Haftabajar - Aubergine and mixed vegetable pickle

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Haftabajar

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.

The name of this pickle of aubergines, cabbage, beetroot, carrot and herbs - haftabajar (həftəbecər) - means "ready in a week". News.Az is grateful to Gullu Cahangir for permission to use her haftabajar recipe and photograph from her informative website Azerifood.com.

Preparation time: 90 min
Cooking time: 7 days
Serves: 6-7

Ingredients

• 500 g/1 lb 4 oz aubergines (eggplants)
• 300 g/12 oz white cabbage
• 300 g/12 oz carrots
• 200 g/8 oz green tomatoes
• 200 g/8 oz beetroot
• 200 g/8 oz sweet peppers
• 1 chili pepper
• 100 g/4 oz garlic
• 1 red onion
• 1 large bunch of coriander
• 1 large bunch of dill
• 1 large bunch of mint
• 1 large bunch of purple basil
• 1 large bunch of tarragon
• approximately 500 ml/17 imperial fl.oz grape vinegar
• salt

Preparation

• Wash and chop the herbs. Chop the garlic and chili pepper and add to the herbs. Add salt.
• Dice the aubergines. Salt the cubes and leave to stand for 1 hour to extract the bitterness. Rinse the aubergine cubes and blanch in boiling, salted water for 4 to 5 minutes. Strain the cubes well and wrap in a clean towel. Weigh down and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
• Add the aubergines to the herbs.
• Finely chop the fresh carrots, beetroot, peppers, cabbage and red onion. (You can use a food processor to speed up the preparation.) Add the chopped vegetables to the aubergines and herbs. Add salt and mix well.
• Put the mixture into sterilized glass jars, leaving the jars one-quarter empty. Add vinegar. Make holes in several places with a long spoon or other implement to make sure the vinegar gets everywhere. Add more vinegar if necessary.
• Seal the jars and put in a cool place. Leave for 1 week.