The History of Solo’s Typical Tengkleng, Created due to Running Out of Food in the Colonial Period

Solo-based legal expert, Mr. Soewidji (1973), said that daily life was getting more difficult at that time. Let alone a house or red clothes, food and clothing were increasingly difficult to find. “Just to overcome the rampant hunger, banana stumps were used for food,” explained Heri. In the midst of colonization, the Solo people turned their brains to survive by processing all foodstuffs, including food waste, including goat waste such as bones and offal. Read also: How to Remove the Odor of Goat and Cow Offal Generally, animal bones and offal were not utilized by people of high economic status at that time. Only armed with goat waste such as bones and offal from goats, inevitably the people of Solo processed the dish to fill the stomach. Part of the goat meat at that time, served to the lords and ladies of the Dutch and the priyayi. The food waste was finally served with a special seasoning that was quite complicated. The general recipe list includes coconut, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, fresh lime leaves, galangal, cinnamon, bay leaves, dried cloves, garlic, shallots, table salt, candlenuts and nutmeg.

The origin of the name tengkleng The name “tengkleng” also reflects the life of the common people during the colonial era. At that time, people could only afford the “waste” from goats, namely the bones and innards, so they cooked them with simple spices.