Sweet Eggplant Pickle

Eggplants are now plentiful and at their best.
Here is a straightforward recipe for Brinjal Pickle,
a wonderful spicy, chunky condiment to enliven any dish,
but obviously best suited to curries!

 You will need

500gms of Eggplant any variety but Lebanese work well,
washed and sliced into 1 cm cubes just before adding to the pot to stop it discolouring.

4 teaspoons of Cummin Seeds
4 teaspoons of Coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of Fennel Seeds
Dry roast all these seeds in a frypan and blitz to a powder
or alternatively, use pre-bought ground spices

 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled
2cm piece of peeled ginger
All chopped and ground together, use a little vinegar, to make a paste

4 teaspoons of Turmeric Powder
2 teaspoons of salt
I cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup of wine vinegar
1 red and 1 green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped (more if you like it hot!)
1/4 cup of White Sugar

Method

Heat Olive oil in the pan - fry off the garlic and ginger for half a minute or so
then add the ground spices, turmeric and salt, stir well and simmer for about 2 minutes. 
Add the freshly sliced/cubed eggplant together with vinegar, finely chopped chillies and sugar.
Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stir, frequently until eggplant is just cooked. 
It can be eaten immediately.
Either keep in sealed container in fridge or can be stored in clean sterilised jars.

16th February 2007