Y

ou might have heard of, or tasted, the Betawi crocodile-shaped bread roti buaya. But there are more traditional delicacies, which are sadly hard to spot nowadays in traditional markets and snack shops due to the herculean effort required for their preparation.

But Teten, 47, said he would be ashamed to call himself a Betawi if he did not treat guests at his daughter’s wedding party held recently in Meruya, West Jakarta, with Betawi traditional servings. Here are some of the tasty, well-known but increasingly rare sweets that Betawi natives serve at their merrymakings.

Dodol Betawi, the sweet sticky cake

The black, glutinous cake is somewhat obligatory in every festivity. It takes three men to stir a full pot of palm sugar, glutinous rice and coconut milk heated over a wood-burning stove for eight grueling hours, non-stop.

Dodol makers have a superstitious ritual: They have to pierce onions and chilies with a stick to start, soak a Rp 500 coin in a bowl of water, avoid having negative thoughts, speaking too much or hearing bad news — or else the dough will be ruined.

If the cake is meant to be part of hantaran (wedding proposal gift) — which symbolizes how wealthy and how good the groom-to-be is — a ruined batch of dough could spell disaster.

Kembang Goyang, the “swaying” cookie

The crunchy flower-shaped cookie was once known as a common accompaniment to tea and coffee during Betawi’s leisure time. Kembang goyang is said to be one of symbols of acculturation between Betawi and Tionghoa cultures.

The name kembang goyang is believed to be derived from the cooking process as a swaying motion is required to coax the cookie from the mold intact.

The unique cookie shares its name with a Betawi bridal hairpin, and though it is also unclear what the relation between the two may be, the cookie is included in the set of hantaran and is served to guests at the reception party.

Kue Cincin, the Betawi-style doughnut

The ring-shaped cake is another snack that shows up only in Betawi celebrations. Its all-brown and unappealing appearance conceals its rich taste. Try a bit, Jakartans, and taste the sweetness — from a fair amount of palm sugar — as it melts in your mouth!

Rice flour, palm sugar, white sugar, grated coconut, salt, oil are all that is needed to make kue cincin. Though it sounds easy, the dough needs to be left overnight and for half a day before being cooked to prevent it from hardening.

Ketan Uli, the pure white kinship

Ketan uli represents modesty, kinship and silaturahmi (communal bonds) at every gathering. This noble nature is also reflected in its making, which requires exceptional cleanliness, grueling and painstaking stages of preparation, and cooperation between men — who have to pound the cake’s dough — and women — who have to boil the cake.

The cake, which was once made to accompany the slaughter of buffalo in a tradition to welcome Idul Fitri, is made of glutinous rice, fermented tapai, grated coconut and salt and cooked for more than six hours.

Kue Pepe, the traditional rainbow cake

This eye-catching cake consists of 10 to 15 colorful layers — commonly white, green and brown with a bright red layer on top.

Unlike the four other Betawi treats mentioned above, kue pepe can still easily be found in nearby delis.

But don’t take the steamed cake — made from sago starch, rice flour, coconut milk and sugar — for granted. It might be skimpy, but it is far from painless to make.

“We need to cook every single color of kue pepe separately, one for five to 10 minutes, and I find it quite troublesome. I only cook kue pepe for festivities if the elders ask for it,” said Eka, 39, of Rawabelong, West Jakarta. — JP