Traditional Food from Timor: Various Kinds of Corn Meals
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Februari 18, 2019 |
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If you ask a Timorese man about traditional Timorese dish, probably he would mentioned Bose and Penpasu. These two types of corn based dishes are the easiest to prepare and quite popular outside of Timor. Not so many Timorese people have corn on their daily meal. Many of them, as all Asian do, preferred rice due to the easiness to prepare.
This posting about the culinary delights of corn is just to document what has been eaten by the Timorese ancestors. So, what are those corn-based meal eaten by Timorese once upon a time?
1. Penpasu
Penpasu a.k.a katemak, is a kind of corn stew mixed with beans and vegetables. All ingredients are put together and boiled until the corn becomes soft. Sometimes it is necessary to add water, if the water shrinks due to evaporation. To create a creamy sauce you can add pumpkin, or green mung beans while for the more crunchy one you can use peanuts and slices of papaya leaves. Add salt or pepper to taste.
2. Makpena
Is well known as Jagung Bose, and has become the icon of Timorese traditional food. The cooking principle is the same as that of penpasu. Only, the corn’s skin is removed by pounding it on an “esu”. A bowl of corn kernels is put into the mortar, moistened with water and half a tablespoon of betel lime to speed up the peeling process, repeatedly pounded with pestle. Corn with peeled skin can be stored for up to a month, and prepared the same way as preparing penpasu.
3. Pensala
Pensala means sliced young corn. Usually at the beginning of corn harvest, the menu is pensala. Sliced young corn is prepared also the same as bose and penpasu.
4. Koetutu
Known also as jagung titi. Not to confused with typical Lamaholot corn flakes. It also called nasi jagung, simply means rice (made of) corn. Corn kernels are broken down using fatututu. This rice can be cooked mixed with beans (green). Or just cooked it plain, no mixture.
5. Usaku
To made usaku, the process is more complicated. First you have to mash corn to bose. The bose is soaked overnight until soft, then pounded (again) into flour. This flour is mixed with grated coconut and then roasted until the powder get yellowish color. This Usaku can last for months. Eaten as snack!
6. Penpunef
Young corn is boiled with a cob, or even with the skin. As a child, I used to stick small twigs at the base of the cobs as a handle.
7. Penbeti
Pan-roasted corn kernels, hard and not recommended for those who have problems with teeth. It can be grounded to make Ut, or can be soaked overnight in salt water to be eaten later.
8. Pentunu
Roasted corn with cob, the most popular and “touristic” Timorese food, eaten with butter and sambal lu’at.
Well, that’s it, the corn-based food of Timorese ancestor. Nowadays nobody eat corn anymore… Or, do you still enjoy penpasu?
This posting about the culinary delights of corn is just to document what has been eaten by the Timorese ancestors. So, what are those corn-based meal eaten by Timorese once upon a time?
1. Penpasu
Penpasu a.k.a katemak, is a kind of corn stew mixed with beans and vegetables. All ingredients are put together and boiled until the corn becomes soft. Sometimes it is necessary to add water, if the water shrinks due to evaporation. To create a creamy sauce you can add pumpkin, or green mung beans while for the more crunchy one you can use peanuts and slices of papaya leaves. Add salt or pepper to taste.
2. Makpena
Is well known as Jagung Bose, and has become the icon of Timorese traditional food. The cooking principle is the same as that of penpasu. Only, the corn’s skin is removed by pounding it on an “esu”. A bowl of corn kernels is put into the mortar, moistened with water and half a tablespoon of betel lime to speed up the peeling process, repeatedly pounded with pestle. Corn with peeled skin can be stored for up to a month, and prepared the same way as preparing penpasu.
3. Pensala
Pensala means sliced young corn. Usually at the beginning of corn harvest, the menu is pensala. Sliced young corn is prepared also the same as bose and penpasu.
4. Koetutu
Known also as jagung titi. Not to confused with typical Lamaholot corn flakes. It also called nasi jagung, simply means rice (made of) corn. Corn kernels are broken down using fatututu. This rice can be cooked mixed with beans (green). Or just cooked it plain, no mixture.
5. Usaku
To made usaku, the process is more complicated. First you have to mash corn to bose. The bose is soaked overnight until soft, then pounded (again) into flour. This flour is mixed with grated coconut and then roasted until the powder get yellowish color. This Usaku can last for months. Eaten as snack!
6. Penpunef
Young corn is boiled with a cob, or even with the skin. As a child, I used to stick small twigs at the base of the cobs as a handle.
7. Penbeti
Pan-roasted corn kernels, hard and not recommended for those who have problems with teeth. It can be grounded to make Ut, or can be soaked overnight in salt water to be eaten later.
8. Pentunu
Roasted corn with cob, the most popular and “touristic” Timorese food, eaten with butter and sambal lu’at.
Well, that’s it, the corn-based food of Timorese ancestor. Nowadays nobody eat corn anymore… Or, do you still enjoy penpasu?
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