Batak cuisine is the cuisine and cooking traditions of

Batak ethnic groups Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

, predominantly found in Northern Sumatra region,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Batak cuisine is part of

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 popula ...

, and compared to other Sumatran cuisine traditions, it is more indigenously preserved. One characteristic of Batak cuisine is its preference to

andaliman ''Zanthoxylum acanthopodium'', or andaliman, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. Its range includes southern western China (Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, and Yunnan), Bangladesh, Bhutan, northern India and northeastern I ...

(''Zanthoxylum acanthopodium'') as the main spice. That is why andaliman in Indonesia sometimes dubbed as "Batak pepper". Batak people are majority

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

— unlike neighboring Muslim-majority ethnic groups such as

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

and Minang — Christian Batak people are not restricted to Islamic

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...

dietary law. Many of the Batak's popular meals are made of

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

as well as dishes made from unusual ingredients, such as

dog meat Dog meat is the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world. During the 19th century westward movement in the United States, ''mountainmen'', native ...

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

, however there are also halal batak dishes, mostly chicken, beef, lamb, mutton, and freshwater fishes. Batak culinary centers are located in towns of Batak highlands, such as the town of Kabanjahe and

Berastagi Berastagi ( nl, Brastagi), is a town and district of Karo Regency situated on a crossroads on the main route linking the Karo highlands of Northern Sumatra to the coastal city of Medan. Berastagi town is located around south of Medan and abou ...

in Tanah Karo area. While some towns around the

Lake Toba Lake Toba ( id, Danau Toba) ( Toba Batak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of a supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the ...

offers freshwater fish dishes such as

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

arsik Arsik is an Indonesian spicy fish dish of the Batak Toba and Mandailing people of North Sumatra, usually using the common carp (known in Indonesia as ''ikan mas'' or gold fish). Distinctively Batak elements of the dish are the use of torch ...

. The Northern Sumatra capital of

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...

is also a Batak cuisine hotspot where numerous of ''Lapo'' (Batak eating establishments) can be found, yet the city is also a culinary center of

Malay Deli, as well as

Indian Cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...

and

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

cuisines. Outside its traditional lands in North Sumatra, Batak cuisine can also be found in ''Lapo'' in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, as well as most of the Indonesian major cities.Batak food also widely presence in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, Malaysia due to wide Batak migrate labour population found there.

History

Cooking traditions in many parts of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

often demonstrates foreign culinary influences; such as Minang,

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

and

cuisines featuring typical

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

-like dishes heavily influenced by

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

cuisines. Batak cuisine however, retain its indigenous Austronesian cooking traditions; such as cooking meats (especially

) along with its

. Similar dish can also be found in

Filipino cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...

, such as

dinuguan ''Dinuguan'' () is a Filipino savory stew usually of pork offal (typically lungs, kidneys, intestines, ears, heart and snout) and/or meat simmered in a rich, spicy dark gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often '' siling haba''), and vin ...

. However, since many tribes of the archipelago have converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, the non-halal dishes such as those using pork,

, or blood, has been abandoned, and now only survive in non-Muslim areas, such as Batak lands.

Spices and flavourings

Regional differences between Batak and Acehnese culinary influences, among others, are characterized by the choice of spices;

leaves or

. Coastal Acehnese people using curry leaves ('' Murraya koenigii'') as the main spice, while the Batak people prefer andaliman. Regions that use andaliman as main spices starting from the Gayo highlands in Central Aceh continue to the southeast up to

in Tanah Karo in North Sumatra. The most widely used spice in Batak cuisine is andaliman and ''batak onion'' (

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...

), they are commonly used for all types of arsik. The most common Batak spicy sauce is called

— it is a Batak sauce made from the mixture of andaliman,

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

and

candlenut ''Aleurites moluccanus'', the candlenut, is a flowering tree in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, also known as candleberry, Indian walnut, ''kemiri'', varnish tree, ''nuez de la India'', ''buah keras'', ''godou'', kukui nut tree, and ''rata ke ...

. There are many unique spices used in Batak cuisine recipes. Sambal Tuktuk for example use a mixture of andaliman and other spices. Other spices commonly used in Batak cuisine includes

kaffir lime ''Citrus hystrix'', called the kaffir lime or makrut lime, (, ) is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and crushed leav ...

, Indonesian bay leaves,

coriander Coriander (;

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

galangal Galangal () is a common name for several tropical rhizomatous spices. Differentiation The word ''galangal'', or its variant ''galanga'' or archaically ''galingale'', can refer in common usage to the aromatic rhizome of any of four plant spec ...

and

Meat

For many centuries Batak tribes has led a relatively isolated way of life and maintained their ancestral belief systems. As the result a lot of the indigenous elements of their culture still survive, including their culinary arts. Today majority of Batak tribes are

, for example Batak Toba, Karo, and Pakpak.

Pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

and dog meats are commonly consumed. Dog meat is usually called B1, derived from ''biang'', Batak word to refer a dog, while pork is often called B2 from ''babi''. Pork (B2) or dog meat (B1) are usually cooked in its own blood, spiced and seasoned as

saksang Saksang or sa-sang is a savory, spicy Indonesian dish from the Batak people. It is made from minced pork or dog meat (or, more rarely, water buffalo meat) stewed in its blood, coconut milk and spices; including kaffir lime and bay leaves, coria ...

, or grilled as panggang. However, there is also

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Batak tribes, such as

Mandailing The Mandailing is an ethnic group in Sumatera, Indonesia that is commonly associated with the Batak people. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They came under the influence of the Kaum Padri who ...

Batak tribe. They apply

ic dietary law which only allows

food and forbid consumption of pork, dog meat, and blood. Popular Batak pork dish are

, fried cutlets sauteed pork in thick spicy blood sauces and ''Babi Panggang Karo'' (karo roast pork) — often shortened to BPK — which is locals' favourite and has become nationally famous through ''Lapo'' Batak restaurants nationwide. BPK consists of roasted pork slices with three accompaniments: a bowl of broth made from the essence of boiled pig's bones, a platter of porcine blood cooked with

and chili, and a saucer of extra-hot chili sauce. Another common meat consumed in the Batak cuisine is buffalo meat,

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

and

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

. Manuk Napinadar is a grilled chicken smothered in chicken blood itself, spiced with andaliman and garlic powder. Ayam Tasak Telu is one of popular chicken dish in Batak cuisine. ''Tasak telu'' literally means “cooking three times,” and consists of three dishes: the first part is boiled chicken< the second part is a sauce made of finely-ground corn kernels, spices and the remaining stock from the boiled chicken, the third part is an assortment of chopped vegetables and spicy

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

Fish

Since the Batak tribes live in the interior of North Sumatra, freshwater fish that live in rivers or

is commonly consumed by locals.

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

usually cooked as

Arsik Arsik is an Indonesian spicy fish dish of the Batak Toba and Mandailing people of North Sumatra, usually using the common carp (known in Indonesia as ''ikan mas'' or gold fish). Distinctively Batak elements of the dish are the use of torch ...

or Dengke Mas na Niura, the fish is not cooked, but just seasoned and flavored in heavy spices. In addition to carp,

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

and

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

are also consumed, usually cooked as Na Tinombur.

Exotic dishes

Batak dishes sometimes use unusual meats such as

(B1 or "biang" ) cooked as saksang or roasted as panggang. One unusual notorious dish is Pagitpagit that has distinctly pungent aroma. The ingredients include a brew of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

leaves, ''santan'' (

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

), ''rimbang'' (a bitter but non-toxic variety of the

nightshade family The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orna ...

), flowers of some locally-available plants and some

sauce, pork or beef meat, mixed with additional unusual substance — juice from a cow's

cud Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach to the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More precisely, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the phy ...

, food that has been digested and regurgitated. Another exotic and rare ingredients is . It is the Karo word for white, plump grubs or insect

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e found in sugar palm trees. The kidu-kidu sausages are named as such because they look similar to the grubs. The grubs are lightly fried to make the outer skin crispy while keeping the inner part juicy, and then briefly cooked in a boiling arsik sauce.

Beverages

For the Batak community, ''

tuak Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in vario ...

'' (palm liquor) is not just for drinking binges. The beverage is mandatory at celebrations, and drinking ''tuak'' has become something of a tradition. It is a popular traditional

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

made from

palm wine Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...

. It is made by fermenting the '' enau'' sap. Batak ''Lapo Tuak'' is a drinking establishment dedicated to serve this traditional alcoholic beverage. North Sumatra is also known as

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

production area in Indonesia. Coffee variants such as Mandheling is those coffee beans grown in North Sumatran

region.

Dishes

Saksang Saksang or sa-sang is a savory, spicy Indonesian dish from the Batak people. It is made from minced pork or dog meat (or, more rarely, water buffalo meat) stewed in its blood, coconut milk and spices; including kaffir lime and bay leaves, coria ...

* Panggang * Ayam Tasak Telu * Manuk Napinadar * Tanggotanggo * Dengke Mas na Niura * Na Tinombur * Mie gomak * Na Nidugu * Dali ni Horbo * Sambal Tuktuk * Pagit-pagit *

Daun ubi tumbuk Daun ubi tumbuk (Indonesian for "pounded cassava leaves") is a vegetable dish commonly found in Indonesia, made from pounded cassava leaves. In Indonesian, ''daun'' means leaf, ''ubi'' refers to cassava, and ''tumbuk'' means pounded. The cassava ...

Snacks

* Itak Gurgur * Kue Pohulpohul * Kue Ombusombus * Kue Lampet * Kue Benti * Tipatipa * Kacang Sihobuk * Sasagun *

Bika Ambon Bika ambon or golden cake or golden kuih bingka in Singapore, is an Indonesian dessert, made from ingredients such as tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and coconut milk. Bika ambon is generally sold in pandan and banana flavor, but today it ...

References

External links

* {{cuisines