Traditional Flavors Meet Organic Goodness was the last in the series of cooking demonstrations that have been taking place every Saturday last month.

In addition to the cooking occasion, the Organic Community of Indonesia (KOI)  collaborates with the Ranch Market  in educating visitors about the organic healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Warung Kebunku

On Saturday, September 29 at the Ranch Market in Pondok Indah, Jakarta the event began with an introduction to KOI activities and organic products sold in Warung Kebunku,  an organic eatery in South Jakarta.

A cooking demonstration followed, led by Chef Ani Tresia of Warung Kebunku who shared 3 organic healthy dishes: organic gado-gado (mixed salad) with peanut sauce; organic gado-gado with potato; and organic fruit salad.

 In the 2 hours interactive show,  visitors had the opportunity to ask questions and to taste the dishes prepared on site.

 Visitors acknowledged that organic food tastes more delicious, and the vegetables are fresher and crunchier. Banana vinegar used in the fruit salad is also easy on the stomach

The challenges of an organic journey

At the end of the cooking demonstration, Christopher Emille Jayanata of KOI reminisced on his journey in paving the way for organic business in Indonesia.

Back in 2004 when he tried to sell organic food in one of the supermarkets in Jakarta, only expatriates showed their interest, while no Indonesian would buy any organic product.

 Upon his inquiries, it was clear that people were not interested because the price of organic food offered at the time was more expensive than non-organic food. In addition public awareness on organic benefits and choices is still limited.

With time and efforts by Emille and his KOI friends, in 2007 the number of organic food consumers began to grow, not just parents of children with autism, but also  those who prefer to eat healty food for healthy living.

Emille also told an insightful story when visiting some farmers on the island of Java. Apparently the farmers were reluctant to eat vegetables that they produce. They will sell the greens but not eating them. This is because farmers realized that they are using all kinds of chemicals for the fruits to have longer shelf life. These farmers understood that chemicals are not good for them; hence they plant their own vegetables without using the compounds.

The benefits of organic foods

More and more people are consuming organic food because they are:

More nutritious. Some studies show that organic fruits and vegetables (rice, onions and organic lettuce) contain more nutrients such as vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron.

More healthy. Organic food processing, does not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides; thus consuming them does not harm the human body.

Protecting the environment from soil, water and air pollution.

Increasing endurance.

More delicious. Many people feel that organic food tastes better than non-organic foods. This is because, the organic products do not come with chemicals, and they are sold in fresh condition.

In addition to fruits and vegetables, organic food is also found in animal produce such as milk. Organic milk has 50-80% more antioxidants that reduce the risk of tumors and has more vitamins than non-organic milk.

Chef Ani Tresia's organic recipes

At the end of the cooking show, Chef Ani Tresia from Warung Kebunku graciously provided her recipes of the three dishes.

Organic gado-gado (mixed salad) with peanut sauce.

Ingredients:

Spinach

Cabbage

Chayote

Bitter melon

String beans

Sweet corn

Fried shallots

Arrowroot crackers

Eggs

Potato

Cucumber

Curly green lettuce

Peanut sauce ingredients:

5 lime

2 large cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

100 gr palm sugar

½ kg peanuts

 tamarind juice (to taste)

Method:

Steam all vegetables and boil eggs.

Roast peanut (no oil), remove shell after roasting and grind until smooth

Mix all ingredients for sauce, add tamarind juice and lime juice.

Add bird’s eye chili for more spiciness.

Note:

Recipe for the organic gado-gado with potato is similar to the above, but instead of peanuts use mashed potato.

 Fruit salad with organic banana vinegar

 Ingredients, preferably local fruits:

Ambarella/great hog plum

Semi ripe Mango

Rose apple

Pineapple

Snake fruit

Jicama

Sauce ingredients:

Cayenne pepper (to taste)

200gr sugar

10 gr salt

200 ml water

50 ml organic banana vinegar

Method:

Remove seeds from cayenne pepper and blend

Boil water, add sugar, pepper and salt until boiled and dissolved, remove from fire.

Wait until the sauce is in room temperature,  add banana vinegar

Peel, cut, and wash fruits, immerse in salt water for a while, remove

Add sauce

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Images: Dian Anggraini, Ranch Market, KOI, Warung Kebunku, Amanda Cole