5 Filipino Words That You Should Include in Your Vocabulary

Filipino is the official national language of the Philippines. It is also the term for the country’s citizen. Like me. I am a Filipino. My parents are Filipinos.

But did you know that dozens of Filipino words are now officially in the Oxford English Dictionary? Yes. The list is getting longer.

Here are five from the list:

1. Kuya –a term used as a sign of respect to an older male relative such as a brother, cousin, or family friend. It can also be used to address an older man even if they’re just an acquaintance or a stranger.

• If you have a biological brother, you can call him kuya apart from calling him bru or bhaee.

Example: My kuya John is three years older than me. He is an engineer.

2. Suki –a term used to refer to a customer who purchases products or services from the same provider.

Example: I own Kumar’s store and Mr. And Mrs. Negi are my suki. They only buy their groceries from my shop.

3. Baon –money, food, or other provisions taken to work, school, or on a long journey.

• If you’re working and you take food for lunch from home to eat at lunch break, then that food is called baon. The same applies to the money that parents give to their children when they go to school.

Example: “Don’t forget your baon, else you’ll starve at lunch,” Mrs. Rana reminded her daughter who is in fifth grade.

Baon to school for two kids
(photo credit: vegan friend, DK)

 

4. Yo-yo –is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle. (See photo).

• In many countries around the world, a yo-yo competition is being held every year. This competition normally consists of two parts, a set of compulsory tricks and a freestyle, where points are scored for each and the winner is the yo-yo player who scores the most points. Compulsory tricks, also known as a trick ladder, are a set of tricks that have been chosen before the contest, and the competitor must successfully complete each trick on their first or second attempt to score points.

Yo-yo toy that children and adult enjoy.

5. Halo-halo –("mixed together") is a popular dessert made of mixed fruits, boiled sweet beans, sago, agar jelly, evaporated milk, and shaved ice, typically topped with purple yam, and ice cream. It is served in a tall or wide-brimmed bowl. Yum!

So which of these words would you use first?

Persimmons or Amarphal or Ramphal: Hachiya and Fuyu Variety

Five days ago, my husband had some business to attend to in Dehradun. Going to bigger cities is something that we don't do often. In fact, we would be glad if transactions can be done online or through someone. We just loathe the pollution -the traffic, the crowd, the garbage, the horrible plight of non-human animals and the apathetic and cruel treatment of human beings to these poor earthlings!

So, to make the trip worthwhile, my husband and I would buy the fruits, groceries, vegetables, nuts and seeds that aren't available in the place we live.

This time, he took two varieties of persimmons -Hachiya and Fuyu, and other fruits like Thailand guava (huge and bland but tasty and crunchy), chicos, custard apple, canary melons, red grapes, Midknight oranges, etc.

The above picture is a variety of Hachiya. From medium size to large size, the fruit is a delight. Hachiya variety looks round but pointed and they are astringent or sappy, which means, they cannot be eaten when hard and firm. They have to ripen from top to bottom. They must be very soft, only then, sappiness goes, and they're enjoyable to eat.

A few of the vendors selling this variety shared their stories involving Hachiya. This variety is NOT popular among customers! At first, we were puzzled. Such beautiful and tasty fruit and people don't like it? There must be a reason.

There is only one explanation. And I'll go through that below. In the meantime, here's Fuyu variety.

Fuyu variety is the non-astringent variety. They are quite small, round but flat. These are the characteristics of the non-astringent persimmons -round and flat.

Until three days ago, we've been eating this variety the wrong way, or shall I say, eating it one way -the soft and ripe way!

My husband's experience in buying this variety this time gave some light as to  
when to eat Fuyu best, and that is, when they are hard and firm.
This goes back to the vendors' stories. People like this variety because they can be eaten immediately making it popular.
Customers only buy Fuyu!
And that is because, these fruits are displayed and sold hard and firm, never soft and ripe, and that is the first experience most customers have.
So, the moment they buy Hachiya and eat the same way they eat Fuyu,
the experience would be horrible
because Hachiya variety is astringent.
Nobody really likes a sappy tongue, right?

Also, not many have the curiosity to ask why and find out how to properly eat Hachiya persimmons! So, the next time they see the fruit, they'll pass by it remembering their
disgusting first experience.

The thing is, not many know how to eat it.
Even the sellers themselves!

So, now you know!
The next time you come across these fruits, buy them in loads, for they really taste good!

Just a few tips. We keep them in the fridge, wash them thoroughly, 

and eat them with their skin on. 

The skin of Fuyu is a little bit coarse and tends to separate from the pulp onceit is soft and ripe. When hard and firm, it is crunchy and sweet (an iinformation we

just paid attention to even though we've read the same info two years ago).

