Javanese is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northern coast of western Java. It is the native language of more than 98 million people.
Central Java is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in the south, East Java in the east, and the Java Sea in the north. It has a total area of 32,800.69 km², with a population of 36,516,035 at the 2020 Census making it the third-most populous province in both Java and Indonesia after West Java and East Java. The province also includes the island of Nusakambangan in the south, and the Karimun Jawa Islands in the Java Sea. Central Java is also a cultural concept that includes the Special Region and city of Yogyakarta. However, administratively the city and its surrounding regencies have formed a separate special region since the country's independence, and is administrated separately. Although known as the "heart" of Javanese culture, there are several other non-Javanese ethnic groups, such as the Sundanese on the border with West Java. Chinese Indonesians, Arab Indonesians, and Indian Indonesians are also scattered throughout the province.
The Javanese people are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Java. With approximately 100 million people, they form the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the island. There are also significant numbers of people of Javanese descent in most provinces of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Suriname, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Netherlands.
Nagasari is a traditional Javanese steamed cake, made of rice flour, coconut milk and sugar, filled with a slice of banana.
Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java.
Klepon, or kelepon, is a snack of sweet rice cake balls filled with molten palm sugar and coated in grated coconut. Of Javanese origin, the green-coloured glutinous rice balls are one of the popular traditional kue in Indonesian cuisine. It is also commonly found in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore as onde-onde.
Rawon is an Indonesian beef soup. Originating from Surabaya, East Java, rawon utilizes the black keluak nut as the main seasoning, which gives a dark color and nutty flavor to the soup.
Rempeyek or peyek is a deep-fried savoury Indonesian-Javanese cracker made from flour with other ingredients, bound or coated by crispy flour batter. The most common type of rempeyek is peyek kacang ; however, other ingredients can be used instead, such as teri, rebon, or ebi. Today, rempeyek is commonly found in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as in countries with considerable Indonesian migrant populations, such as The Netherlands and Suriname.
Banyumasan, colloquially known as Ngapak, is a dialect of Javanese spoken mainly in three areas of Java that is the Banyumasan, located in westernmost Central Java Province and surrounding the Slamet mountain and Serayu River; a neighboring area inside West Java Province; and northern region of Banten Province. This area includes Majenang, Cilacap, Gombong, Kebumen, Banjarnegara, Purbalingga, Purwokerto, Bumiayu, Slawi, Pemalang, Tegal, and Brebes regencies.
Semur is an Indonesian type of meat stew, that is braised in thick brown gravy commonly found in Indonesian cuisine. The main ingredient used in semur gravy is sweet soy sauce, shallots, onions, garlic, ginger, candlenut, nutmeg and cloves, sometimes pepper, coriander, cumin and cinnamon might be added.
Tongseng is an Indonesian goat meat, mutton or beef stew dish in curry-like soup with vegetables and kecap manis. Tongseng is commonly found in Indonesian region of Central Java; from Surakarta to Yogyakarta. However, it is believed that dish was originated from Klego district in Boyolali, Central Java.
Ayam penyet is Indonesian — more precisely East Javanese cuisine — fried chicken dish consisting of fried chicken that is smashed with the pestle against mortar to make it softer, served with sambal, slices of cucumbers, fried tofu and tempeh. In Indonesia penyet dishes, such as fried chicken and ribs are commonly associated with Surabaya, the capital city of East Java. The most popular ayam penyet variant is ayam penyet Suroboyo.
Selat solo is a Javanese dish influenced by Western cuisine; it is a specialty of Solo city, Central Java, Indonesia. It consists of braised beef tenderloin served in thin watery sauce made from a mixture of garlic, vinegar, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce, water, and spiced with nutmeg and black pepper. It is served with hard boiled egg and vegetables such as string beans, potato, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, cauliflower or broccoli and carrot, and topped with potato chips and some dash of mustard or mayonnaise on the side.
Banyumasan people or Banyumasan Javanese is a collective term for a Javanese subgroup native to the Indonesia's westernmost part of Central Java. At approximately ±9 million people, they are concentrated in Banyumas, Cilacap, Kebumen, Purworejo, Purbalingga, and Banjarnegara regencies. The Banyumasan-Javanese speak Banyumasan dialect of Javanese language, a dialect which is often called "basa ngapak-ngapak".
Iman Budhi Santosa, commonly known as IBS, was an Indonesian author based in Yogyakarta. Born in Magetan, East Java, IBS was educated in agriculture but drawn to literature from a young age. In 1969, he helped establish the Persada Studi Klub, later publishing numerous works, including poetry collections, novels, and short stories. His poetry has been considered to have strong Javanese cultural influences.
Sambal is a chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chili peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. Sambal is an Indonesian loan-word of Javanese and Sundanese origin. It originated from the culinary traditions of Indonesia, and is also an integral part of the cuisines of Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Brunei and Singapore. It has also spread through overseas Indonesian populations to the Netherlands and Suriname.
Mie jawa, also called as mi jawa or bakmi jawa in Indonesia, or mee Jawa in Malaysia is a traditional Javanese style noodle, commonly found in Indonesia and Malaysia. The dish is made of yellow noodle, chicken, vegetables, egg and spices. The recipe however, is slightly different between mie jawa in Indonesia and mee Jawa in Malaysia.
Roti gambang or ganjel rel is an Indonesian rectangular-shaped brown bread with sesame seeds, flavoured with cinnamon and palm sugar.
Untir-untir or kue tambang is a traditional Indonesian deep-fried twisted doughnut—that fried in peanut oil. This dish has a shiny and golden look with crispy taste, almost similar to mahua in Chinese cuisine and lubid-lubid in Filipino cuisine. In Javanese untir-untir means "twisted", while in Indonesian kue tambang means "rope cake"; both refer to its twisted rope-like shape. This doughnut popular in Javanese community in Java, but today it can found nationwide. Sesame seeds can be add in the untir-untir.
Nasi goreng jawa is a Javanese-style of fried rice originated from Java. This dish can be found in Javanese cuisine and quite popular in Indonesia, especially Java. Commonly, this rice dish uses sambal ulek as seasoning and has a spicy taste.
