A Christmas pickle - brinjal all the way

Merry Christmas fellow bachelor dads and mums, brothers and sisters. Christmas is complicated, right? 

In Australia, it’s summer and a wonderful time for garden and grocery produce - basil, tomatoes, chillies, and eggplants. 

I have a basil pesto recipe from a previous summer. Here is my version of a South Indian brinjal pickle to liven up a curry or steak. 

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant (about 400g)
1 cayenne pepper 
2 cloves garlic 
3 tbsp peanut or canola oil
1 tsp salt

— Toasted spices —
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp palm sugar
4 curry leaves 

Method 

1. In a small saucepan, toast the spices over medium heat.

2. While the spices are toasting, cut the eggplant in to slices, then half-centimetre cubes, roughly chop the chilli and garlic.

3. Once the spices are fragrant, remove them to a mortar. (You know when they’re ready by testing the fenugreek which are rock-hard before toasting, and pound to powder easily after toasting.) With a pestle, grind the spices to a rough powder.

4. Add the oil to the saucepan, still on a medium heat, then add the eggplant, chilli, and garlic. Fry gently until the mixture softens and the juices come out. Fry until the juices evaporate and the mixture starts to stick. Don’t let it burn.

5. Add the toasted spices, turmeric, paprika, curry leaves and salt. Stir until the eggplant is thoroughly coated with the spices.

6. Add the vinegar and palm sugar and continue frying until the liquid is about 90% gone.

7. Spoon the mixture into a sterilised jar, seal it and put straight in the fridge.

Yields about 350g

Ajvar - the red relish!

In honour of episode 1, season 6 of Game of Thrones - relish for the Red Woman!

This is a version of the wonderful Serbian spread/accompaniment, ajvar.

According to wiki-type sources ajvar means caviar. So it seems this was the peasants’ equivalent of red roe.

You can do this in the oven, but it’s much better with an open flame on the barbecue, allowing for the smoke circulate and extra flavours to develop.

To make the paste, you can use a blender, or chop coarsely. I used my hand-turned meat mincer, which produces a wonderful texture.

So…

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 hot chillies
• 5 red capsicum
• 1 medium egg plant
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 onion
• .5 can of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• Salt to taste

Method

Preheat the barbecue.

Peel and top/tail the carrot, and microwave or par-boil for two minutes.

Peel the garlic and onion, leaving enough of the stalk end to hold them together.

Rinse the capsicum, chilli and egg plant. Place everything into a plastic bag, add olive oil, and toss so everything is covered.

Now it all goes on the BBQ. A plate for the chilli, garlic and onion. The grill for the egg plant and capsicum.

For each, you’re looking for blackened on the outside, but soft on the inside.

As they each come to done, take them off the heat an put them into a plastic bag and close with a peg or something similar. When it is all done, let the lot cool enough to be handled.

Once it is cool enough, peel the capsicum, removing stalk, core and seeds. Peel the egg plant also. Cut the root ends off the onion and garlic, and the stalk end off the chilli. Mince the whole lot (or blend or chop), and place in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients.

Add the salt you want gradually, you don’t want all that sweetness and smokiness to be overpowered.

Yields: 750 g of good, red stuff!