palutang o palitaw?

ano ba talaga? palutang o palitaw?

before anything else... yes, this is a late posting.

so, this is one of the things we did at the eve of new year. this is one of Philippines' delicacies. and i was thinking before while making them, are they to be called 'palutang' or 'palitaw'?

i even argued with my brother on how we'd have to call this food.
but then i thought that, it floats when it is cooked, it doesn't appear before our very eyes.
i even thought of translating it in English. that 'palutang', from the root word 'lutang' means to float. and that 'palitaw' from 'litaw' means to appear/appear. so i guess that we should call it 'palutang' then.

'palutang' is made from ground glutinous rice, and is mixed with water to create a dough-like composition.
'palutang' is usually served during new year. supposedly because the round shapes of this delicacy hints something that has to do with money and financial stability, to make our year prosperous. it is one of our traditions and beliefs. it is culture.

we used our hands in making them. we shape them into small balls and press its center to form a dent. it's like a doughnut, only that the holes doesn't go through. we got a bit crazy, i suggested to my brother to make different shapes. we even had to hide it from our dad, since he might think that we were toying with our food. but i thought that it would be more exciting to eat if it was different. and boy it did! i was so used to eating round 'palutang' ever since i was a kid, so it was more fun eating a different shaped 'palutang'.