Taste the Indian Flavor at Auntie’s Cuisine
Article and Photos by Lean Pangilinan
Indeed Kapampangans are known to have a very meticulous tongue when it comes to food. Our region being the Culinary Capital of the Country suggests several eateries, each offering a variety of dishes that will satisfy our distinct food cravings. To name a few, there’s Cabalen restaurant that offers Pampanga’s favorite dishes in buffet. The Red Rickshaw restaurant where you can enjoy different kinds of Chinese cuisine, Sbarro for Italian meals, Hana-mi for Japanese foods and many more! Enough to say that Pampanga is truly one of the best places where you can find delicious International cuisines.
Aside from all these well known restaurants in Pampanga, do you know where else to go for great meal in Angeles City? Well, if you’re looking for a cozy and relaxing ambiance, a food stop where you can get the best value of your money, an eatery that serves foods that are characterized with a variety of spices, oil and herbs (just exactly what every Kapampangan loves) I know one that is worth the try!
The place
At # 327 Ventura Street, Marisol Angeles City resides the humble Indian Carinderia. With a simple signage Auntie’s cuisine, who would have thought that behind this indigenous nipa hut is where the most talked about carinderia in Marisol is situated.
“It’s Auntie’s Canteen—where you can have the taste of the best Indian Cuisine in Pampanga.”
The owner
Don’t be mistaken. Behind every good taste of this authentic Indian cuisine is a pure blooded Filipina. Celeste Bulanadi, 47, was born in Angeles Pampanga. Her roots were known for being great cooks in their place. She has three sons, whose according to her later on had adapted to the taste of Indian cuisine being introduced to them gradually. She didn’t enroll to any cooking class to learn cooking Indian recipes. She just browsed the internet, and she her learning started there.
The humble beginning
Year 1988, Ate Celeste’s family started their food business. Out of passion in cooking, her mother put up a carinderia, and this has been their business until ate Celeste had her own family. She ran the business offering variety of delicious Kapampangan dishes. It was only on the year 2006 when she started with the idea of featuring special dishes-the authentic Indian cuisine. Their house, where their carinderia was also situated, has neighboring dorms. The residents are Indian students studying at one of the educational institutions here in Pampanga, Angeles University Foundation(AUF). As her customers, these later on became her friends ‘till they have introduced their cuisine to her, and as a result, with the use of the Internet she researched on several Indian websites and studied Indian recipes. It was also through websites where she had located the Indian grocery in UN Avenue Manila, where she bought most of the Indian ingredients. From there, as they say, the rest is history.
The Market
Aside from the numerous Indian students living on the array of dorms near them, her customers are purely Indian or what they call “Punjabi people” who mostly live there . According to Ate Celeste, this term is familiar to us as “Bombay”. Bombay is derived from one of the famous cities in India, which is known as Mumbai. Amazingly, there were also Australians who visit the place as well as Filipinos. On the question why did she become so interested serving Indian cuisine, she replied “ Sila kasi ang dumarami dito eh, kumbaga, andiyan na yung market”. I also asked her how about her Filipino customers. She answered, “nagugustuhan naman nila eh, pareho kasi tayong mga Pinoy sakanila, mahilig sa spices, at meron parin namang mga Filipino dishes dito”.
The food
According to Ate Celeste, when it comes to food, Indians and Filipinos have similarities. Both consider spices as an indispensable food ingredient. On the other hand, while we Filipinos consider rice as our staple food, Indians consider chapatti and paratha as theirs. They prefer chapatti, made from a firm but pliable dough that are rolled out into discs and paratha , one of the most popular unleavened flat-breads in Indian cuisine, that usually contains cooking oil. Both which are made by pan frying these are their alternative for rice. The difference between the two is that paratha makes use of oil and is definitely spicy unlike chapatti.
Chicken curry, Chili chicken, Chicken Madras, Beef Suca, Fish Curry, Spicy Tuna Curry, Spicy Fish Fry—these are only few of the mouth watering Indian dishes that Auntie’s canteen serves.
The Sample Menu:
Breakfast Lunch for breads
*chicken curry
*paratha
*fish curry
*chapatti
*beef curry
*poori
*mixed vegetable
*chana masala
*rajma
*dal
* dosa
*masala dosa
*egg dosa
*sambar
*tomato chutney
Dinner for breads
*chicken tandoori
*paratha
*fish fry
*chapatti
*egg curry
*poori
*dal
*potato curry
*aloo-bringle curry
*veg. kurma
Week Ends (Specialty)
*samosa
*chicken tandoori
*chicken biryani
*mutton curry
Photo Credits :
Lean Pangilinan & Francis Sison
Sources: Wikipedia.org
Auntie’s Cuisine
Contact Number: 0920 862 3391
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