This pickle is the King Midas of pickles: layer upon layer upon layer of flavor, it turns anything it touches into a flavor maximalist (and in a classic testament to legitimacy, it can indeed be eaten by the spoonful).

It is in the Northern Persian Indian pickle tradition (the Parsis are a small community of muslims who fled persecution in Persia many centuries ago, settling primarily in North Western India), which means that it begins by frying whole organic ginger and garlic in organic peanut oil, then adds more whole spices and fresh serrano peppers, all of which give the eggplants a wonderfully rich backdrop to slowly simmer in over a number of hours. Towards the end, a small amount of brown sugar and apple cider vinegar are added to create a wholesome balance of sweet, sour, and umami. Mildly spicy but nothing over the top.

Add this to plain yoghurt and you have an instant dipping sauce. In soup, your secret flavor-boosting weapon. Use it as a sub for curry sauce. Add to dirty fried rice with eggplants, whoah! Go nuts!

The eggplants are freshly pickled from my family’s garden, the garlic comes from Farmer Friend Lloyd Johnson, the many organic spices&ginger from the local food co-op.

100% VEGAN&GLUTEN FREE.