ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ketupat

Ketupat is a special kind of food that comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. It is made from rice that is squeezed tightly into a diamond shape, and then it is boiled in water.

Imagine that you have a bowl of rice. Instead of eating it just like that, you take a clean and soft cloth or banana leaves, fold it into a diamond shape and then squeeze the rice inside as tightly as you can. This will create a solid diamond-shaped packet of rice that is ready to be boiled in hot water.

After boiling for a while, the rice inside the diamond packet becomes soft and squishy. It is then ready to be eaten! Some people like to serve ketupat with special foods like curry or beef stew, while others eat it by itself.

Because ketupat is made in a diamond shape, its edges and corners are very sharp. So be careful when handling them, just like you would handle a sharp pencil or a knife in the kitchen.

Ketupat is often served during special occasions like Eid al-Fitr, which is a big holiday for many people in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a special treat that people might look forward to all year long!
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