~two platters of fruit goodies: Midknight oranges, chico, local orange, guava, Fuyu and Hachiya persimmons~

• Hindi people call persimmons Amarphal or immortal fruit OR Ramphal or fruit for the Gods.
• In the Philippines, Filipinos call the fruit Mabolo. For 27 years in the Philippines, I'd never seen the fruit. I just heard it. Though I wondered how does Mabolo fruit look like. My imagination pictures a round and black fruit. 

Potato-Tomato Dish: Simple & Quick No Oil Recipe

If I were to get rid of one thing that I do every day that is cooking. Fortunately, I only cook once almost all the time except in some rare cases when we have great stuff like mushrooms (it's a rarity around here) or when my husband and I feel like eating extra. When it happens it's always light. 

Like this recipe.

And this recipe is for two people. 

~my share~

What are needed?

• 2-3 medium size potatoes (washed thoroughly, never peeled and thinly sliced)
• 5-6 ripe tomatoes, preferably round variety because they're juicy (chopped)
• salt to taste (I used a pinch since we're used to it already)
• red chili powder, according to your preference (I used half a tsp.)
• lemon juice, optional (I use it when it's too spicy for us)
• 1-2 tbsp. poppy seeds, optional (I generally add them because we have them and they induce sleep
• half to 1 a glass of water

What to do?

• In a deep pan, add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes
• Add salt and potatoes. Mix and cover on a low flame.
• After a few minutes, add red chili powder and poppy seeds. Mix again.
• Add little water at a time.
• Cook until the tomatoes get smashed and the potatoes get cooked.
• Check the taste.
• Let it cool a little bit and serve.
• Add lemon juice just before it is served. (Heat destroys vitamin C in lemon juice, but for the purpose of enhancing taste, lemon juice ca be added when the dish is still hot.)

~this time, this dish was eaten alone~

Serve alone or with roti!

~This one is with black and white sesame seeds. What a great way to eat sesame seeds!~

• When I make it for lunch, we usually have this with roti and our roti is not the usual roti. It's made of whole wheat flour which is grounded in a bigger grain, meaning, it's not refined at all and it's full of bran (fiber) then with it are mixed grounded flax, melon seeds, and watermelon seeds (readily prepared with vitamin B12 so we won't be ingesting B12 in one go), sesame seeds and zero salt.   
• Most of the times we eat this dish with one small roti each. Sometimes, half each of one big roti.
• Our cooked food, especially with rice or roti or chapati, vegetables always weigh more than the roti. For example, for 1 roti we will have it with a big bowl of vegetable dish.

This recipe can certainly be modified. 

Do let me know in the comment section below. 

Use the section of what do you think of this recipe, too!

Enjoy!

Persimmon: The Fruit That Nobody Wants?

 These were the persimmons my husband went and purchased from a village near Pauri town.

In 2015, when we were still in Khirsu (about 20 km. from Pauri town), we were able to purchase persimmons from a local fruit shop, Himalaya Fruits at Agency Chowk. Of all the fruit shops in town, only this guy had persimmons. So upon buying, talks came up as to how we knew the fruit to asking where did he (the shopkeeper) get the fruit. Locally, he replied. From nearby Pauri. He did mention the name of the place but we forgot it.

Anyways, at that first time we were only able to take 7 kilos because the rest of them were not good...rotting (sadly, not many knew the fruit and somehow people don't have the 'let me try this' kind of mentality and apparently, they seem to have an aversion towards eating fruits). For Rs.50 per kilo, we took home 7 kilos, most of them were already ripe and ready to eat. 

Before we left, we took the shopkeeper's phone number and my husband did some arrangements with him. It was agreed that when the next batch comes, he would send us 20 kilos of properly selected persimmons. And so, after 25 days, I think, Suresh, our regular taxi guy, got us two boxes of persimmons from Pauri. Payment was made a week later when we went for marketing using Suresh taxi service.

One year later, in a new place called Koteshwar which is around 100 kilometers to Pauri via Chakka - Devprayag - Pauri road, the same problem occurred. Nobody around here even knew the fruit. So as usual, I carried its photograph to show to shopkeepers hoping one or two of them will be able to arrange for us.

In the meantime, knowing it's already persimmons' time, my husband rang the Pauri fruit shop to check if persimmons were available. Confirming, he said. And they've been in his shop for a week already. 

We were very excited!

And so, an order for 30 kilos was talked and he has to call us a day before it arrives in his shop so we can arrange for its transport. Transport means, we will be hiring a taxi to go and get persimmons. 

This time though, we asked for the name of the place where persimmons were available.

Two Saturdays ago, a call came from Himalaya Fruits. Persimmons were there!

