Do Balinese have their own tradition of sweet-things? Part
II
There are simply too many types of jaja for me to describe
in a few words. I mentioned one type in the previous edition,
and here are some more in brief:
The second type is those which are wrapped in banana, coconut
or corn leaves:
timus (cassava), sumping (jackfruit, banana, pumpkin, beans
or banana), bendu, bantal (banana or red or green-bean pillows!),
cerorot (a cone made from wrappings of coconut leaves filled
with cake mixture made from brown sugar and flour), jaja gambir
(wrapped in corn leaves and tied up with string, and often
hung up in bunches like grapes), jaja bulung (seaweed jelly
cooked in brown sugar), and dodol (wrapped in corn skins and
tied at each end with string).
There are also which are fried:
jaja matahari (crackers that are shaped like a sun), jaja
uli, begina, gipang (these three are rice crackers), jaja
mako, kaliadrem (triangular Balinese donuts), and banana or
sweet-potato fritters.
The fourth type is those which are steamed in a baking dish
and look like cupcakes. You’ll see these brightly coloured
cupcakes, called apem, abug and mangkok, in offerings.
Last of all, there are even jaja that are not made for human
consumption. These are called sirat and are especially made
for decorating offerings. They’re made from a flour
mixture and then shaped into little models of humans, animals
and abstract shapes. They are very colourful in brilliant
reds, greens and yellows, and you will see them on large tower
offerings.
Originally jaja wrappings and even their utensils (you need
to eat some of the stickier ones with a spoon – see
the previous edition of KK) were once totally organic. However,
like almost everything you buy these days, many jaja Bali
are wrapped in plastic and come complete with a plastic spoon.
Another place to try a variety of jaja Bali is at a family
ceremony – here you will almost definitely be offered
some tea or coffee, served with yummy, Balinese cakes.
