Koja Indian Porridge, a Legendary Ramadan Culinary in Semarang that is Always Hunted by Residents

The typical Ramadan culinary tradition once again greets Semarang residents with Indian Koja porridge, a legendary dish that only appears once a year in the Pekojan Jami Mosque area. This warm, spice-rich porridge is a free break-fast dish that is distributed free of charge and has been embedded in the community’s cultural identity for decades.

Every afternoon during Ramadan, the courtyard and room on the right side of the Pekojan Jami Mosque begin to be filled with hundreds of people. They come not only to wait for the time to break the fast, but also to attend the recitation before the Maghrib call to prayer. After the recitation ended and the time to break the fast approached, the congregation began to take positions in the Indian porridge serving area which had been neatly arranged by the mosque administrators.

At that location, hundreds of small bowls containing Indian porridge were arranged in a row. Each bowl comes with a glass of warm drink, either tea or chocolate milk, as well as a slice of watermelon as a side dish. Residents who attend usually sit directly near the bowls. As soon as the Maghrib call to prayer sounded, they simultaneously enjoyed Indian porridge which has been a typical fast-breaking menu for generations.

The uniqueness of Indian Koja porridge lies in the mixture of spices and traditional ingredients used. In one meal, the mosque administrators use around 22 kilograms of rice every day. This dose can produce approximately 300 portions of porridge. The rice is then cooked with thick coconut milk and a variety of selected spices such as lemongrass, cinnamon, ginger, bay leaves, carrots, onclang and shallots. This combination produces a distinctive savory and warm taste, different from porridge in general.

According to the fourth generation of Indian porridge makers at the Pekojan Mosque, the cooking process starts at 11.00 WIB. All stages must be completed just before Asr prayer time. After that, the administrators immediately divided the porridge into small bowls and arranged them in the serving area so they were ready to be distributed when it was time to break the fast.

The Indian tradition of Koja porridge is not just a culinary matter, but also a symbol of togetherness and social concern. Every Ramadan, the mosque and the surrounding community work together to maintain traditions that have been passed down for several generations. It’s not surprising that every year, Semarang residents always look forward to the moment of eating Indian porridge as an inseparable part of the Ramadan atmosphere in this city.***