Right then, B arranged for a transport to go to Pauri.

And so, at 8:30 the following day, he went to get 30, or maybe 40 kilos of persimmons. I didn't go because nobody was there to take care of Perci and Meegnu. Six hours drive plus a few more for packing and others, so more or less we would be gone for 8-10 hours minimum. So B went alone.

But there was a detour. Around 5-7 kilometer before hitting the proper town of Pauri, the board 'Satekhal', the place that the Himalaya Fruits guy mentioned appeared on the road. So, they stopped and asked around. Luckily, one man was familiar with the fruit and knew someone who had the tree, but he wasn't sure if fruits were still there. He called the guy, nonetheless. It turned out, his was empty. But, this guy knew someone else who also had the trees. He rang him and, fortunately, his trees were still full of persimmon fruits.

He then sent his son to accompany B and the driver. He even warned B to wait and let them do the harvesting because the village had no motorable road. But, no! B and the driver trekked for a kilometer uphill, saw the trees, climbed to pluck them, and took some pictures. 

They helped in packing, too!

One of the guys who owned a tree of persimmons shared his story about how no one wants persimmons. He said that a month back, he and another guy took about 100 kilos to a Mela in Dehradun. In the morning, they were selling persimmons, freshly harvested but unripe, for Rs. 20 per kilo. Many people inquired about it. When it was told that the fruit isn't ready to eat yet, that it has to be kept for a week or more to ripen since it has to be fully soft, people rejected the idea out rightly. 

They waited. And so, towards the end of the Mela, about afternoon, they dropped the price to Rs.10/kilo. And guess what. NOBODY bought it still. I mean, it is a fact that somehow many people have an aversion towards fruits up to an extent of avoiding them because they cause diabetes when, if they really take a thought of it, fruits are hardly (to nil) part of their diet. But for a fruit that was sold for as cheap as Rs.10 per kilo, isn't it worth a try to buy one kilo to see how it is? 

Have people lost curiosity? 

I didn't think so because when it comes to processed foods -junks like pizza, 

burger, chips, etc. these same people would not even have a second thought of stuffing those into their mouths.

So, I guess, this unpopular culture of fruit-eating has to change. And I can see that it has already begun. Most people are not just aware.

Anyway, they ended up taking 50 kilos of persimmons back home.

Persimmon trees yield less at first and then as it grows older the yield increases. The tree above is around 50 years and this variety of persimmons, small, tomato-like, not every fruit has seeds. In fact, seeds in fruits are rare. According to the man who tends this tree, from whom B took persimmons, the roots creep underground and a few meters away from the main tree a sapling grows to become another tree. And so on. 

So the picture below must be like that.

Back to my story.

B ended up taking 44 kilos from this farm and Kishan, the taxi driver, took 6 kilos for his family. Kishann, however, regretted he only took 6 kilos later on and suggested to come back a week or two to get more.

Because B told the Himalaya Fruits guy that he would come, before heading home they went to his shop at Pauri town. The guy was selling it for Rs.80 (the same fruit but not from the same guy whom B bought for Rs.15/kilo). B got it reduced to Rs.40/kilo and as a formality, he took 6 kilos more to make our persimmons from Pauri 50 kilos in total. He also took some other stuffs from the fruit guy like Californian grapes which was sold for Rs.600. B took a kilo and paid Rs.400/kilo for it. Some pears were also bought.

~our typical breakfast along with homemade fruit juice (canary melon or watermelon or banana) and oat-nut mix (oats, dates, pistachios, almonds, cashews, munnakka, green raisins, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds~

This is how the small variety of persimmons look like in half -seedless, juicy, and sweet. It has sweetness different from the Himachal variety (capsicum-like, with seeds).

Persimmons are absolutely divine fruits. It's no wonder it's called Ramphal. It is, indeed, fruit for the gods!

Never miss persimmons every year. I know we won't as much as possible.

Buy it hard, keep it at home. Wait. Check. Eat. 

You'll never regret you bought it.

 

Homemade Tomato Paste: Quick and Easy To Make Sauce/Dip

I have been wanting to make a tomato paste at home with spaghetti in mind

but never been able to do so for various reasons. 

One, I don't have a regular use for it (referring to tomato paste). 

Two, I am no longer fond of it (not the spaghetti per se, but the processed pasta).

Three, neither does my husband (doesn't like both at all).

But I saw a facebook post of Vegan Afritada, a dish made of potato, garbanzo beans, and bell pepper with TVP and seasoned with tomato paste, garlic, etc. That propelled the "trying things out" in me. And so finally, for the first time in my life, I made my own version of tomato paste.

