's best learning it by myself then.
Thanks again!
Posted by ummiar - Website   on 11-Dec-2007, 11:44 MYT

#49. good2 in making 'ketupat'
Posted by shahreza on 10-Sep-2007, 14:40 MYT

#48. fai, make ketupat ala Javanese please! for my foster parents in Oregon..coz' it seems like i'll pass my eid mubarak there
Posted by farand - Website   on 10-Jul-2006, 12:03 MYT

#47. Alamak! Jantan and betina. Cannot stop laughing one!
Posted by Kancil Girl - Website   on 19-Nov-2005, 03:55 MYT

#46. I found your web-site, thanks to you. Now i can learn to cook this ketupat daun palas for my mother. It is her favourite. Thank you so much.
Posted by dorayaki on 26-Aug-2005, 19:04 MYT

#45. hi mahdzan....yr task is good... u help me a lot ! because i'd found this website....so that my assignment will complete...thankz buddy....thank you very much! mu..ah! love u a lot! Thankz God! thank you Allah....Alhamdulill ah...hehehe bye...c ya!
Posted by amanda - Website   on 5-Mar-2005, 15:56 MYT

#44. mengkagumkan, my ketupat project on the way... maybe i can link to ur site. great job. salut!
Posted by medey2k - Website   on 17-Jan-2005, 11:41 MYT

#43. Wahhh!! awalnye buat ketupat Fai... nie nak makan masa pagi raya ke.. hentam tima buka pose nie.. Anyway i always love ketupat + rendang... iskk.. meleleh.... Anyway.. Selamat menyambut lebaran semua!!!
Posted by eLLieZ de`HearT on 11-Nov-2004, 09:33 MYT

#42. sedap nyer!!
Posted by DEWABU on 10-Mar-2004, 20:08 MYT

#41. mbak.. iduladha ada ketupat palas tak? mengidam nih?
Met IdulAdha buat semua..
Posted by im on 31-Jan-2004, 21:09 MYT

#40. Selamat pagi.
Hello, I'm Carla from the Netherlands and would like to know how to make the weaving Ketupat. My dad comes from Indonesia and he or his sisters do not know how.
Hope you can help me.
Sampai hertemu lagi
Carla

Posted by Carla on 11-Jan-2004, 18:33 MYT

#39. Lebaran aku lebih menyukai makan burasa ama ikan tumis yang di kecil kecilin and rasanya uenakk banget /Saudi 28 dec 03
Posted by Nur Ivon - Website   on 29-Dec-2003, 13:26 MYT

#38. NONIE: Pulut kuning pun best jugak. In my family however raya is not complete without ketupat daun palas.

LISSA: Dak eh, raye kat 'Kolumpo' je, my parents balik Perlis but I stayed on in PJ. How was Raya at Utagha? Sure meriah kan.
Posted by Fairy on 11-Dec-2003, 10:13 MYT

#37. Anen, kitorang rindu kat hang!!

Kesiannya, raya makan croissant. Sori lambat gila jawab aku no access de net sebab tengah kursus sebulan, ni pun curik2 masuk opis diaorang.

People, dengan segala hormatnya di announce bahawa ketupas palas with condensed milk is da bomb! For once Anen is right. belum cuma belum tahu!

Anen, aku pi aloq staq sat on 2nd raya. Rasa syahdu ja bila lalu kwsn perumahan sebab first time in a while tak raya rumah hang....tapi makan croissant di pagi raya is still super tragis...

B4 i forget...selamat hari raya fairy..good work once again! raya kat perlis?
Posted by lissa on 10-Dec-2003, 20:58 MYT

#36. biler baca citer fai nie rasa cam rugi jer nonie tak makan ketupat daun palas nie i don't eat lemang either... tak tau apsalla i'm not really fond of pulut... kecuali pulut kuning makan ngan kari daging... pelikkan... takpela maybe nanti nonie kena try la gak since my 'abg' org utara
Posted by nonie on 9-Dec-2003, 16:42 MYT

#35. IZAOWN: Hi, thanks for the lebaran wishes. I tak balik Perlis this year, only my parents.

FAIRA: Eiffel I'm in Love is a new teenage movie baru dirilis di Indonesia waktu bulan puasa kemarin. Supposed to top atau menyaingi A2DC.

