Ginisang Kardis. It is called kardis among Ilocanos, “kadyos” for the Tagalogs and pigeon pea or red gram or Congo peas in English. I tried searching the internet about the scientific name and it’s Cajanus Cajan.

This dish is an original Ilocano and Filipino recipe. Sometimes when it’s available, I add paa ng baboy (kukod in Iloko, pig’s feet in English). I cook first the “paa ng baboy” for 40-60 minutes or until tender, set aside the pork stock then add it in my “ginisang kardis”. At times, I just cook it as “dinengdeng or inabraw” (stew flavored with fish bagoong sauce or fermented, salted fish sauce), mixed with other local vegetables like alukon or bungon, kalabasa or squash and grilled fish. Click here for my recipe of dinengdeng na kardis.

Ingredients:

2 cups kardis or kadyos seeds
1/2 kilogram pork chop – sliced into strips
1/2 kilogram kalabasa – diced
5 stalks malunggay leaves
1/2 cup fish bagoong sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil for sauteing
1 medium sized onion
3 cloves garlic – crushed and minced
3-4 cups water

Procedure:

1) Saute garlic, onion and pork until pork turns into light brown.
2) Add the bagoong and continue sauteing for 2 minutes.
3) Add the water and kardis, boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until kardis becomes tender.
4) Add the kalabasa and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
5) Add malunggay leaves, let it boil then ready to serve. Serve hot with steamed rice. Enjoy! 🙂