Sweet And Spicy Eggplant Pickle Recipes

Steps:

• Place cucumbers, onions, pickling salt, and water in a large, non-reactive bowl. Cover and allow cucumbers to soak for 2 hours. Drain the water from the onions and cucumbers through a colander and rinse well for 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
• Combine the vinegars, sugar, mustard seeds, turmeric, cloves, garlic, and peppers in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add the cucumbers and onions. Bring to a simmer and remove the saucepan from the heat.
• Fill each of the hot sterilized pint-size preserving jars with the pickle mixture, dividing them evenly, and enough of the liquid to come within 1/2-inch of the top. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Natural Pickle Crisp to each jar, if desired. With a clean damp towel, wipe the rim and fit with a hot lid. Screw on the metal ring just until the point of resistance is met. Process the jars in a hot-water bath for 15 minutes.
• Using tongs, remove the jars, place on a towel, and let cool. Test the seals by allowing the jars to stand at room temperature overnight or until the lids pop. Tighten the rings and store in a cool dry place. Let the pickles age for at least 2 weeks before using.

Steps:

• 1. Peel 1 kilogram of eggplant. Dice eggplant into 1/3-1/2 inch sized cubes. The smaller the pieces, the better/quicker they fry. 2. Put eggplant in a colander over a pan and sprinkle generously with salt (perhaps ¾-1 tablespoon of salt) and let sit for at least 2-3 hours, allowing excess water to drain off. 3. Prepare 8 decent-sized cloves of garlic. Prepare 3 inches of ginger. Cut both into small pieces. Place 8-10 small red chilis (depending on heat you desire) with stems cut off, garlic, and ginger in ¼ cup of oil and blend well. 4. Dry roast 1 tsp of fenugreek, 3 tsp of cumin seeds, ¾ tsp of coriander seeds, and 4 whole green cardamom pods (open cardamom pods). After roasted, put these 4 things, along with 2/3 tsp of mustard seeds, into a hand grinder. Grind to a fine powder. 5. Heat 1/2 cup of sunflower oil in pan, and fry 1/3 of eggplant until begins to turn golden brown (you need to make sure the eggplant is properly fried so that the texture of the pickle is correct but make sure not to burn the eggplant!) Remove with spatula (allowing oil to drain back into pan), and set aside. Add another ½ cup of oil, then fry remaing two batches of eggplant in the same way. 6. With remaining oil in pan, fry the garlic/ginger/red chili paste, as well as 12-15 small green chilies (with stems removed) for 5-7 minutes. 7. Add spice blend, 1/3 tsp of whole mustard seeds, 1 stick of cinnamon, and ½ to 2/3 teaspoon of turmeric powder. Add small handful of curry leaves. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. 8. Add fried eggplant cubes. 9. Add 1/2 cup of rice vinegar. Allow to cook down. Add another 1/2 cup of vinegar when you notice that it looks a bit dry, and allow to continue to cook down. 10. Add 8 tablespoons of dark brown sugar (or 6 tablespoons, and ½-1 tablespoon of white sugar). Add sugar gradually, to suit your taste. Add salt by 1/4 teaspoons, to suit your taste (3/4-1 teaspoon) 11. Squeeze half a lime over chutney if desired.