Read more about EI2L at this Link
Posted by Fairy on 9-Dec-2003, 13:54 MYT

#34. hah? ketupat jantan? ketupat betinaa? weleeh.. ada2 aja. gw baru tau ada ketupat begini, huehehe..
Posted by gaza on 9-Dec-2003, 11:21 MYT

#33. EI2L? filem ape tu fai? AADC2 ke?
Posted by faira on 9-Dec-2003, 09:52 MYT

#32. Hi Fai, tak balik beraya di Perlis tahun ni? Iza balik sana for 10 days, sempat la makan ketupat palas and sopping kat Pdg Besar. Tak sangka dpt beli Nemo just for RM10 je....nasib baik slang loghat utagha masih pekat lagi!!!
Anyway, hope it's still not too late to wish you a Very Happy Hari Raya Aidil Fitri!

Posted by izaown - Website   on 7-Dec-2003, 14:51 MYT

#31. Putra, ketupat daun palas itu berbentuk segitiga dan ia adalah satu variasi ketupat di Malaysia. Kalau ketupat nasi itu baru segi empat.

EI2L (Eiffel I'm In Love) belum keluar di Malaysia, kan baru juga rilis di Indonesia.
Posted by Fairy on 5-Dec-2003, 15:30 MYT

#30. mengapa ketupat di malay bentuknya segitiga? apakah sama seperti lupis? btw, di indo lagi main filem eiffeil, i'm in love. apakah di malaysia juga main? untuk semuanya, maaf lahir bathin ya.
Posted by putra on 5-Dec-2003, 13:44 MYT

#29. suke makan ketupat daun palas ngan gula melaka..
Posted by lutfi on 3-Dec-2003, 21:51 MYT

#28. Memang betul, ketupat daun palas paling sedap, kadang-kadang orang masukkan kacang hitam. Ada kawan saya yang tak pandai buka ketupat ni, mereka guna pisau - hancur jadinya.

Sebenarnya ketupat biasa juga boleh masak dengan pulut dengan santan, sedap. Tapi susah nak potong sebab melekat. Ketupat biasa kena potong kalau nak makan isinya, ketupat palas cuma perlu tarik folder-nya saja.

Ketupat yang biasa mak saya buat ialah ketupat daun kelapa. Jenis ni pun ada banyak nama seperti Ketupat Bawang, Ketupat Pasar, Ketupat Sate, Ketupat Lembu dan lain-lain. Nama diberi berdasarkan bentuk dan saiznya.

Saya cuma pandai anyam ketupat Sate. Masa kecil dulu saya suka minta mak anyam ketupat bawang sebab ia cute.

P/s: Tahun lepas saya ada main mercun ketupat, tahun ni takde pula - main mercun mancis dan mercun telur sahaja.

Siapa pencipta ketupat ?
Posted by basrie - Website   on 3-Dec-2003, 15:48 MYT

#27. saya masih lagi recover daripada demam makan terlalu banyak ketupat dan lemang, memang ENAK sekali kerana balas dendam, tahun lepas terpaksa beraya di luar negara, macam tak raya ajer, jadi tahun ni RAYA SAKAN hehe. one day i'll be far away, no ketupat to lighten my day....
Posted by hisham on 3-Dec-2003, 09:46 MYT

#26. ketupat palas is the bomb. no doubt.
Posted by zack on 3-Dec-2003, 09:12 MYT

#25. For this interesting movement of making Ketupat segitiga instead.. I've eaten a lot of ketupat to celebrate the Fest Huh!.. Tapi yang segiempat la .. Next time, citer la pasal tempat-tempat yang meriah di kala perayaan okey.. Salamz.. sampai jumpa..
Posted by Daniah on 2-Dec-2003, 11:26 MYT

#24. Kupat, a variation of the word ketupat, among the Javanese who live in Suriname in Central America. Interesting.

Eating pulut with ice cream: double interesting! (umar, salam Aidil Fitri juga ya.)

hiddenhate, orang Indonesia senang banget ya makan krupuk with everything they eat.
Posted by Fairy on 2-Dec-2003, 10:08 MYT

#23. ketupat + opor ayam + sayur pepaya + kerupuk

wah itu tuh !
Posted by hiddenhate on 2-Dec-2003, 10:01 MYT

#22. Dear Fairy, happy belated Idul Fithri.

Try eat those pulut ketupats with tapai pulut hitam (tape ketan hitam). Yumm...