It really turned out delicious. In fact, a much sumptuous than the regular tomato paste that I have tasted before.
Even B (my husband) says, "It's not bad at all" and "Yeah, quite good".
And when asked if it can be made again.
"Yes", he said. And that is the cue because he generally says "not bad at all, but cannot be made again and again". Yet this one, among a few, made it across his line of "can be made again".
(Just a tip, my husband will rather eat raw food than cooked ones. Unfortunately, there isn't enough variety of fruits and vegetables than can be eaten raw here in our area, so, we made a deal to manage what raw items we can get with 1 meal-cooking a day).

Plus!
(Referring now to the tomato paste)

It's homemade so it's preservative-free!

And you really know what's in it.

~Picture 1: 

pureed tomato, black pepper powder, 

garlic, palm sugar, olive oil~

So, here's the recipe. It's so simple, quick and easy to make
that there's no need to make it bulk.
 (Now I realized)
Just make it whenever there is a need for it.

Ingredients:

• 6 tomatoes, ripe and red
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
• 1 small cube palm sugar
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• a pinch of salt

Instruction:

• Wash tomatoes properly. Make a cross slit at the bottom and boil to soften them. The tomatoes are ready once their skin starts to peel off. Keep them cool. 
• Once cooled, keep them in a blender and make a puree. You can do this in batches and make sure that everything is well-churned.
• Once the puree is done, pour into a deep pan. Add a little water to the blender to remove the remaining traces of tomato puree.
• Add crushed and minced garlic, palm sugar, black pepper powder, a pinch of salt and olive oil (see picture 1).
• Bring to a boil. Simmer till it slowly becomes drier. You can cover and stir occasionally.
• Once desired consistency is achieved, check the taste. Adjust if necessary. 
• Turn off the stove and let it cool. The tomato paste is ready!

NOTES:

~Some people boil the tomatoes and then peel and discard the skin. I prefer to leave it on.

~I tried churning the tomatoes immediately once (meaning, I didn't boil them) and I couldn't make out any difference. The main reason I boil them is that our blender is not a heavy-duty one. So if your blender/mixer's performance is excellent, you might as well try this method.

~Others strain or sieve the puree and only the juice is used for the making of paste, but my version includes the pulp.
~Instead of crushing and mincing the garlic, you can churn the cloves along with the tomatoes.

~I have not tried making much of it for later use because there is no need to do so. The next time that I will be using a tomato paste will be 15-20 days later, or even 1 month.

Ginger-Garlic Fried Rice: A Quick and Simple Rice Dish for the Family

The Philippines is a rice country. Breakfast, lunch, supper...every time there is rice, including during snack time!

India, especially in South, is the opposite. 

Imagine my fate without rice...

I survived though!

I don't have that craving for rice, that feeling that I want rice. 

Zero!

My husband, on the other hand, can live without it though he eats occasionally!

And the only rice dish that he likes is fried rice or palak rice, but palak rice is only made when palak or spinach is available, which is not throughout the year unlike in cities where it is (I assume) available most of the year.

As for me, plain or with something, rice is rice and I like it.

We also like mushroom fried rice but is made only during the mushroom season. We stopped using canned mushroom because of health issues (I encourage you to avoid buying and using canned items, too, because anything that has long shelf life will definitely make your life shorter).

So we almost always end up making vegetable fried rice when we have the cravings for rice, but never plain rice.

Ginger-garlic fried rice, as usual, is my husband's idea (thinker, eh).

The first time I made it, I didn't add any vegetables.

(Carrot is nowhere no matter where I look).

Then, a kilo of locally-grown capsicum, freshly harvested from a nearby farm courtesy of Mr. Ashok, a patient of my husband, was delivered to us -for free. 

So instead of a repeat, we decided to add capsicum to ginger-garlic fried rice, our lunch the following day which was already decided the night before.

"Okay, let's try it after all capsicum is almost always there in every fried rice", I said.

So here it is, something to be shared with you because the recipe is very simple and you can add vegetable of your choice and see how it goes.

What are needed?

1. Rice, 1 cup, cooked a night before (I used brown rice this time).
2. Capsicum, 3 medium-size, chopped into small pieces
3. Garlic, plenty, minced-keep for 20 minutes before using (I used big ones up to 7 heads)
4. Ginger, 3 inches, minced (skin not removed, wash properly and remove not so good-looking parts)
5. Onions, 4, medium size, chopped into small pieces
6. Black pepper, 1 tsp.
7. Salt to taste
8. Vegetable oil ( I used sesame oil, mustard oil, olive oil -little of each)

How to do it?

