One of the greatest things about volunteering at Jiwa Damai along with other Balinese workers is that I was able to become friends with locals. Made (pronounced Mad-e) and Putu were two of the kitchen workers who cooked us amazing Balinese dishes, much of it coming straight from the garden I watered every day. Nearing the end of my volunteering days, I realized I should take advantage of the fact that I was friends with locals who could show me how to remake these unique plates. So I did. Some of the ingredients were difficult to translate, and it could be that we don’t have the same resources at home. But Made and Putu were able to give me some general directions on how to recreate my favorite dishes. There are no exact measurements, so if you want to give it a shot, you’ll have to just eye it and go with your gut. But, hey, that’s what makes it fun.

Go ahead and give these Balinese recipes a try! You won’t regret it.

Putu’s Peanut Sauce

Since all our meals were vegetarian, we often had tempe with peanut sauce. I didn’t know tempe could taste so good. You’re free to try Putu’s peanut sauce with chicken or any other meat, but his is sure to beat any kind of store-bought peanut sauce.

What you need:

chili, onion, garlic, coriander, magnut (which I translated into macadamia nut), fresh peanuts, great galingale (no idea), and oil (the only oil we cooked with at Jiwa Damai was coconut oil produced from our coconut trees)

1. Cook the fresh peanuts in a pan with oil until they’re brown.
2. Throw the cooked peanuts into a blender along with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Cook the blended mixture with oil in a pan. Add water (or milk), and measure according to the consistency of the sauce.

And that’s it. Pretty easy.

Coconut Spinach

This was one of my all time favorite dishes. So good for you, and it spices up your spinach a bit so all you want is more of those leafy greens. This dish can also work with green beans.

What you need:

garlic, onion, coriander, special yellow ginger (Made wasn’t sure how to translate this one and I couldn’t figure out what it could be, so I just went with ginger), macadamia nut, coconut (unsweetened), salt, pepper, spinach or green beans

1. Mix garlic, onions, coriander, ginger and macadamia nuts in a blender.
2. Cook blended ingredients in an oiled pan. Add salt, pepper and the shaved coconut.
3. When the coconut has begun to brown, add spinach.

Enjoy!

Curried Papaya

This dish was perhaps the most unique I’d tasted. And one of the best. Made and Putu took fresh papaya from our garden and cooked it in a sort of curry sauce, making it taste more like a vegetable than a fruit. You have to give this one a try.

What you need:

onion, garlic, chili, coriander, ginger, oil, magnut (this time I found out this nut comes from a candleberry tree; I’m still going with macadamia nut), salt, pepper, papaya, coconut milk, lemongrass

1. Throw onion, garlic, chili, coriander, ginger, oil and macadamia nut in the blender.
2. Put the blended ingredients in a pan and add lemongrass, salt, pepper, and a little bit of water.
3. When the sauce begins to bubble, add the papaya and coconut milk.
4. Boil until the papaya is soft and soaks up the sauce.

I happened to make both the coconut spinach and curried papaya at home for my family and did a pretty decent job at replicating what Made and Putu made me so many times during my stay. My parents (and even my picky brother) loved it!

Go ahead and give these authentic Balinese recipes a try. And let me know how it goes!