The recent Jenang Festival in Solo celebrated the centuries-old rice pudding from Java and challenged chefs to incorporate it into modern dishes, as part of efforts to revive interest in local culinary traditions. (JG Photo/Ari Susanto)
Solo. For two days last weekend, Jalan Ngarsopuro in the Central Java town of Solo was closed for traffic as thousands of locals and tourists flocked to the area for the city’s first ever Jenang Festival.
Jenang, a type of sticky Javanese pudding made from rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar, was the central attraction at this festival, which was originally planned for Feb. 17 but had to be postponed due to the eruption of Mount Kelud in East Java on Feb. 13.
The festival displayed 17 kinds of traditional jenang, both sweet and savory, and distributed more than 17,000 portions to people for free, supplied by around 100 participating jenang makers.
“Jenang is an original food from Java, and it can be modified for modern presentation with a combination with fruits and other ingredients to be fusion cuisine,” said Hendro Purwanto, the chairman of the Solo chapter of the Indonesian Chefs Association.
“In this contest, we challenge people to create a new serving of jenang without eliminating its authentic composition or flavor.”
The ICA staged a demonstration by creating modern dishes with the use of jenang. There was also a competition where top chefs got creative in reinterpreting the Javanese dumpling.
People interested in music or fashion could listen to ethnic music performed at the festival or watch a parade featuring carnival-bedecked women in jenang motifs, guarded by dozens of Mataram-era-attired warriors holding spears.
But most were there to sample the many types of jenang on offer, hopping from one stall to the next, standing in snaking lines each time. Discovering the plethora of jenang can be an overwhelming experience, which was why organizers issued a catalogue for visitors to peruse. There were also information boards explaining the history of jenang and the food’s philosophical significance in Javanese culture.
The festival was part of a grand celebration to commemorate Solo’s anniversary. On Feb. 17, 1745, the Mataram kingdom under King Pakubuwono II made Solo, or Surakarta, its capital after a revolt forced the kingdom to move its capital from Kartasura, just west of Solo. Although the king managed to quell the revolt the palace was heavily damaged. In keeping with the ancient tradition for warding off bad luck, a new palace needed to be constructed.
The king was said to have found an unnamed but fertile area along the banks of the Bengawan (now known as the Bengawan Solo River) where he would build his new palace and his kingdom, renamed Surakarta. The area was said to be awash in Sala trees, a type of cannonball tree, from where the new town’s modern name is derived.
Prince Mangkubumi, the architect of the new palace, didn’t clear all of the trees. One giant specimen still stands today inside the palace complex, dating back to the time of Pakubuwono II.
Rice pudding creations at the festival. (JG Photo/Ari Susanto)
With the new palace completed, a procession was held to bless the relocation of the capital. Warriors and citizens alike marched from Kartasura to Surakarta, bringing with them 17 kinds of jenang as offerings. These same jenang were the highlight of this year’s festival.
According to the Indonesian Jenang Foundation, or YJI, only three traditional jenang are still commonly produced, sold and consumed today: sumsum, lemu and grendul. The others — abrit-petak, lang, saloko, manggul, suran, timbul, lahan, pati, kolep, ngangrang, taming, koloh, katul and warni sekawan — are becoming harder to find and on the verge of extinction.
At the festival, all these traditional jenang were recreated according to Surakarta Palace recipes by Nyai Sekulanggi Nik Swaminarso, Pakubuwono II’s queen.
Participants were allowed to use modern equipment and techniques as well as tweak the shapes and color, but they are not allowed to alter the taste or ingredients of the jenang.
Along with traditional jenang dating back to the 18th century there were more recent types of jenang that have become very popular, like jenang mutiara, or pearl jenang, which is influenced by Chinese traditions, and jenang ketan hitam, or black sticky rice jenang.
“Jenang is a Javanese culinary heritage as it has existed among the indigenous people of Java even before the Hindu period in the fourth century, and it continues to evolve even today,” said G.P.H. Puger, the Surakarta Palace historian and a member of the royal family.
According to Javanese culture, jenang is not just a food, but also a symbol of spiritualism to remind people of God. As such, each type of jenang has its own philosophical import.
For example, Puger said, jenang warni sekawan has four colors, symbolizing the four basic base desires of humans that must be controlled to gain God’s love.
Jenang saloko, in all white, symbolizes the holiness of God, while jenang kolep, with its rainbow-like appearance, is a reminder that humans, as social creatures in a pluralist society, must strive for harmony among diversity.
Jenang is an integral part of the Javanese way of life, featuring in key moments from childbirth all the way to death. One type, jenang procot, is given to an expectant mother before she goes into labor, and is believed to help ease the delivery.
“The festival is not only to commemorate a cultural event in the history of this city, but also to make traditional food more popular,” said Slamet Raharjo, the festival initiator. “Jenang today is less popular than instant food or fast food, and our children no longer prefer local food.”
Slamet founded the YJI in 2013 to teach about and conserve the heritage of jenang and all other traditional puddings of Indonesia.
Tuti Soenardi, a prominent Indonesian culinary and nutrition expert, lauded the festival a’s campaign to revive interest in local food. She said jenang was nutritious and healthy as it consisted of natural ingredients that were good for people of all ages.
“Indonesian is rich in nutritious traditional foods, and we should preserve them to prevent from going extinct among the abundance of imported foods that are more popular,” she said.
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