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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Ketupat

"Ibu! Dah nak hari raya ke?", teriak Hafiz yang mengintai dari tingkap rumah.

He must have seen the daun kelapa that I carried, and co-related them with ketupat for hari raya. Good association. "Ha'ah!" Ibu jawab selamba. Ayah smiled, proud of Hafiz 'self discovery' progress.

The daun kelapa only cost us RM4.50 for 50pcs. Reasonable. But that was just the raw material. Total cost towards finished products was much higher :

Pre-production training & technical jargons clarification among siblings:
1. Daun ketupat
Hafiz : "Ni daun apa ibu?"
Abang Idin : "Let me guess, daun kobis?"
(KOBIS ??@%#!! I was speechless! )

2. Isi ketupat
Hafiz : "Boleh tak kita isi udang dalam ketupat?"
Abang Idin : "Kah!Kah!Kah! You no-brainer you!"
(Eleh...as if 'daun kobis' was such a brainy answer?)

3. And the answer is ....
Abang Idin : "You mean, coconut leaves?"
Hafiz: "Bukanlah, ibu kata daun KE-LA-PA!"
Ameer: "Bukanlah, ibu kata daun KE-PA-LA!"
(Alahai.... lebih baik ambik orang Myanmar jadi helpers)

Labour cost (unquantifiable):
1. Tukang anyam ketupat (Ibu)
2. Tukang lap daun dengan kain basah (Abang Idin)
3. Tukang menyepahkan lidi yang separated from daun (Hafiz)
4. Tukang bawak lari daun yang dah siap di lap (Ameer)

Entertainment cost (conducive work environment is vital...):
1. Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon channels actual airtime (unfortunate for tukang anyam but essential for the other tukangs)
2. Tukang berdengkur kat sofa (Ayah). Hmm...penatnya drive ke pasar!
3. Tukang sorok Astro remote controller (Hafiz) so that Ibu couldn't switch channels

Subsistence provision:

1. Susu berulang kali(Ameer & Hafiz)
2. Chocolate ice cream (Abang Idin) as upah lap daun, but self service
3. Teh O (Ibu)- separuh mug ajer sebab Ameer dah langgar & tumpahkan

Factor in these productivity adverse disturbances:
1. Ibu turun naik tangga untuk buat susu Ameer & Hafiz berulang kali
2. Ameer acting as QC inspector, loosening a few ketupat yang dah siap on the pretense of "nak check ni siap ke tak?!"
3. Abang Idin & Hafiz squabbling over which channels to stay tune to
4. Ayah's snorring - definitely not music to my ears
5. Time out for
a. Ameer nak pegi toilet
b. Ibu nak pegi toilet
c. Ibu kena lap Teh O tumpah
d. Ibu kena kutip balik daun kelapa yang Ameer bawak lari

Safety precaution (read: ibu shouted):
" Lidi kelapa bukan Light Saber! Jgn buat pedang! Nanti tercucuk mata! "

Total production time :
5 hours for 50 pcs (EXCLUDING isi beras dalam ketupat - I can't finish this entry if I were to include that episode).

So, there you go my boys! The ketupat fear factor challenge that Ibu has learned to conquer. The adrenalin kick was unbelievable!

Nevertheless, it's all worth every effort, sweat & tears.


I know I'm not a good cook. In fact, I am a lousy cook! The rendang your Ibu can prepare is next to nothing compared to those served by other godly moms out there. But if there is one thing about hari raya that I hope you boys would remember is that this Ibu of yours would make sure, with God's willing, to serve all you 4 boys (including Ayah) fresh, home-made, original traditional style, personally weaved, ketupat daun kelapa - di pagi hari raya.

Satu pengorbanan jugak tu kiranya.

Selamat Hari Raya Qurban anak-anak ku...

Wassalam,
Ibu

24 comments:

ubisetela said...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha Ibu... must be fun preparing the ketupat with your soldiers!

I dah tak anyam ketupat for years.. I donno if I still can do it.

Idham said...

ibu...:) lovely account of a days labour, and definitely a day's LOVE.

selamat hari raya ibu dan keluarga.

psst: boleh dak maukkan udang dalam ketupat?

idham

Kak Teh said...

wow, am so impressed! You made all those ketupat? selamat hari raya and selamat menyambut tahun baru.

D said...

Syiok nyeeee anyam ketupat sendiri! The experience mixed with the kids' innocence makes it more exciting! I still don't know how it's amazingly done. We used to just buy them ready-made. And now, only stuff rice in those bags pricked with forks. In the end, MrD doesn't even like nasi himpit. So, I now resort to real rice instead. Pilau rice has been my speciality now. HaPpY NeW yEaR!!

IBU said...

