Diversity of Indonesian Lebaran dishes: from history to recent business perspectives

Abstract Eid al-Fitr is one of the Islamic holidays celebrated by Muslims all over the world, including in Indonesia ( Eid al-Fitr is popularly known as lebaran in Indonesia). Indonesia has long been recognized as a multicultural country with many cultural traditions, such as culinary traditions associated with particular religious holidays. This article aims to explore around 165 Indonesian Lebaran Dishes (ILDs) discussed from different points of view such as history, cultural traditions, geographical distribution, health and economic benefits of the preparation ILDs. Briefly, the research is a literature study in which data were collected from online and offline sources, triangulated with mini-interview (with open ended questions) before synthesized into a manuscript. The result of research was family dining banquets and nationwide tradition of Halal bi-halal often includes several ubiquitous ILDs such as ketupat , opor ayam , and lontong . Meanwhile, ILDs such as sie reuboh , nasi tutug oncom , and nasi jaha are usually served in makmeugang (Aceh), ngabotram (West Java), and binarundak (Gorontalo and North Sulawesi) traditions during lebaran , respectively. In the term of diversity, the 165 ILDs are discovered and widely distributed in 26 provinces, exhibiting a confluence of the Islamic faith with local and foreign culinary traditions. The ILDs are dominated by rice cakes (31 dishes), curries (26 dishes), stews (18 dishes), and cookies (18 dishes)—for example, ketupat kandangan (South Kalimantan), lontong sayur (West Sumatra), semur daging (Jakarta), and kue semprit (Nationwide), respectively. Additionally, IDLs offer a diverse array of nutritional components, including carbohydrates, fibers, proteins, and fats, while also exhibiting specific functional properties. For example, fermented foods like tape ketan (Nationalwide) have been shown to enhance digestion by introducing probiotic microbes into digestive system. Notably, the ILDs industry holds significant economic prospect as contributing up to US$ 348 billion to the national revenue by 2023, with an annual growth rate of 20–30%.This high profitable business can further socio-culturally facilitate the promotion of particular specialties to other people in different regions, enabling a cross-cultural exchange between regions.