In the black with ‘keluak’

In foods, black is usually not a nice color. But black is delicious according to the Torajanese, the people in East Java and also Singaporeans who are sometimes even suck out the contents of the pit.

In Indonesian cooking, a black color mostly results from an addition of the ash of finely sifted rice hulls like in Madura or more often from keluak pit flesh.

Keluak is actually a large fruit approximately 25 centimeters in diameter and can be found all over Indonesia. Although it is still not yet cultivated in big scale, it grows abundantly in plateaus 1,000 meters above sea level. The Toraja Highlands are considered to be the land of high quality keluaks.

The tree reaches a height of more than 40 meters. The fruit pits are neatly structured one next to the other inside the large fruit. Every pit is covered with a thin yellowish film and has a hard shell.
Inside the shell, the flesh is whitish and has a hard texture. The tree bears fruit all year round, especially in the rainy season.

Keluak has many names. In West Java it is called picung, in Tapanuli pangi, also in North Sulawesi and South Sulawesi. The Madurese call it pakem, and the people in Lampung kayu ruba buah, whereas in Sumbawa they use the name kalowa.

As the keluak contains rather poisonous elements, it has to be “de-poisoned” before being used in cooking. Traditionally there are many regional customs to make the keluak edible.

In Java, usually the ripe fruit is left to stand in a dark room until all pits can be loosened easily. The pits are then washed thoroughly and boiled for about two hours and cooled off. The boiled shells are cracked open with a sharp knife or another sharp bamboo object.

The flesh is put into a large bamboo steamer and left to soak for three days in running water to discard the bitter flavors. Then it will be boiled again, and the water discarded and the fruit flesh dried another time.

But if the shell should be maintained, the procedure will cover boiled shells with ash and then put them into a deep large hole, covered with dry banana leaves and soil. It will be left there for 40 days.

After that preparation period the hard shells are cleansed and washed thoroughly, put into fresh air and marketed. The pits are then popularly known as keluak. The flesh has changed into a dark brown blackish pulp.

The Torajanese have other de-poisoning methods: The pits are cracked open and after discarding the thin yellowish film, the flesh is taken out, dried under the sun until shriveled and then pound finely, dried again until changed into a jet black color and having an oily substance.

The oily blackish mass will be formed into balls. This will be called pamarrasan in Toraja’s regional language and each ball weighs approximately 50 grams.

Pamarrasan is a spice commonly used in Toraja cooking. Here a taste of pantollo pamarrasan given by a friend from Toraja and ardent lover of the keluak. As most Torajanese are Christians and eat pork, the main meat for this dish is pork. But of course one can substitute it for beef or water buffalo meat.

Mince 500 grams pork meat (beef, water buffalo meat) into serving size. Wash 1 kg paliak (keluak fruit flesh). Cut 12 shallots finely. Cut 4 stalks of leek roughly. Mix 500 milliliters of water with paliak.

Let come to the boil for approximately 30 minutes, add meat, shallots, leek, 100 grams pamarrasan, 60 grams tiny chilies, and 1/2 tablespoons salt (or to taste). Continue cooking until done and sauce thickens. For more meat e.g. 20 portions at festivities, add the spice ingredients accordingly and pamarrasan can be change into ready to use keluak.

Torajanese cooking has also some uses for the fruit flesh. It is peeled and the sweet fruit flesh is cut into thin slices and dried under the sun. The slices will then be called paliak. The dried thin films covering the pits are more expensive than the paliak and give a richer flavor. The film is called kolona in Torajanese.

It seems that the people in Sulawesi very much like the pit flesh but the leaves are considered very aromatic wrappers for festive fish dishes cooked in bamboo and served at Christmas or New Years Eve.

The keluak leaves are discarded from the lower fibers, cleansed and washed and boiled for 20 minutes, then drained. There are two ways to use them: left as is or cut into thin tobacco – like strips.
The meat filling could be wrapped in the whole leaves or the filling could be covered with the strips and put into the bamboo for further preparation. The flavor of keluak leaves and bamboo is a very appetizing, with a wonderful aroma.

Should you be brave enough to taste a homemade keluak dish, choose the keluak you need with care. When buying take a hard-shelled pit and shake it. If there is a clacking sound it will be all right. Do not take the soundless pits, and always buy more than you need, because some pits have rotten flesh that should be definitely thrown away!

The best keluak in Jakarta can be found in Pasar Senen (Senen Market) or travel to the Toraja Highlands and experience delicious black foods!

Keluak reminds me of one of my students, now a top Indonesian Executive Chef in a five star establishment.

Cooks, even if they are professionally educated can have their difficulties in dealing with keluak, an ingredient not commonly used in many cuisines.