VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Stunting is still a major issue which is being faced by Indonesia. According to the Ministry of Health, stunting is a condition in which toddlers have a length or height that is less than their age. Stunting in toddlers includes chronic nutritional problems caused by many factors, such as socioeconomic conditions, maternal nutrition during pregnancy, infant morbidity, and lack of nutritional intake in infants. Stunting toddlers in the future will have difficulty in achieving optimal physical and cognitive development.

In 2019, the National Development Planning Agency determined 160 Cities and Regencies which were priorities for stunting management. One of them is Subang Regency in West Java Province. The Center for Appropriate Technology Research as a government institution has the responsibility to help reduce the prevalence of stunting in Indonesian toddlers, especially in Subang Regency through the Nutritious Local Food Innovation program. Through the National Research Priority for Revitalizing Food Security and Nutrition for Stunting Prevention, Ainia Herminiati and the LIPI team conducted a research 'Application of Micronutrient Premix in Complementary Foods for Mother's Milk (MP-ASI) and Its Effectiveness for Prevention of Stunting Toddlers in Subang Regency'. Ainia and the team have developed products that can be consumed by toddlers, including pudding and instant baby porridge as complementary food for mother’s milk (MP-ASI) for babies aged 6 to 24 months. The instant porridge product as MP-ASI which is given the brand 'Pro Babies' uses the basic ingredients of mocaf flour which is produced by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Tanjung Siang District, Subang Regency. Mocaf flour is an intermediate product from cassava. Supporting food crops of agricultural development programs and activities in West Java Province in 2015-2019 used rice, corn, and soybean. One of the locations for the development of plant cultivation is in Subang Regency.

The "Pro Babies" product is a local food innovation made from mocaf flour with supporting ingredients of skim milk and tempe flour, fortified by micronutrient premix (Fe, Zn, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, folic acid), and enriched with inulin. The product form chosen is instant porridge and pudding with consideration of relatively long shelf life, more practical because it reduces volume and it is easy to serve and to handle in the distribution process.

The Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, recently proposed the City of Salatiga, Central Java to be nominated for Creative City of Gastronomy to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). According to Mayor of Salatiga, Yuliyanto, as a miniature of Indonesia, Salatiga is a place where various ethnicities and tribes mingle with culinary diversity with unique flavors. This fact has resulted in meaningful acculturation which is the uniqueness of Salatiga City; one of which is a variety of cuisines. Mayor Yuliyanto also said that Salatiga is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, with a long history of rich cultural heritage and culinary variety. In Salatiga's long history, one of the great legacies of its food recipe is Tumpang Koyor, which was found in the Serat Centini manuscript in 1814.

Tumpang Koyor, this Salatiga typical food may seem unattractive. But the taste will make you addicted. The main ingredient is Tempe Semangit. Tempe Semangit is the one that has been fermented to an advanced stage for up to two until three days. Among the Javanese people, such tempe is often called Tempe Bosok or rotten. Tempe is what makes this dish so special. The other main ingredients are Tetelan and Koyor or Tunjang. Tetelan is a piece of beef which is actually a piece of meat that is attached to the bone. Meanwhile, Tunjang is cow's trotter. Cooking Tumpang Koyor uses spices, such as shallots, garlic, Kencur, lime leaves, Salam, Galangal, and chili, and then mixed with coconut milk. This dish is called Tumpang because when it is cooked, it uses a pan that is placed on the stove for at least two hours.

A portion of Tumpang Koyor is usually served with tofu skin. When eaten, there is a combination of savory, spicy, slightly sour, with a soft texture. The dish is usually eaten with a serving of warm rice or a bowl of porridge. In Salatiga itself, it is not difficult to find Tumpang Koyor. There are many restaurants selling this special food at a relatively affordable price. It is around Rp25,000 to 30,000/serving. Do you want to try it? Come to Solo City, Central Java.

When having a culinary tour, especially Indonesian traditional snacks, you will find a variety of traditional foods that are almost the same in several regions in Indonesia. For example, if you are on a culinary tour in areas on the island of Java and Sangihe Islands, North Sulawesi, you will find a traditional snack called ongol-ongol. This wet cake has a chewy, soft texture with a sweet taste. This cake can be round, square or rectangular, depending on the taste of the maker. However, ongol-ongol is usually rectangular.

Ongol-ongol is made from dry sago flour, palm sugar, pandan leaves, salt, and water. These ingredients are mixed and cooked until done. Then the dough is moved to another container. After the dough is cool, ongol-ongol is ready to be served with a sprinkle of grated coconut on top. Because it uses brown sugar, ongol-ongol is brownish. But now, you can find ongol-ongol with a variety of colors, because it uses dye.

Besides having more variants of colors, now ongol-ongol is also made from various foodstuffs, such as pumpkin, purple sweet potato, cassava, and glutinous rice. Ongol-ongol is usually eaten with a cup of hot tea or coffee. It is not difficult to find ongol-ongol, you can find it easily in traditional markets. The price is quite affordable, around Rp5,000 to Rp10,000 per serving.

Flores is one of the islands in East Nusa Tenggara. The island is famous for its various exotic lakes. One of them is Lake Lotus in Pota Village, Sambi Rampas District, East Manggarai Regency which is very different from other lakes. The lake is named Lake Rana Tonjong which is the second largest lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) lake in the world after the same lake in India. In the East Manggarai language, 'Rana' means lake and 'Tonjong' means lotus which means Lake Lotus. The pink lotus flower, which blooms, is very beautiful. The plant only grows on water and has leaf morphology in the form of a wide round leaf with a diameter of about 5 to 10 centimeters. The uniqueness of this lotus plant is that its stems stand straight and do not spread like other lotuses with a height of approximately 3 meters. In fact, this lotus flower can bloom depending on the water that enters the lake.

Lake Lotus has an area of 2.5 hectares. The Lotus flowers always bloom from April to June every year. Even, the lotus seeds can be eaten by the local people to cure various diseases. The protein content of this lotus seed is very high. The residents around this lake, who come from Pota Village, always take the fruit to eat. It tastes like peanuts. Uniquely, this giant lotus cannot grow anywhere else. This type of lotus is only found in two places, namely in India and in Pota, Sambi Rampas, East Manggarai. To visit the place, you can enjoy the beautiful lotus flower in bloom. Don't forget to capture it with your camera.

Lake Rana Tonjong is located in lowland surrounded by hills in the west, south and north, while in the east there is a fairly large area of rice fields belonging to the local community. Lake Rana Tonjong is also a natural habitat for freshwater fish, rice field snakes and frogs, as well as some white swans, eagles and storks that also want to find prey here. If you want to come to Lake Rana Tonjong, you can travel from Ruteng, the capital of Manggarai Regency via Reo to Pota. Then, your journey continues to Rana Tonjong with a distance of about 90 kilometers and can be reached in 4 hours by motor vehicles.