Description
This eggplant pickle recipe can revamp a simple or boring meal into something much more exciting.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups vegetable oil like peanut or mustard (I used peanut oil)
- 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 3/4 cup garlic, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup fresh ginger root, finely julienned and peeled
- 2 tablespoons Kashmiri chili powder or any other hot dried red chili powder (cayenne)
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 5 pounds eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes (do not peel)
- 1 cup fresh green/red thai chili peppers, halved
- 2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup jaggery or light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large non-reactive pan or deep pot on a medium-high flame. When the oil is hot add the fenugreek, cumin, and fennel seeds. The seeds will begin to sputter, immediately reduce the heat to a medium-low flame to prevent the seeds from burning.
- Immediately add the garlic and ginger to the oil. Stir till they turn golden in the hot oil.
- Add the Kashmiri chili and turmeric powders and cook for 15 seconds.
- Add the eggplant and halved chili peppers to the hot oil and spices.
- Stir in the vinegar and sugar. Stir the contents of the pot carefully, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the contents with a lid. Cook the pickle for one hour with occasional stirring. If the eggplant begins to stick to the bottom of the pot, then add more vinegar (but never add water).
- Season the pickle with the salt and adjust the balance of the sweet and sour by adding more jaggery (sugar) and/or vinegar.
- Transfer the cooled pickle into clean and sterile canning jars. Make sure there is a little bit of oil floating on the surface of the pickle in each jar. Seal the jars and process for 20 minutes (canning time can vary depending on your altitude).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins