Guess who was a pickle merchant before he discovered the land of plenty? Amerigo Vespucci, on whom ‘America’ was named, was a pickle merchant before he became an explorer. What were the odds?
Clearly eating pickle is an age-old habit across continents though eaten in different ways. While Indian food is inevitably served with a pickle which is a made from fruits or vegetables or both, cucumber in brine eaten in America is called a pickle. I quite love my Indian pickles and the variety it offers. I think my favourite is a garlic pickle and the lemon pickle made in every Indian home by mothers which would be a magical cure for an upset stomach. Besides, vegetable pickles make delicious sense and this aubergine pickle is truly an out of the box idea.
My food word for this recipe would be new and tasty.
When you go out shopping look for;
Aubergine
Peanuts
Tomato
Curry leaves
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Tamarind paste
Cumin seeds
Nigella seeds
Salt to taste
Olive oil
The recipe would be;
Chop a large aubergine into small square pieces. Then dry roast two fistful of peanuts in a warm wok for 5-7 minutes. Next dry rub the peanuts in your palms till all the skins come off. Now chop one large tomato into small pieces.
Warm a tbsp of olive oil. Throw in a tsp of cumin seeds and a tsp of nigella seeds. When both starts sputtering, add in a handful of curry leaves. In less than half a minute add in the tomatoes. Stir fry for a minute. Add salt to taste, half tsp red chilly powder and one fourth tsp turmeric powder. Toss for a minute at low heat. It is time to add the aubergine pieces and mix everything well. I always keep a homemade tamarind paste in my fridge. Add a tbsp and a half of the tamarind paste and stir well. The peanuts go in now and the pickle is ready after tossing gently for another two minutes at low heat.
