Ketupat betumis — Banjar, Indonesia

Ketupat betumis brings together ketupat, rice cooked inside a woven palm-leaf pouch until it sets into a firm cake, with a sautéed sauce built on shallot, chili and dried shrimp, poured hot over the sliced rice just before eating. It is reported from the Banjar community, where it is served as a filling meal on its own or alongside other dishes, the sauce made fresh so it stays hot and glossy when it meets the cooled ketupat. To prepare it, rice is packed loosely into woven ketupat pouches and boiled for a long stretch until the grains swell and press together into a dense cake, which is then cooled and sliced. Separately, shallots, garlic, chili and dried shrimp are pounded and sautéed in oil until fragrant, then loosened with a little coconut milk and simmered briefly into a thick, glossy sauce seasoned with salt and a touch of sugar. What distinguishes this version is the sauce itself, sautéed rather than simmered into a full curry, so it clings to the ketupat as a coating rather than pooling as a broth. Cooks vary the chili level and add extra dried shrimp or a squeeze of lime for sharpness.