1. Get all ingredients ready.
2. In a deep pan, heat oil in high flame.
3. Add in ginger and garlic together. Fry till brown while pressing once in a while. Lower the flame if necessary.
4. Pour in onions followed by salt. Fry till translucent.
5. Add capsicum. Cook for 1-2 minutes in a high flame. Don't overcook capsicum.
7. Then add rice. Mix the mixture well in a high flame for a few more seconds making sure that no lumps of rice are seen till all ingredients get mixed.
8. Sprinkle black pepper. Check the taste. It's the ginger and garlic, salt and black pepper that make this dish tastier.
9. Turn off the stove.
10. Serve hot.

~my share! we had it with fresh and immature cucumbers, locally grown~

Notes:

~ White rice was also used in this recipe.
~ Carrots can be added instead of capsicum or with capsicum.
~ Make sure to use lots of garlic and ginger, hence the name.
~ It's tastier when dry so I never use ginger-garlic paste again.
~ The rice should be cooked dry, not wettish, so don't overcook it.
~ Soya chunks might go well with this so next time I'll try it. You can also try already. Just boil soya chunks with salt. When cool, squeeze to remove excess water, then dry after adding onions.

Enjoy this very quick and simple rice recipe!

Sicilian Pumpkin Fry: Simple Yet Delicious Dish To Try

First of all, pumpkin was never my favorite and neither of my husband's. It is a vegetable that is bought in slices, not whole, not even in kilo when I was in the Philippines. 

Here in India, I have become an almost fruitarian -I really have no problem with fruits, 

in fact, I love them. 

Looking at a variety of colorful fruits makes me smile and want to grab them all...lol! 

Because my husband and I are mostly fruitarians, our vegetable intake was on the lower side of the menu. But when we became vegan, we try to balance things out since we cannot neglect the nutritional benefits of eating vegetables. 

And since pumpkin seeds are our favorite, the only way to get them is by asking veggie vendors to give the seeds to us, which many are giving for free, or get the whole pumpkin itself. 

The problem in getting a whole one is that it may get spoiled before we can finish the whole thing (we don't have a fridge, so). 

Though "wasting" is not the issue because we can always give a portion to cows, we avoid it altogether as much as possible. 

So we decide to buy the whole pumpkin itself (it would be impolite to keep on asking for the seeds and never buy the entire vegetable...lol). And a little bit of trivia, many people started eating pumpkin seeds after they knew that Dr. Saab is taking them for eating...haha, funny!

Anyway, I have been experimenting dishes, something I am glad about my husband because he is the one who encourages me to try things out. According to him, we'll never know how something tastes like unless we try it.

So trying is what I do. If the dish turns out good, we may be making it again. If not, then it's an experience.

Sicilian Pumpkin Fry turns out to be a keeper and it's a dish that is highly recommended.

~mint leaves are in plenty in our garden~

Here's what are required:

1. Mature pumpkin, 1/2 kilo or more
2. Salt to taste
3. Vinegar, much for taste
4. Garlic, plenty, crushed
5. Olive oil, much (3-5 tbsp.) depending on how much pumpkin slices there are
6. Mint leaves, fresh, finely chopped

How to do it?

1. Wash the pumpkin thoroughly especially the skin. Never discard the skin, it's full of nutrients.
2. Slice pumpkin into 2-3 inches long and make thin slices out of these. Keep aside.
3. Peel and crush garlic. The more the better because garlic gives the best aroma and taste in this dish.
4. When garlic is ready to be used (after 20 minutes since crushing), heat a short and wide pan for frying.
5. Add a tbsp. of olive oil at a time. When the oil is hot enough, pour in some garlic and a few slices of pumpkin. Stir and make sure all slices get cooked. Avoid getting them scorched. Remove whichever becomes brown.
6. Taking your judgment, when every slice of pumpkin seems cooked enough (a little roasting is fine), remove from the pan and transfer to a big bowl. Keep aside.
7. Repeat the process from 5 to 6 till all pumpkin slices are done.
8. Next, before removing the last batch of fried pumpkin, you can re-heat the previous slices along with it or you can just mix all right away.
9. In the big bowl, add salt and vinegar. Mix well.
10. Pour in chopped mint leaves. Mix well. Check the saltiness and sourness. Generally, you might need to add more of both salt and vinegar to get the biting taste.

~same photo above only that this one is taken with a flash~

Serve while still hot.

Notes:
~ Some people make it with cinnamon bark and sugar to make a sweet and sour variation. I tried that, too. It's tasty also.
~ Out of the 5.5 kilo pumpkin that we bought 2 weeks back, I made Sicilian Pumpkin Fry twice, pumpkin bread once, pumpkin soup once, and chocolate pumpkin cake once (which is still available while I am writing this...lol)
~ The seeds just got dry after 4 days of sun drying and will be roasted, without oil, tomorrow.
~ You will never regret trying this dish out.

