Vegetable Atchara

Vegetable Atchara is one of the dishes my mom used to make for the family. It is a healthy appetizer especially if you have dried or fried fish for the main dish. The common atchara in the Philippines is made from grated raw papaya. I wanted to make it as well here in Jeddah, the problem is I cannot find a papaya in the supermarket. I wanted to mix the grated papaya with these vegetables but ended up with only vegetables and no papaya. I'm happy though with the outcome because I don't have to bring atchara from our home in the Philippines. Stress free while I could enjoy this freshly made atchara here in Jeddah. Next time I find good raw papaya, I promised myself to make it happen.

To avoid the strong effect of acid in the vinegar when eating is to boil the vinegar properly before adding the spices and the vegetables. It is important to add brown sugar to it to balance the acidity of the vinegar. Allow the atchara to sit in the refrigerator at least for one day and in between uses. Papaya atchara is a little bit complicated to prepare because the papaya has to be finely grated, sprinkle salt then massaging it, let sit for at least one hour before squeezing out the juice with a cheese cloth. So, I chose to make this vegetable papaya since the vegetables are available all year round. This is another home sweet home recipe and it's worth a try.

Ingredients:

2 bulbs of garlic

1 big onion 

100 gms. ginger

1/4 kg. carrots 

1/4  kg. ampalaya

1/4 kg. radish

1 piece bell pepper

10 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon salt

900 ml apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Method:

• Cut up the spices like garlic, onion and ginger into thin slices.
• Wash and cut up all the vegetables.
• Boil the vinegar then add the sugar and salt to dissolve.
• Add the sliced up vegetables then bring to boil 3 to 5 minutes.
• Mix all the vegetables then turn off heat. Do not overmix and do not overcook the vegetables.
• Cool the atsara before transferring to a container. Glass container is best to use, refrigerate and enjoy with your fried food as an appetizer.