Btw, I like tape ketan hitam with vanilla ice cream. *drool*

I'm looking forward to your next post!
Posted by umar - Website   on 1-Dec-2003, 09:47 MYT

#21. adakah Coto tuh sama dengan Soto?
mbak.. kapan lebaran ke rumah?
Posted by im on 30-Nov-2003, 13:33 MYT

#20. They call ketupat in Suriname kupat, but here in Holland we just make lontong cause we have palm tree It is winter now ...
Posted by Ruben - Website   on 30-Nov-2003, 06:20 MYT

#19. Ajarin cara mbikin ketupat dunks... I dunno how to twist and fold the stuff
Posted by Adh3 - Website   on 30-Nov-2003, 03:15 MYT

#18. Ketupat pake susu kental tuh Roedi, bukan sebarang susu. I'm sure it will taste good tapi terima kasih saja, this one I will not try.
Posted by Fairy on 29-Nov-2003, 22:48 MYT

#17. Fai, ketupat dengan susu???? makan-nya mungkin seperti cornflakes dengan susu kali ya Fai?.
Tapi mungkin aja, dicoba aja dulu Fai, gue tunggu artikel hasil eksperimennya...
Posted by Roedi on 29-Nov-2003, 22:44 MYT

#16. Eh, ketupat daun palas is so versatile you know. You can eat them with condensed milk or even serbuk milo. Try dulu baru la you tau. I'm sure Lissa also would agree with me.

My dad selalu komen kalau raya kat rumah orang makan ketupat duan palas perut cepat kenyang sbb buat dr pulut. Kalau makan ketupat nasi banyak mana pun takpe, perut still ada space utk the next house. Hairan jugak I dgn my dad, sape nak makan utk lapar, semua orang makan nak bagi kenyang perut.

Lissa dear, sorry yea, tahun ni hang tak boleh merasa lidah lembu masak kurma dgn itik golek mak aku. Tahun depan ajalah...
Posted by Anen on 29-Nov-2003, 14:36 MYT

#15. Anen, crikes man, makan ketupat with condensed milk!? I'm sorry but that is soooo not my cup of tea! Gile ke apa. Orang makan ketupat dengan rendang lah babe. Eating it with anything else is like going against the grain.

IMHO, ketupat daun palas paling best. The ketupat daun palas that comes with red beans and corn lah apa, sooo weird. Ketupat nasi boring gile. At least ketupat daun palas still sedap when you eat it on its own. My family has never made ketupat nasi, still sticking to the tradition of ketupat daun palas, thanks to my Utara-born and raised dad.

Isa, well now you are enlightened as are many of us out there. Hermaphrodite ketupats haha! I'm sure there have been slip-ups in the past by many a ketupat daun palas weaver.
Posted by Fairy on 29-Nov-2003, 10:56 MYT

#14. Eii Fai. Interesting story.
I've never seen a ketupat daun palas (kesian ye, jakun..)
Anyway, the jantan/betina ketupat caught my eye. Wonder if there's anyone ever accidentally made a hermaphrodite ketupat. Hmm...
Posted by Isa on 29-Nov-2003, 00:44 MYT

#13. Fai, ketupat daun palas tu makan dgn susu pekat pun sedap. Tapi I suka yg kosong, tak suke yg ada jagung or kacang hitam. Buat spoil dia punya test aje. Selalu time raya my mum dgn my dad mesti ada 'ketupat war' between them. My mum orang Kedah so mesti nak ada ketupat daun palas. My dad pulak orang Selangor, so dia insists nak buat ketupat nasi walaupun dah bertahun2 duduk Kedah. Then bila guests datang rumah dua2 sibuk nak promote ketupat sape yg lagi best. Tapi tahun ni takleh lah nak tengok dia orang perang2 ketupat. Tapi tu takpe lagi Fai, I pergi semayang raya kat masjid Gold Coast, dia orang jamu Croissant aje. Croissant di pagi raya??? What the hell!!! Makanlah jugak sambil menitik air mata. Sedih bukan sebab tak dapat balik Malaysia, tapi sedih sebab pagi raya orang masjid jamu croissant aje. Isk..Isk.. "Dalaaam dingin subuuuh hatikuuu terusiiik, mengenaaang nasib diriii di rantauaaan".