Enjoy!

Bitter-Gourd: Not So Bitter Anymore

Bitter-gourd, as the name suggests, tastes bitter, hence, gained countless "unlikes" among people. Many avoid this vegetable exactly because of that bitterness. Many even suggest to pour salt on it, squeeze, and discard the juice. This, obviously, removes the most nutrients that it contains so, for me,  there's no point in eating it. 

On the other hand, some say to not mix or stir it often while cooking. 

I tried this one but failed. Still bitter!
Though there was one time when it didn't taste that bitter. A different variety?
Maybe! I have not had it in a long time.
How about adding sugar?
No way!

I really tried a few ways to cook bitter gourd and it always ended in the 'unwanted' list -a list of vegetables that you will only have for their nutritional value.

In Philippines, adding eggs or bagoong/uyap/alamang (krill, it is, I think) to sliced bitter-gourd is the most common way of cooking it along with garlic, onion, and tomatoes.
I liked it, then.
Will still like it.
But, since I decided to leave the hens and fishes alone, knowing the hens will certainly not like me taking her eggs and the fishes to be out of water,
I got determined to find a non-violent way of cooking bitter-gourd.

So,
I tried grilling/roasting it. Then, vinegar and salt were sprinkled on it.

Quite fine!

I also tried the usual garlic-onion, tomato combination but sauteed in coconut oil with turmeric and pepper powder. 

Quite okay! I did this method quite a few times.

But, this method has to change. It's not really so memorable that you would want to have it again and again!

Until one day when I finally followed my husband's long-standing suggestion. And I guess I nailed the best way to cook it. Well, not that I have hunted down the entire internet archives in search for the best bitter-gourd recipe! Lol!

Adding grated coconuts to it!

So, I tried it...finally!

The results?

Well, never in my entire bitter-gourd dish making did I expect to have nailed the best way to make it!

It was outstanding!

I really enjoyed my lunch with bitter-gourd for the first time!

So, without further adieu, here's to
the Bitter-Gourd: Not So Bitter Anymore recipe!

What are needed?

1. Bitter-gourd, fresh, 3 medium size, washed, cut into halves and thin pieces

2. Garlic, 3 heads, peeled, crushed or/and chopped into small pieces (keep aside for 20 minutes before using to activate the enzyme in it for maximum health benefits)

3. Onions, 2 medium size, cut into long thin pieces

4. Tomatoes, 3 medium size, chopped into small cubes

5. Coconut, fresh, 1/2, grated (I chopped into small pieces then grated/blended using a chutney jar. You can use less of it, too. Just check how you like it)

6. Coconut oil, 2-3 tbsp. (other vegetable oil is also fine)

7. Salt to taste

8. Lemon juice

9. Mustard seeds, 1 tsp. (can be made without this, but I made mine with it)

How to do it?

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds to crackle. 

2. Add in onions and salt. Mix till translucent. Add garlic and saute' till garlic gives a nice aromatic smell.

3. Add in tomatoes and cook till they get mashed. Add more oil if necessary. Wait till oil separates from the mixture, which is very important.

~see to it that the tomatoes are mashed enough you
get to see oil separates from the mixture~

4. Add bitter-gourd. Mix well and cook till soft. Do not cover. Also check the saltiness.

5. Add grated coconut, mix, and cook for about 5-10 minutes (litle scorching on the sides is yummy).

6. Turn off stove and sprinkle lemon juice. Mix well and serve.

Notes:
~Do not use ginger-garlic paste. It seems that they make the mixture a little wettish.

~I had it with cumin-turmeric brown rice and 1 piece of papad. It was divine!
~The next time we had it, we dropped the rice and eaten it with papad only. Delicious!

~Have it while still hot.

~I have never tried it with roti, chapati, or paratha. You can try! I will certainly try once and see if it's a good combination.

~I am now looking forward to having bitter-gourd using this recipe from now on.
~Bitter-gourd is Ampalaya in Tagalog language, Paliya in Cebuano language, and Karela in Hindi language

Do try it at home and this might just become one of your favorites -the unlikable that became the likable!

Cheers!

Stuffed Capsicum: A Filling That Gives You A Nice Feeling

There are only a few recipes that involve capsicum in my menu and stuffed capsicum was never there in the list although I know there is such thing exists and quite famous, that too. I remember one time, a long time ago when we ordered "Capsicum Nadjakat" at a hotel named "Rock Garden" in Mysore. It was quite good as far as I can remember. That was the first and last though. I didn't even have the interest to make a similar one at home later on. 

Until three days back when we purchased a kilo of capsicum because it was a local produce and very fresh. They really look so grabby, a sight that makes you smile! Well, it did to me!

