I had a very productive day yesterday and was really exhausted from all of it. I am not complaining but very thankful because that was an incredible day for me. One of the many things that I was able to accomplish is prepare this side dish which I contributed to the birthday party celebration here. This is what is left of that side dish which we call atchara.
I mentioned from my post yesterday that I was still thinking about what to make out of the papayas that I took home from the wedding and the farm.
See there are a few of them and I thought that I could make a side dish and a crunchy snack. The side dish which is the atchara that I managed to make but the other plan which is the crunchy snack or the okoy did not happen. The atchara could be likened to a pickled good that is how I can think of it. Sweet and sour with a little heat which is a good side dish to refresh the palate.
I forgot to take some photos on how I prepared the atchara because I got too busy to document and it was too late before I realized.
Here is a quick recap of the steps:
- After the skin had been removed, I grated the papaya finely using an ordinary cheese grater or anything similar that you already have in your kitchen.
- Remove the excess juice from the papaya using a cheese cloth or any clean cloth. Put a handful of the grated papaya on the said cloth and wring it until there is no more juice left.
- Melt some brown sugar on a cup of vinegar over low heat using a medium pot. Just eyeball the measurements making sure the sweetness and tartness are balanced.
- Add the grated papaya to the pot of melted brown sugar and vinegar and stir. Then add all the remaining ingredients which are: grated carrots, thinly sliced ginger, thinly slicked red bell pepper, a few cloves of minced garlic and onions, pineapple chunks then some raisins.
- Stir everything together and set aside after a few minutes no need to cook or boil because we are not going to can or store the atchara.
- Serve and enjoy
See how even and finely chopped all the ingredients are. I did not include the measurements of the ingredients sorry, I had been doing this for the longest time I just eyeball everything.
I put the left over on some glass jars with lid so the guests can take them home. I am happy that they love it.
Much love,
Ally
