Filipino purple yam recipe (Ube halaya)

Purple yam is a popular Filipino dessert which can be served on its own, or as a component ingredient to another iced dessert called Halo-Halo.

There are many variations to this dish and the most authentic one uses real purple yam, dioscorea alata, the plant’s scientific name. The tubers is purple in color, hence called "ube", a tagalog/Filipino term for purple. It is indigenous to Asia, specifically grown in the Philippines. Due to the scarcity of this, there are other substitute which taste pretty well. For this recipe I am using cassava [kamoteng kahoy]. You can also use sweet potato if more convenient.

Since I'm living alone, I normally do not cook a lot; just small portions, otherwise, I will end up eating everything which is not very good in maintaining the ideal weight.

Tips:
Grated cassava - I prefer using freshly grated cassava rather than frozen ones available in Asian stores (the latter works pretty well too!). Just make sure to use the smallest holes of a food grater to have the finest grated cassava.  Also, squeeze the grated cassava to get rid of some liquid. You wanted it to be not too dry but still slightly wet
Color - if there's no purple food coloring, you can makeshift by combining red and blue food coloring. I find that you need to add more red to get that natural hue of purple yam

Ingredients:
1 cup grated cassava or grated purple yam or grated sweet potato
1/2 can coconut milk (200 ml)
1/2 can condense milk (200 grams)
1/2 can evaporated milk or fresh milk (205 grams)
2 tablespoon of sugar [optional - I prefer it sweeter if I'll serve it on its own but less so when it gets to my halo-halo]
1 tablespoon butter
3 drops of liquid purple food coloring (if not using authentic purple yam)

Procedures:
1. In a small pan, pour coconut milk and let boil
2. Once small bubbles start to appear, pour condense milk and fresh/evaporated milk, sugar and the food coloring, wait til it boils again
3. Add the grated cassava. You will notice how quickly the mixture becomes thick and lumpy, it's important to keep mixing, do not let it sit alone. I normally transfer the mixture to a non-stick wider pan for easier mixing. Slowly add butter so that the mixture don't stick to the pan
4. Keep mixing and adding butter for the next 20 minutes. This will cook the grated cassava. If using sweet potato or purple yam, keep cooking until you reaches your desired thickness
5. Transfer to a container
6. Serve and enjoy! You can top it up with cheese if you're serving it on its own as a dessert or snack. Goes well with black coffee