Ube Haleya / Purple Yam Jam

With a sweet, nutty flavor, this purple yam jam / haleyang ube is perfect for fillings, spread on slices of bread, or just enjoy it as it is. It is commonly seen sold by street vendors in the Philippines after a good sunday mass and most abundant during Christmas season together with other flavorful snacks, or kakanin as we call it.
I was browsing pinterest looking for inspiration the other day and because of those drool-worthy pictures they posted, I ended up craving for those sesame seed balls or buchi as they call it in the Philippines. There's tons of different kinds of fillings and I thought, hey let's try it out with the classic haleyang ube! luckily, I made some Ginataang Halo-halo the other day and I happen to have some extra ube and glutinous rice flour tucked away so at that moment, I knew that my cravings would be satisfied! To start off, here's my recipe: :)

Ube Haleya / Purple Yam Jam

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium sized purple yam (about 1lb)

2 cups coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp butter or margarine

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Boil the purple yam until soft and tender, drain,  then peel off skin and chop into small chunks.

2. In a pan on medium heat, melt the butter/margarine then add coconut milk, sugar and purple yam and keep stirring (and mashing and mashing chunks of yam) until mixture is dried up or desired consistency is achieved.

3. Place in any container and serve as it is or as a spread on bread, filling on buns, mochi, etc. this jam has endless possibilities! enjoy! :)

Sesame Seed Balls

Silky smooth glutinous rice flour filled with nutty purple yam filling, coated with crispy sesame seeds and deep fried, this snack is packed with different textures that gives you a wonderful experience in every bite. Seriously, just by looking at those pretty pictures they posted on pinterest of these delicacies, it made me crave..a lot! And although my photo didn't do justice on these wonderful treat, I assure you the taste will convince you otherwise, so try making it, it's a wonderful new experience plus you'll have something to nibble on! :)

Sesame Seed Balls

Ingredients:
2 cups glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water (or more depending on the quality of your flour)
1 and 1/2 cup of purple yam jam or any other filling, experiment to your liking :)
1 cup sesame seeds
oil for frying


Instructions:
1. Mix the glutinous rice flour and sugar on a bowl, make a well in the center and add water slowly and mix until the consistency is like a dough.
2. divide the dough and roll into small balls to about 15 pieces and set aside.
3. divide the filling into small balls to 15 pieces. (the filling must be smaller than the dough)
4. with your thumb and the palm of your hand, flatten the dough balls and place the filing at the center, and seal the dough. (make sure that the filling is completely sealed inside the dough)
5. Roll dough on sesame seeds and press gently to help sesame seeds settle on the dough.
6. Heat oil on a cooking pot on low heat at first, deep fry the sesame seed balls, when it floats, turn the heat to high and fry until golden brown then set aside on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
7. Enjoy! (caution: filling is extremely hot)