Saturday August 18, 2012

Instant ketupat a big hit far and wide

BACHOK,: An innovative idea to sell instant ketupat palas has resulted in a lucrative trade for Che Embong Mamat (pic).

Che Embong, 55, said she came up with the idea to make instant ketupat that can be frozen 10 years ago.

Her customers from Penang and Kuala Lumpur would complain that conventionally cooked ketupat palas could not last the time taken to transport it.

“I figured out a method to make instant ketupat palas that could last for two months,” she said when met at her home in Kampung Gelong Badak Hulu, Jelawat, here.

Ketupat palas is rice packed in a triangular palm leaf packet.

She does not put water in the coconut milk and stirs the other ingredients with the rice for a longer period to ensure it is less sticky.

As the rice cooks, the grains expand to fill the pouch and the rice becomes compressed. Che Embong said the packed rice would be half-cooked and frozen in the refrigerator.

She said her preservative-free ketupat palas sells at RM1 per pack and this year she had received orders for 4,000 packs.

Che Embong has also taught her three daughters, Siti Nor Azrimi Mohd Nor, 24, Nurul Akma, 26, Zaaini, 34, the recipe so they could continue the business.

There are many varieties of ketupat, with two of the more common ones being ketupat nasi and ketupat pulut. — Bernama

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