Ubi,
Don't lose the skills, you'll be among the very few. I think with a lil' bit of practice, insyaAllah jadi le ketupat tu. Ibu pun cam tu jugak. Before we had the kids, tak de lerrr nak buat ni. But these days, i just want the boys to have a link to the good old days...

Bro Idham,
Memang berpeluh sakan. Patut masin jer rasa ketupat tu. hahaha...
(pssst... by the time isi beras dlm ketupat, hafiz dah lupa pasal udang)

Kak Teh,
Alamak! (ehehe.. malu, tersipu-sipu la pulak...). Those are among the very-very limited skills that I hv in relation to cooking. Tak leh challenge Kak Teh. Tapi one (fine) day nak try jugaklah rendang pedas pakai chilli burung tu ;)

D,
d oh d!!!! memang syiok. Ketupat in rice bags tu pun memang convenient. I haven't moved on to rice chapter. Slow bebenor progress nya. Teringin jugak nak serve nasi tomato ker... tapi belum lagi.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!! Thanks for visiting my humble ramblings.

Kaklong Syikin said...

salam,

ibu, duk kata tak pandai masak tu, terer pun anyam ketupat..saya langsung tak pandai. tak reti. zero. mmg tak minat anyam pun hehe.

eh, ibu dah buat dah ke jagung manis tu?

Ordinary Superhero said...

Wah cantiknya ketupat!

Salam Aidil Adha to Ibu and the whole family.

Jo Kontan said...

Whoa !. Keputat (Dah itot Ameer dah) anyam sendiri.

Jarang dah nak dapat sekarang nii.

Ketupat tunjuk banyaklaa.

Happy New Year !!

Jo Kontan said...

Whoa ! Ibu.

Ketupat Anyam Sendiri.

Ketupat Tunjuk banyak ler sekarang nii.

Happy New Year

Anonymous said...

selamat hari raya too.. sorry terlambat nak wish.. Saya ni kategori mcm askar2 ibu jugak.. tau bikin kacau + tau makan saja.. hahaha

IBU said...

Syikin,
Baru nak beli jagung tahun ni. Hehe..

OSH,
Thanks! daun segar sikit tahun ni.

Jokontan,
Part ketupat jer anyam sendiri. Yg lain un ibu masuk group 'tunjuk2' gak. HNY too!

Nuar oh Nuar!
Alahai anak angkut ibu yg nakal sorang ni! Smt tawoon baru & congratulations on your new job. Awat susah nak leave a comment on your site now? remove le email requirement tu :)

Mummy Rizq said...

pengorbanan ibu untuk anak anak (termasuk jugak ayah) tak ternilai harganyaaa.. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

dlt said...

ibu, terer tu leh anyam sampai 50 ketupat. nampak cam ketupat bawang pun ada. hubby kata ketupat bawang susah skit nak wat. saya raya last year tu la baru sekali seumur hidup belajar anyam ketupat. berbelit2. kadang2 sampai 2-3 kali bukak balik sebab tak jadi. hubby n family dia terer.

IBU said...

marlina,
hopefully they will remember... happy new year to u & family tu.

dlt,
50 dah kira tahap maksima la tu. tak larat nak melayan all the tukang menyebok. wah! hubby yg terer anyam ketupat?!

Ely said...

such a cute story, hehe!

Anonymous said...

Wah Ibu, I never learnt how to anyam ketupat. Main beli siap ajer . Now lagi ler..semua instant in the plastic. Maybe next Raya boleh beli the sarung ketupat and isi beras - something the Brood will have to learn

Tabik laa kat Ibu.

Anonymous said...

boleh tak Abang dapat lightsaber yang macam Ameer main tu?(Tapi yang macam Darth Maul punya tau:)...)

Abang Idin

maklang said...

taahniahlah ibu kerana dapat anyam ketupat and buat rendang sensorang...

macamana sedap pun orang lain buat, tapi masakan ibu tu lebih dihargai oleh anak2...

Ayah said...

hero kami yang 3 orang cuma tau ketupat dalam plastik aja... berjenama Nona...

mommy@lif said...

sweetnyaaaa ibu! berpenat sakan for the boys. hihihi i dengar celoteh ur kids pon dah penat... ni pulak nak berkejar daun kelapa around the house (tu tak capur buat & lap teh O tumpah tu :P)

belated salam aidiladha :)

Cherry said...

when's yr next session ? saya dan anakanda-anakanda mau join bersama-sama belajar.

Anonymous said...

found your blog while im bloghopping around!
your kids are adorable!!
keep on writing!!!

:)

Anonymous said...

IMPRESSIVE!But can u reaaaallllyyy masukkan udang in ketupat?!Kalau boleh, think of all the WONDERS!!!!!!



IDIN

Anonymous said...

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