Posted by Anen on 28-Nov-2003, 21:32 MYT

#12. Fai, Coto Makassar itu makanan aslinya Orang Makassar.seperti soup yang dicampur dengan daging, hati...dimakan bersama buras or ketupat..kuahnya agak pekat dan rasanya enak buanget...
Posted by Ana on 28-Nov-2003, 11:05 MYT

#11. Suria, I lagi lah, dah start puasa again and all our supply of ketupat daun palas dah finish! I guess we'll have to wait till mom and dad habis beraya kat Perlis then we'll make some more. Laku gile. And tak kisah lah I dapat the King Cat bunga api a bit more mahal, berapa sen je sangat mahal dia. I got to relive my childhood yey.

Burasa aka lontong santen ya. Coto Makassar. Wah apa pula ini ya?
Posted by Fairy on 28-Nov-2003, 10:48 MYT

#10. Oh, and Fairy, I got the 'kucing' bunga api less than RM 1 - 6 'peket' for RM 5 at Pasar Besar Klang. I guess at PJ, seller markup tinggi lagi!
Posted by Suria on 28-Nov-2003, 10:38 MYT

#9. Sudah hari raya ke empat and saya belum rasa lagi ketupat daun palas and also lemang!!! Hari ini sudah balik bekerja.. Huwaa!!

Thanks Fairy for making my acid gastrik dalam perut semakin mengganas. It's already 10 a.m belum breakfast lagi ni.. kedai semua tutup. Baru je pesan kawan tolong belikan.. tak tahu lah kat mana dia cari. 'Syurga makanan' Kampung Baru lah kot..

Yang perut berkeroncong,
Suria
Posted by Suria on 28-Nov-2003, 10:20 MYT

#8. Kalo di tempatku, jarang ada ketupat daun palas.Selain dari ketupat yg biasa, kita juga hidangkan 'lamban' (berbentuk panjang) dan kelupis yang rasanya kurang lebih seperti ketupat daun palas.Bagi suku bugis di sini pula mereka lebih suka menghidangkan 'buras'.Tapi aku baru tau kalo ketupat juga punya gender.he he..
Posted by Ana on 28-Nov-2003, 08:16 MYT

#7. ketupatnya Fairy kalau di sini sama bentuknya dan sejenis rasanya dengan ketupat yang dari Bugis (Sulawesi Selatan) yang namanya 'Burasa'. Saya suka banget makan burasa ini dengan Coto Makassar...nyam nyam...
Posted by Kusri on 28-Nov-2003, 01:19 MYT

#6. That's true Roedi, I think ketupat daun palas itu persis kaya ketupat Padang, karena dibuat pakai santan dan akan berminyak setelah masak.

Mbak Syl, ketupatnya memang enak buanget.

Wuih jangan tanya deh saya makan berapa biji ketupat. Pokoknya ga terkira.
Posted by Fairy on 27-Nov-2003, 17:34 MYT

#5. Mmhh...Mulai lagi deh...
Bagas, Fairy tuh emang paling senang membuat orang2 meneteskan air liurnya... (untung keyboard gue dah dilapisi plastik pelindung..hi..hi..)

Ketupat buatan fairy yang mana yah? abis berapa ketupat fai?

Bahan dasarnya seperti ketupat padang yah, cuma kalau ketupat padang bentuknya seperti ketupat biasa dan setelah itu direbus dengan santan (coconut milk), sehingga kalau sudah matang, ketupatnya akan berminyak.

Apa ya daun palas di Indon?, klo diliat dr bentuknya sih seperti daun lontar...
bener ngak?...

Posted by Roedi on 27-Nov-2003, 17:12 MYT

#4. Wow! What a coverage!
Pastinya enak dan gurih ya, Far?
Jadi kepingin.......
I made 'lontong' instead of ketupat for Lebaran kemarin.
Posted by SyL - Website   on 27-Nov-2003, 14:37 MYT

#3. Ooh.. now I have to try to make them while i'm in Indonesia next March...
Posted by Yerun - Website   on 27-Nov-2003, 14:21 MYT

#2. Bagas, masih banyak tu ketupat di rumah, sila jemput ke mari lah! Sedap!
Posted by Fairy on 27-Nov-2003, 14:07 MYT

#1. Ughh...fai, you made it again!! sampai ngeces air liur ni..hihi... you know I only got udon (japanese noodle) for hari raya, because I had class and failed to catch embassy's ketupat session huhuhu.. but, once again, happy eid mubarak! selamat menikmati ketupat ya..
Posted by Bagas on 27-Nov-2003, 14:03 MYT

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