Badimjan turshusu - Stuffed aubergine pickle

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Stuffed aubergine pickle

Pickles are popular in Azerbaijan as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a starter, and are often served as one of a selection of appetizers.

Small aubergines (eggplants) produce the best results in this pickle. News.Az is grateful to Gullu Cahangir for permission to use her stuffed aubergine pickle recipe from her informative website Azerifood.com.

Preparation time: 60 min
Cooking time: 30 days
Serves: 7-8

Ingredients

• 1 kg/2.2 lbs small aubergines (eggplants), no more than 10 cm/3.9 inches thick
• 1 chili pepper
• 100 g/4 oz garlic
• 1 large bunch of coriander
• 1 large bunch of mint
• 1 large bunch of dill
• 1 large bunch of tarragon
• 1 large bunch of purple basil
• 150 g/6 oz salt
• 400 ml/14 fl.oz grape vinegar

Preparation

• Wash the herbs and chop finely. Finely chop the garlic and chili and add to the herbs. Add salt.
• Top and tail and wash the aubergines (they have to be small). Slit them lengthways through the "stomach". Salt the slit and set aside for 30 to 60 minutes to extract the bitterness. Rinse thoroughly. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the aubergines. If the aubergines are very small, then blanch them for 2 to 3 minutes. Blanch for longer if the aubergines are larger. The blanched aubergines should not be as firm as when fresh, but they should not be soft either.
• Strain the aubergines through a colander. As soon as they have started to cool, put them on a clean, old tea towel (juice from the aubergines will stain the towel). Cover with another tea towel. Put a heavy object on top of the aubergines and leave them for 3 hours. (One method is to cover the aubergines with a chopping board and then place a saucepan of water on top of the board.)
• After 3 hours, put 50 g/2 oz herb stuffing into each aubergine.
• Put the aubergines into large jars. Pour vinegar over them and seal the jars with sterilized lids.
• Leave in a cool place for at least 6 weeks.
• Slice the aubergines widthways to serve.