Compressed boiled rice

Lontong is always eaten cold, and is traditional Javanese fare at Lebaran—the end of the Moslem fasting month, which is also the beginning of a new Moslem year. It is specially recommended to go with certain dishes, such as saté and gulé, though you can cook rice this way any time. The idea is that the rice is cooked inside a small container, so that as it swells up the grains are pressed into