Leumang, the Famous Iftar Cake for Ramadhan Fasting in Aceh-Indonesia

Made from glutinous rice, wrapped in banana leaves and then burned in coals from coconut fibers--Leumang is one of the iftar food that is hunted by the community when breaking fast in the Ramadan.

Today, I had the opportunity to visit one of the Leumang productions in my city, Lhokseumawe. Leumang "Wak Saleh" is one of the most famous traditional cakes. The taste of Wak Saleh Leumang is indeed legendary here, although now the business has been continued by his son.

The Leumang burning process also looks unique, sticky rice mixed with coconut milk and then put into a banana leaf, then burned in a bamboo container gives the impression of a distinctive aroma.

The cake served with Srikaya jam can easily be found in traditional markets that provide iftar foods. The price is also very varied, starting from IDR 5,000 to IDR 20,000, depending on how many Leumang pieces we want to buy. And this price is very cheap.

Amid the Pandemic Covid-19, the Government here only applies social distancing, there is no lock down as imposed by several other countries. Iftar cake traders can sell as usual, it's just that they keep their distance from each other.

Even though it had influenced the economic sector, this pandemic was not yet serious in Aceh. As you can see in the picture, the market situation is as usual, although it looks a bit quieter than the previous Ramadan.

Note: for the Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, Leumang may indeed be familiar, because the traditional food burned in a bamboo is often found in various areas. Especially in the Ramadan as an iftar cake when breaking the fast, Leumang is usually mixed with several other types of food, such as Srikaya jam, and Durian fruit.

In fact, not only that, there are certain cities in Indonesia such as Samarinda and Lampung, making Leumang a traditional cake required on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. In one of the cities, Bukit Tinggi in West Sumatra is known as the town of Leumang because the majority of the Minangkabau people love this traditional cake, and can be easily obtained as a snack for the people.