Ceylon Malays, Comfort Food, Family, Food, Sri Lankan cuisine, Vegan food, , , , , ,
Rice Pullers Act One: Malay Pickle

One of the most captivating aspects of Sri Lankan cuisine is its rich tapestry of flavors, woven from the diverse cultural influences that have shaped the island’s food culture. The Sri Lankan Malay pickle or Malay achcharu hails from the Malay community. Making up of about 0.2% of the population, Sri Lankan Malays are primarily of Javanese, Ambonese, Bandanese, Balinese, Madurese, Malay, Bugis, and Peranakan Chinese decent. (source: Wikipedia)

In Sri Lanka we refer to rice pullers as anything that makes your plate of rice more appetizing. Pickles and chutneys fall into this category. They will invariably have sweet, sour, and spicy components to it. Pickles or achcharu have an added mustard component.

There are many ways to make Malay pickle, but I follow Ape Amma‘s no cook method, as it is a simple and quick method that yields a delicious outcome.

Ingredients

  • 250g pitted dates
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 11/2 tsp mustard powder
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp pepper powder
  • salt to taste
  • 1 bulb garlic cleaned
  • 25g ginger
  • 200g big onions or shallots
  • 100g capsicums
  • 150g carrot
  • 100g green chilis

Method

  1. Mix the mustard powder with the vinegar and set aside for 30 mins (this will remove the bitterness from the mustard)
  2. Mash the pitted dates.
  3. Clean garlic and ginger and make a paste using a mortar and pestle or grinder.
  4. Clean and prepare the vegetables: after prepping, make sure all vegetables are completely dry and free of any water. Big onions will be quartered; small onions are left whole; carrots are julienned; capsicums are cut into 3 or 4 pieces (no need to deseed); green chilies are slit and left whole.
  5. After 30 mins, add the sugar, salt, chili, pepper into the vinegar-mustard preparation and mix well. Add the ginger-garlic and date pastes and mix well. You may wish to use your hands at this point; I recommend using gloves. Add the vegetables and mix thoroughly.
  6. Cover bowl and leave in fridge for at least 24 hours. The longer the pickle is kept, the more the vegetables will get pickled.
  7. Transfer to clean, sterilized bottles. Store in refrigerator.