Ketupat Weaving Instructions http://web.singnet.com.sg/~hsh17/sect1ketupat.

htm

The first of the Kampung crafts to be demonstrated here is ketupat

weaving. The ketupat is still being woven and sold by the Satay vendors
of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, but ketupat weaving in these
regions is fast becoming a dying craft among the Malays as alternative
and more expedient methods of making the rice cake have become
available to the present generation. Ketupat casings are however still
woven in homes for the Aidilfitri celebrations. During such times street
vendors can be found at the Malay Village at Geylang Serai Singapore
offering ketupat casings and cooked ketupat as well throughout the
night till the wee hours of morning.

Materials for weaving ketupat casings. The Ketupat is a savoury

rice cake wrapped in woven coconut leaves. The stick which forms the spine
of the leaves is removed with a paring knife so that the leaves are split in two
ribbon-like pieces. The young leaves of the coconut plant are used. These
young leaves are light yellow in colour with green edgings down the long
outer sides of the leaves. The length of the coconut leaves is just right for
ketupat weaving. The wider the leaves the bigger the ketupat casing will be.
The instructions given below is for the traditional ketupat - somewhat square
in shape. Another type of ketupat casing is woven in the shape of an onion -
called ketupat bawang.

Pandan leaves may also be used. The pandan leaves used are of the long
variety and not the type commonly used for food flavouring. However,
because of the scent or flavour of the Pandan leaves, such leaves are not
usually used when the ketupat is served as a complement to certain dishes as
the pandan flavour might affect the taste of the accompanying dishes.
Ketupat are therefore traditionally served plain without any flavour.
However, some ketupat are boiled in coconut milk seasoned with some salt.

For decorative purposes, ketupat casings may be woven in multicoloured

craft ribbons.

How to cook & serve ketupat.The ketupat casings are filled with
uncooked rice at the top opening of the casing. It is filled two thirds or three
quarters full. The more water absorbent Chinese rice is preferable to the
Thai variety as the Chinese rice makes a more compact ketupat and the

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texture of the ketupat is also smoother. A whole bunch of filled ketupat is

then put into a big pot of water and boiled for about 3 hours. The ketupat are
then cooled. Serve ketupat cut across diagonally twice with the casing still
intact. Remove the casing after cutting. Ketupat are traditionally served
with Sayur Lodeh, Serunding, Sambal Tumis, Soto or Satay. Because of the long
hours of boiling, the ketupat will keep well and may last a few days even
without refrigeration.

Some Weaving Tips

Briefly stated the ketupat weave comprises three vertical and three horizontal
interlocking loops. The two ends of the split coconut leaves end up together at the
diagonal opposite ends of the ketupat casing: the 2 narrow ends finish together
diagonally opposite the two broad ends. The opening of the ketupat (into which
rice is filled) is located at the top end where the broad ends of the leaves are
located.

The leaves are initially handled iand placed in the manner illustrated in figure (1)
below. When making the X, the B leaf should be longer than the A leaf so that
there is sufficient space to line up the vertical loops.from the centre of cross to the
B end of the leaf.

The 3 vertical loops (figures 2,3,4) are to be kept close together as otherwise it
may be difficult to handle the weave when you get to stage (8) where the weave has
to be turned around so that the bottom is turned up to face you. A loose weave
may just fall apart then. Furthermore, you may also run out of the lengths of the
leaves if the weave is woven too loose.

Dexterity comes with practice. A skilled person can complete one ketupat casing
in under 1 minute.

NB The illustrations below are sketched to show the weave in loose formation as
otherwise the weave will not be shown clearly enough and the back portion of the
ketupat casing will not be visible. When weaving the ketupat all the vertical and
horizontal loops should be woven as close to one another as it is possible to allow
you to manouvre the next step. Try to keep the woven casing a square and not a
rectangle as shown in the illustrations. You can do this by tightening or shortening
the horizontal loops. In the sketches, the elongated horizonatal loops are also
exaggerated to aid visbility.

Weaving Instructions

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