Express Achar (Vegetables Pickle)

Having gained its share of fans, I thought that I had better post my Express Achar recipe on my blog. This is especially for you Eva, it is not that difficult to get the spices grounded.

I would caution against over drying or over heating the vegetables in your pan, you would surely not want to cook it, otherwise the vegetables will wilt and not be crunchy. Under frying it will give you a more watery Achar. What I actually do, is to lightly pan dried (meaning, I fry it over very low fire), the moment I think the vegetables are getting a bit too hot, I would turn off the gas, let them cool a little and then heat them up again. Keep stirring too for evenness. Fry the different vegetables in different batches, according to how quick cooking they are. The only vegetables that you can pan-fry together are cucumber, fresh chilies (if you are using) and the hard stalks of the cabbage.

You could adjust the proportion of the vegetables used, using more of those vegetables you like and less or even omit those that you are not fond of.

This is a fool-proofed dish. You may have some wilted vegetables, i.e. if you pan-fried them too long, or too sour if you used too much vinegar or too sweet or too salty or not enough sugar, but in spite of all these little misadventures you would still have a great Achar (Vegetables Pickle) that is superior to any other pickle. It is not too spicy(hot) so you could eat plenty of it. Happy cooking Eva!

Ingredients :

Spices to be grounded :		Vegetables :
6 - 8 dried chillies		1 pkt peanut candy  (220 gm pkt)
2 buah keras		1 large local cucumber or 1 ½ medium sized cucumber
2 stalk lemon grass/serai		200 gm long beans
15 onions		1 carrot
6 pips garlic		3-4 leaves cabbage
1 piece fresh kunyit (1 ½ inch)		1 454 gm tin canned pineapple
1 tsp shrimp paste/belachan (optional)
3-4 tabsp  apple vinegar(diluted with 2 tabsp water)		Salt and sugar (3-5 tabsp) to taste

 Method :

1. Pound the peanut candy (you can put it in a cloth bag and use a small hammer) coarsely, or use an electric chopper.
2. Cut cucumber, carrots, long beans into lengths of about 2 cm x  ½ cm  
3. Cut cabbage into square/rectangular pieces.
4. Either dry the vegetables in the sun, oven or lightly pan dried.
5. Grind the spices together.
6. Fry the spices in oil till fragrant. (about ¾ cup)
7. When fragrant, add 2 tabsp vinegar mixture.
8. Add carrots, fry for 1 minute, and then add the long beans.
9. As you add the vegetables, add some salt and sugar, in proportion to the vegetables that has been added.
10. Add in the cucumber and cabbage, followed by more vinegar, salt and sugar to taste.
11. Lastly add in the cubed, canned pineapple.
12. Add in most of the grounded peanut candy, leaving some for garnishing.

  Some notes :

1. Some of you may prefer to have more grounded peanut candy for garnishing.
2. You could use some of the canned pineapple juice. Adjust seasoning accordingly.
3. I usually do not use the full tin of the canned pineapple, (leave some), but it’s up to your preference too.
4. You can add fresh chillies too (cut into half lengthwise).
5. Do not add water, unless your vegetables are very dry.
6. For those of you, who prefer a more sour flavour, you could add another tabsp. of vinegar, especially if you can ‘stomach’ it. However, please note that you may need to add in more sugar to balance up the vinegar, and besides aren't we trying to cut down our sugar? Normally I do not finish using the vinegar, it is better to prepare more of the diluted vinegar, for a better and thorough spread among the vegetables.
7. Test some vegetables or the gravy for taste. (Is it sweet enough? Or do you need more salt or vinegar.)
8. You could add more peanut candy too, or you could use grounded peanuts and sesame seeds. If you do that, please adjust the amount of sugar used.