Another Kampung Dish

I used to be puzzled why Mak had refused to take certain kinds of food. To me, her 'ikan pari masak asam pedas' and fried chicken are forever yummy while her seafood dishes are 'heaven on earth'. I wondered why she would choose a vege dish over a sinfully good helping of her delicious 'ikan pari' dish. She was not that old either. She was only in her thirties at that time. Finally, everything turns to be very clear for me. Being thirty-four, now I fully understand my mom's choice. Time has proven that your choice of food changes with age. Lately, I prefer vegetables and fish dishes compared to poultry, meats and seafood dishes. Could age be the factor?

In this entry, I am very glad to share my Mak's recipe using the ingredients found around the house. It is very common to find a papaya tree around a kampung house so the dish features raw papaya as the main ingredient.

'MASAK ASAM REBUS KEPAYA MENGKAL'

* The word 'mengkal' actually means the papaya is raw and going to the ripe stage. Since I'm from Padang Jambu, Melaka, I'm used to refer to the fruit as 'kepaya', not betik or papaya.

To cut the long story short, all that you need are:

• A medium size raw papaya
• 3 shallots
• 2 pips of garlic
• 8 pieces of dried chillies(deseeded, blanched in hot water and finely ground)
• a handful of dried anchovies('ikan bilis') (Mind you, I have big hands!)
• 1/2 inch piece of fresh turmeric root
• 1 inch piece of shrimp paste (alah, belacanlah!)
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns (freshly ground)
• 1 piece of turmeric leaf (shredded)
• sufficient water
• tamarind juice
• salt and sugar to taste

To cook this dish you need to:

1. Skin the papaya and cut into halves. Deseed and divide into portions. Wash and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Put into a medium size pot.
2. Pound the shallots, garlic, turmeric root, shrimp paste and dried anchovies in a pestle and mortar. Since I find this dish to be rustic, I do not pound the ingredients till fine.
3. Put in the pounded ingredients as well as the ground chillies into the pot containing the papaya slices. Pour in sufficient water till it barely covers the papaya slices.
4. Simmer over medium heat till the papaya soften and pour in the tamarind juice.
5. Add in salt, sugar, shredded turmeric leaf and black peppercorns. Let to boil for another 5-8 minutes.
6. Serve with a plate of piping hot rice with a piece of salted fish at the side.