A recipe that supported a brood of 12

By Susan G. Daluz
Inquirer News Service

INANGIT is similar to biko in appearance minus the latik on top. This is a very filling dish full of carbohydrates and acquiring both salty and sweet tastes when combined with ginatan. A great merienda any time and for all occasions, this recipe has been with our family for three generations now.

My Lola Fausta hails from Malolos, Bulacan, but now lives in Trece Martirez, Cavite, with her youngest son. She taught him how to make this wonderful, sumptuous snack and he, in turn, passed on the recipe to me.

She is still quite well, doing household chores although arthritis in her legs has slowed her down. Even now, she insists on preparing Inangit for special family occasions, saying she doesn’t have arthritis in her arms and hands, which are needed for stirring this dish.

From time to time she regales us (she had l2 children, only four of whom are still living, and 42 grandchildren) with the story of how this recipe she learned in Malolos helped feed her big and growing family. She has been a widow for 47 years now.

I serve this healthy merienda to my own family of six -- with four pre-teens (two boys, two girls) -- now and then, not often. And yet my lola, despite being 84 years old, can still whip up Inangit Dipped in Ginatan Halu-Halo.

As her favorite apo (at least she makes me feel that way), I am entering this recipe to pay tribute to her while she’s still around.

Inangit and Halu-Halo
1 c malagkit na bigas
5 pc saging na saba
3 c kakang gata
1 pc kamote
1 tsp salt
1 pc gabi
2 tbsp sugar
1 pc ube (optional)
½ c galapong for bilo-bilo
½ c sago (small)
½ c langka (strands)
2-4 c grated coconut
2 c sugar (white)
Pandan leaf (optional)

Wash the malagkit rice thoroughly. Boil using the kakang gata (first extraction of coconut milk). Add salt and sugar. Cook over low fire stirring occasionally. Cook for 1-1 ½ hours until soft and chewy. Form fist-sized pieces. Set aside.

To prepare the Ginatan Halu-Halo:
Peel and cut into desired sizes the saging na saba, kamote, gabi, ube (optional). Form the galapong into tiny balls or bilu-bilo. Prepare strands of langka and pandan leaf for aroma and have ½ c tiny sago ready.

Prepare 2-3 c gata. Set aside the kakang gata for use later for that extra-creamy taste and presentation.

In a big pot, mix all the ingredients together, except bilu-bilo, using the second gata. Bring to a boil. Add sugar and then bilu-bilo.

Let boil until all the ingredients are cooked. Serve hot in a small bowl with inangit. Add kakang gata if more creamy texture is desired.

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