Kolak: Popular Sweet Dish of the Month

Kolak is an Indonesian version of compote with coconut milk. The main ingredients are plantains (the less sweet variant of banana, commonly eaten cooked only), cassava or sweet potato, palm sugar, and coconut milk. Additional spices may enrich the aroma, and the recipe may vary without altering the main taste of sweetness.

The sweet dish is very popular, especially during the Moslem's Ramadhan fasting month. Some might say it is a dessert, but it is often served as appetizer (tajil) for the fasting break after skipping meals and drinks for approximately 12 hours. For the whole month, Kolak can be easily found on street stalls during the afternoon. It is also a common dish cooked in households.

However, not so many people know the history or where the root of the word "Kolak" comes from. So here is a version of the story...

Kolak can be traced back to the spread of Islam in Java island, around the 14th century AD/CE. Moslem preachers use simple things to relate the religious teachings, including food. So, Kolak is said to derived from the word "Khalik" which means God the creator of heaven and earth. Eating the dish is supposed to remind people to get closer to God.

Two of the main ingredients also have a religious meaning. The most common type of banana used is called "pisang kepok" in local language. The word "kepok" (the variant of banana) sounds similar to the word "kapok" which means to give up on sin or to learn one's lesson. The other ingredient is cassava or sweet potato, which in local language called "telo pendem". "Pendem" refers to the cassava which is found buried underground, not on the open branches. Therefore, the two ingredients signify the meaning of burying the sins and never again to repeat the same mistakes.

But don't worry... You don't have to do the fasting, and you don't even have to be a Moslem to have a taste of Kolak. Everyone with any religious background (even atheists) can grab a bite. Well, maybe it's a no-no for someone with diabetes.

Enough with the history lesson. Let's start cooking!

Cooking the dish...

Ingredients:

• 8 pcs of plantains / banana, peeled and bevel cut thickly in bite sizes
• 400 grams of sweet potato / yam, peeled and cut in bite sizes 
• 150 mL of condensed coconut milk diluted in 1 L of water (use 1 whole coconut for freshly squeezed coconut milk)
• 6 tbsp of palm sugar
• 6 tbsp of sugar
• a dash of salt
• 2 screwpine (pandan) leaves for aroma
• 1/4 tsp  of vanilla extract for aroma
• pinch of cinnamon powder for aroma
• a couple of cloves bud for aroma
• 100 grams of Arenga pinnata fruit (kolang-kaling)

(But really, the main ingredients are banana, sweet potato, coconut milk, and palm sugar. With just the four ingredients, you would make the dish qualified as Kolak.)

Directions:

• Boil the diluted coconut milk in a large pot over a medium-low heat.
• Toss in the sweet potato along with the sugar, palm sugar, and salt.
• Wait a while before tossing in the banana and Arenga pinnata fruit.
• Add the aromatic herbs and spices into the pot.
• Keep stirring to prevent over heating, until the sweet potato and banana become tender.
• Serve warm, or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving. The recipe makes up to 10 servings.   

Toraja Coffee: a Rich Taste of the Highlanders

What's a highlander good at? Sword fighting? Nah, that's Christopher Lambert (1957-...) in his old movie back in the late 80's, depicting an immortal Scottish Highland warrior.

In South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, the highlanders of Tana Toraja prefer a peaceful way of life. And among others, they are good at cultivating Coffea arabica. The rich taste of that black liquid called Toraja coffee is well known all over the world.

Toraja coffee tends to have a relatively low-toned yet vibrant acidity. Among arabica coffee beans, those cultivated in Toraja has a very distinguished personality, in terms of its full bodied taste paired with caramelized and unique aroma. It generally display nutty or warm spice notes, like cinnamon or cardamom. It also gives a crisp and clean aftertaste.

Such distinct coffee flavor owes to the earth characteristic and the other vegetation of Tana Toraja. The trees are commonly grown at 1,100 - 1,500 meters above sea level, while the premium ones are cultivated at 1,600 - 1,800 meters above sea level.

However, most coffee plantations in Toraja are small-scale family farms, with only about 5% of total production cropped from seven larger estates. Coffee shrubs are planted near their houses, which provides supplemental income.