So finally I decided to try stuffed capsicum. With 2 to 3 recipe write-ups and videos, I was able to put things together -adding and subtracting- and make my version of it.

The results? 

Delicious! 

Doesn't it look like one?

The stuffing is so tasty that if it wasn't for the number of capsicum that we have, I would have served it as it is. But stuffed capsicum recipe it was so the filling has to be stuffed in, right? So I went on for the recipe and I was glad I did. It turned out to be sumptuous, nevertheless.

So, let's head on to how I have done it.

WHAT ARE NEEDED? (Make sure to wash properly all ingredients that needed washing)

1. Onions, 3 medium-size, finely chopped
2. Garlic, 2 heads, finely chopped
3. Tomatoes, 2 large-size, finely chopped
4. Potatoes, 2 medium-size, boiled and finely cubed
5. Tofu, 200 or 400 gram, optional (I used tofu in this one mainly because we had 1 box left but others use paneer)
6. Green chili, 1 small piece, finely chopped
7. Turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp.
8. Coriander powder, 1 tsp.
9. Mango powder, 1/2 tsp.
10. Tomato sauce or ketchup, 1 tbsp. (optional)
11. Red chili powder, 1/2 tsp. (optional, only if you prefer it spicier)
12. Salt to taste
13. Oil for sauteing
14. Capsicum, in any color, medium size

HOW IT IS DONE! 

THE FILLING/STUFFING

1. Heat oil in a pan big enough to accommodate the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add in onions and salt, followed by garlic and green chili, then when garlic looks cooked, add in tomatoes. Mix well and saute' for 5 minutes or until tomatoes' raw smell disappears.
3. Add boiled potatoes and tofu. Mix slowly. Some of the tofu cubes will crumble into pieces but that's okay. Saute' for 5 minutes, mixing once in a while to avoid scorching.
4. One by one, add in the rest of the masala or spices. Cook for 3 minutes. Check the taste.
5. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool down.

~tasty filling~

In the meantime.....

Wash all capsicum. Check which ones have a flatter bottom. Flatter bottom can sit on the plate well and can be cut half-way horizontally so both sides can be filled with the stuffing or you can just cut it like the one on the picture below (left corner-most).

Those which have pointy 'butt' should be cut vertically.

When all capsicums are cut into halves, remove the insides (seeds) to make room for the filling. When done, fill each half as much as you can.

Preheat oven to 200-degree Celcius for 5 minutes. Place all stuffed capsicums on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Remove from oven and serve.

NOTES:

~ I haven't tried it yet but my guess is, excluding tofu will be delicious enough for this recipe.

~There were 10 halves and 1 whole stuffed capsicum in total, all for two people. One of them was very small and distorted because there was still filling left to be stuffed in and I ran out of the "perfect-shape-and-size" kind of capsicum but I had no choice. It turned out that this particular capsicum was the spicy kind. Nevertheless, it was good.

~They were served with mint chutney, though it can be eaten alone. But, if you prefer, you can have ketchup with it instead of mint chutney.

~There were 3 halves left and were eaten at dinner time without re-heating. They tasted better, for me.

Pick your choice though! Enjoy!

Tandoori Gobi: A Vegan Cauliflower Meal Baked Whole

Cauliflower is one of our favorites and Tandoori Gobi was the first cauliflower recipe I tried making when we got an oven. This is also the first "veganized" dish I made since we went vegan. The second one is Vegan Longganisa, which is a Filipino breakfast favorite.

Anyway, this recipe is a keeper. Trust me! In fact, we've already made Tandoori Gobi 5 times prior to this posting and we will be making it again and again.

So give this one a try at your home!

What are needed?

1.  Garlic - 2 heads, peeled
2.  Ginger - an inched, chopped into a smaller size, made into a paste together with garlic using a
     blender or a ready-made ginger-garlic paste is also fine

3.  Onions, 3 medium size, made into paste
4.  Tomatoes, 4 medium size, made into puree
5.  Fresh cauliflower, whole, 500 to 700 gram
6.  Red chili powder, 1/2 tsp. or as you prefer
7.  Turmeric powder, 1 tsp.
8.  Tandoori masala, 1 tbsp. (Kitchen King or Garam Masala can be used instead though I am using Tandoori Masala)

9.  Coconut oil or other vegetable oil
10. Coriander powder, 1/2 tsp.
11. Amchur or mango powder, 1/2 tsp.
12. Salt to taste
13. Lemon, 2 pcs.
14. Coconut oil or other vegetable oil

Then,

How to do it?

