Mirella Pandjaitan
Dec 10, 2025
Indonesia’s culinary landscape is as vast and varied as its thousands of islands, featuring a mosaic of flavours shaped by indigenous traditions, regional ingredients, and centuries of cultural exchange. Food is deeply intertwined with celebration in the archipelago, and during the Christmas season, this connection becomes even more profound. Holiday dishes are not merely prepared; they are anticipated, cherished, and shared as symbols of warmth, spirituality, and familial bonding.
Each region brings its own festive touch to the table: recipes that have been preserved through generations, flavours that evoke home, and rituals that reaffirm identity. These Christmas dishes reveal the soul of Indonesian cooking—bold, diverse, and rooted in community. Below, we explore a constellation of distinctive dishes enjoyed across the country during the holiday season.
Ayam Budu-budu
Makassar’s contribution to the Christmas table is ayam budu-budu; chicken simmered with lime, tamarind, scallions, and ginger savoured with warm rice. This dish elevates family celebrations with its bright, aromatic flavours.
Ayam Kodok
This showstopping Christmas centerpiece is a whole chicken, with its skin intact, carefully stuffed with minced meat and assorted ingredients. Roasted to golden perfection, it’s served with a savoury sauce that completes its indulgent character.
Babi Panggang Karo
Roast pork holds pride of place on the Christmas table in North Sumatra. The meat is seasoned with lemongrass, garlic, and sweet soy, then served with a richly spiced sauce made from pork blood, creating a dish that is deeply rooted in Karo culinary heritage.
Bagea Cookies
Bagea, a Christmas staple in East Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, are pale, round cookies made from sago, sugar, oil, cintang seeds, flour, and warming spices like cinnamon and cloves. Their subtle fragrance evokes the essence of the season.
Brenebon Soup
Another standout from Manado is this comforting broth that marries tender beef ribs with red kidney beans. The result is a hearty, flavourful soup enjoyed during festive family gatherings.
Fish in Arsik Spices
Arsik is a festive favourite for the people of Medan. Fish is gently cooked in a signature Batak spice blend—most notably andaliman—resulting in a dish that is both piquant and intoxicatingly aromatic.
Klappertaart
A beloved Christmas dessert from Manado, klappertaart is a delicately baked confection of coconut, milk, eggs, flour, and butter. Its silky sweetness carries subtle echoes of Dutch culinary influence.
Lappet
Also known as lampet ombus, this sweet treat from Tapanuli is made from rice flour and grated coconut. It also features a molten palm sugar filling, wrapped neatly in banana leaves and shaped like a tiny Christmas tree.
Poffertjes
In Ambon, Christmas morning is greeted with poffertjes—miniature pancake-like treats crafted from flour and pumpkin. These petite delights are traditionally enjoyed as a festive breakfast on the first day of Christmas.