Indonesia is a country of 13,600 islands, roughly half of which are inhabited. Each inhabited island has its own culinary tradition, shaped by climate and religious taboos. Dahlia was raised in Sumatra, the second biggest of Indonesia's major islands. Food there is hotter, spicier and saltier. Sujitno is from the neighboring island of Java, the nation's most populous.
Javanese food is milder and sweeter.
In any case, Indonesian food is flavorful. For seasonings, cooks use black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, garlic, chilis, cloves, lemon grass and leaves of curry, bay and kaffir lime. According to the 1990 census, only 323 of Connecticut's 3.2 million residents reported Indonesian ancestry. Dahlia shops some of the Asian ethnic markets in Hartford but also relies on stores in New York City and friends in Michigan to supply her larder. We try hard to make it,'' says Sujitno, who finds himself cooking more in Connecticut than back home.