1. Wash the whole cauliflower thoroughly especially in between florets. You can even keep it in a
    deep pan covered with water for 2 minutes to make sure no insect is trapped.
2. Using the same deep pan, par boil gobi. Make sure that the entire gobi is covered with water. Turn
    sides if needed. This is to make sure that the whole gobi is cooked. Do NOT overcook, though!
3. Remove and let the water drain.

In the meantime....

Prepare all the ingredients. Make all the paste first for easy and quick cooking later on.

Then....

4.  In a shallow kadai or pan, heat 2 tbsp. oil (more later) and stir-fry ginger-garlic paste till it turns
    little brown.
5. Add onion paste. You can add salt, too. It helps in cooking the onion quicker.
6. Pour in tomato puree. Mix well. Stir-fry till oil separates from the mixture or till it becomes drier.

7. Add the masalas: chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, tandoori masala, amchur, and
    salt (if required). Check the taste.
8. Saute' and mix until the mixture becomes a smooth dry paste.
9. Keep aside to cool or use immediately.

Next:

10. When gobi is waterless, slowly cover or coat the entire gobi with the masala mixture. Begin at the bottom of the gobi where inserting masala paste is easier. Fill in the gaps of each floret as much
      as possible. (Shown above)
11. When the whole gobi is fully covered/coated, you can either preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 200-degree Celsius immediately or let it stay soaked with masala for around 30 minutes then do the
      preheating.
12. When done, bake it at 200 degrees for 30 minutes.

13. When gobi is removed, use a knife and cut it into 4 or 8 parts and add lemon juice on top, in
      between cuts, and in between florets.
14. Serve hot. It can be eaten alone or with cucumber, roti, rice, or chapati.

My Notes:
~For a 500 gm or 700 gm gobi, my husband and I had a good fill. An ideal for a family of 3 to 4.
~The bigger the cauliflower you use, the more paste you should make so just add 1 or 2 more onion, tomatoes, and a little bit more of ginger and garlic. Adjust the spices, too!
~We tried a vegetable fried rice combination which was good but can be skipped.
~It is best eaten with mint chutney, a recommended combination.

Do try this recipe, come back and share your experience! Enjoy!

Tomato-Potato Soup: A Very Easy and Tasty Soup I'd Wished I'd Tried Earlier

Tired of having plain tomato soup almost every day, it's time to try something else or add a different vegetable to it to at least vary the taste. I've tried a few soup recipes using a different kind of vegetable. This time, it's tomato-potato soup.

What are needed?

1. Bay leaf, 1 -2 leaves
2. Garlic, 1-2 heads, crushed
3. Ginger, 1 inch, chopped into small pieces
4. Onion, 3 pieces, chopped (2 chopped into medium sizes, for grinding; 1 chopped into small pieces, for garnishing)
5. Green chili, chopped into fine pieces (optional)
6. Ripe tomatoes, 5-6 pieces, chopped into medium sizes
7.Potatoes, 2 medium-size, washed, chopped into small cubes (with skin on)
8. Black pepper powder, 1 tsp.
9. Salt to taste
10. Oil, 2 tbsp. or as required

How to do it?

1. Heat oil, about 2 tbsp. in a deep pan. Add bay leaf, saute' for 4 to 5 seconds. Then add onions. Saute' till translucent.

2. Add ginger and garlic. Saute' till cooked or when garlic and ginger turn slightly brown. (Tip: after crushing or chopping garlic into pieces, leave them as they are for 20 minutes before cooking. Cooking them immediately destroys the enzyme that makes garlic a cancer-fighting-food a.k.a. "superfood").

3. Throw in tomatoes. Saute' till oil starts to separate or when tomatoes get mashed.

4. Add cubed potatoes, stir and mix. Let it cook for a few minutes without getting the bottom get scorched.

5. Add a cup of water (you can add more later if preferred).

6. Let this mixture get cooked until potatoes are soft and tender. Turn off the stove. Keep aside to cool.

7. Once cooled, remove the bay leaf. Using a blender or mixer, churn the entire mixture into a smooth puree. Add water to the jar to remove whatever is left.

8. In the meantime, saute' chopped onions in another small kadai or pan. Saute'until slightly brown. Keep aside when done.

9. Using the same deep pot which was used for the first 7 steps, pour back this puree including the bay leaf then heat again. Add salt and black pepper powder. Try to taste. 

10. After a few minutes of boiling, add in sauteed onions. Mix and serve!

Notes: 

~I only used half of the green chili (about 4 chopped pieces) because we are not fond of a very spicy dish.

~Pumpkin, Zucchini, Carrot, and Beetroot (they are the ones I have tried) can be made this way, too.

~I can stop until procedure 6 and just add black pepper powder and salt. It's already a tasty viand to be served with rice or eaten alone. 

Inbox your query or clarification, if there's any. Enjoy!