Each household processes their own coffee after harvesting. Traditional and manual methods are still applied. Coffee cherry pulping process is done with small machine, or simply by crushing them with a board. Fermentation process is done in buckets or bags for a day, to break down the fruity mucilage layer, and then washed and stored in clean water buckets. The parchment coffee is then dried under the sun for a few hours, before farmer can sell them to collector during market day.

Local farmer drying coffee beans, with the background of tongkonan (Toraja's traditional house). 

The green coffee bean then delivered to a larger mill. It can go straight to the wet-hulling process, or further dried under the sun to reduce the moist before hulling.When the hulling, grading, and sorting process are done, the coffee beans are packed to be shipped across the globe.

Now, the roasting process can be done somewhere in Seattle or anywhere else in the world. Some say that the best flavor from Toraja coffee beans will come out after roasting them just up to the 2nd crack, when the brown-greenish color still visible.

As for the brewing, any kind of methods will do just fine. And, if you prefer to add stuffs to your black coffee, you might as well experiment with the rich taste base of Toraja coffee.

Where it comes from...

Map of Indonesia, that's South Sulawesi Province highlighted in red.

Tana Toraja is a Regency in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The mountainous region is 300 km away from Makassar, the province's capital. Tana Toraja means Land of Toraja. And, the word Toraja itself derived from to-riaja, local term for people of the highland.

There is no proper literature explaining how coffee seeds first arrived in Tana Toraja, and when did the local inhabitants start cultivating coffee. However, it was the Dutch colonial government who discovered the fertile soil for coffee in the southern part of Sulawesi, and establishing a 300 hectares coffee plantation under the name of Kalosi Celebes Coffee (Celebes is an old name of Sulawesi).

The coffee plantation business was abandoned during the war for Indonesian independence. And after the establishment of the Republic in 1945, the new nation-state was incapable to boost the business back.

An old Japan telephone card designed to promote Toraja coffee, sold on e-bay as collector's item.

The re-birth of Toraja coffee industry was marked in 1973, when a Japanese coffee company explored the region and observed the remaining of Dutch colonial era coffee plantation.The Japanese investors help building the necessary infrastructure for the Toraja coffee to be marketed worldwide (again). So, it is natural that Japanese may also took pride in Toraja coffee.

Ayam Rica-Rica: Manado's Hot and Spicy Chiken

Ayam Rica-Rica is a dish originated from Manado, in North Sulawesi Province. The main ingredient is of course Ayam (that means chicken in Bahasa Indonesia). The other main ingredient mentioned in its name is Rica (means spicy or chili in local language of Manado). There's no tomato involved in that bright red sauce...

Although only chili gets the honor of being in the title, almost every kind of spices and herbs in the kitchen also goes to the pan. The rich flavor wouldn't lie, when you went full scale on the long list of spices. A satisfying meal is complete with only a bowl of rice, and a (few) glass of water to overcome the hot and spicy sensation.

Cooking the dish...

As always, traditional recipes may vary from door-to-door. But here's my favorite recipe of Ayam Rica-Rica.

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken, chopped into 16 chunk.
• 10 red chili (may add accordingly)
• 10 Thai chili / rawit merah  (may add at your own risk...)
• 10 shallots
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 4 cm of ginger
• 2 stalk of lemongrass, bruised
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 2  pandan leaves
• 2 strands of kemangi leaves (basil would do)
• 2 tbsp of lemon / lime juice
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 500 mL of coconut water (plain water would do)
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• salt

Directions:

• Grind chili, shallot, garlic, and ginger into a paste. 
• Heat oil in a pan, sauté the spices paste with some sugar. Add the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.
• Add the chicken, stir well. Wait a little bit before pouring the coconut water and adding pandan leaves.
• Add lemon / lime juice and salt (another method suggest marinating the chicken in lemon / lime juice and salt in advance)
• Lower the heat and put a lid on the pan. Check on the water, until the chicken is done. Add kemangi leaves just before turning off the fire. (Alternatively, use a slow pressure cooker to make the chicken bones tender) 

Where it comes from...

Map of Indonesia, that's North Sulawesi Province highlighted in red.

Manado refers to an ethnic group originated from North Sulawesi Province. Manado people also refers themselves as Kawanua or Minahasa people. Manado is also the name of the capital city of North Sulawesi Province.

But don't worry, because we don't need to go to North Sulawesi for a taste of Ayam Rica-Rica. Plenty of restaurant in Jakarta offers special cuisine from Manado. Most dishes from Manado has spicy and fresh sour taste.