Fry-Free Moju

Moju is perhaps one of those dishes that perfectly showcase how something as bland and watery as an eggplant can truly shine when treated correctly. the Sri Lankan moju is in essence an eggplant pickle -- the difference is that the pickling and fermentation doesn't have to be complete for you to eat it.

Anyway! I now have my healthier, just as delicious, complete and refined recipe for Wambatu Moju or Sri Lankan eggplant pickle published on here! I have modified this recipe from the original version, and this is the only that yields the perfect results every single time.

All my life, moju was something I took for granted. It was something that was almost always in stock and I never appreciated it until I moved out of home . My mum or our nanny would make up a big batch of it and store them away in jars. This meant we almost always had moju on tap at home. Once I moved here to Adelaide, all those little luxuries were gone and I had to rely of teaching myself how to make this (and also helping my sister whenever she made it).

This recipe is a stray from tradition, but hold up! It's within good reason. The traditional recipe involves deep frying eggplant, onions and green chilies. Eggplants are essentially sponges, and deep frying them means they absorb a LOT of oil. The traditional recipe also employs the use of deep fried sprat fish (rather like anchovies) for an element of crunch. In this version, I have opted out of deep frying the vegetables and substituted toasted cashew nuts in place. So really, this is a healthier, nuttier version of the moju we know and love, and you know what.... It tastes damn delicious! I have also omitted the sprats as a way of making this recipe vegan and vegetarian friendly but please feel free to add sprats if that’s what your heart desires!

A few notes before we begin

Moju vs Pahi: Most Sri Lankans use "pahi" interchangeably with "moju" but the iterations are different. For one, pahi is not cooked in just vinegar like moju but is also cooked in a sauce of coconut milk. . Moju typically uses small red shallots and green chilies left whole whereas these can be cut into pieces for the pahi. Due to the fact that I use this recipe for lamprais, I tend to cut the onions I use as well. To make this into a pahi, simply add coconut milk.

Eggplant Type: Please use Japanese or Lebanese eggplants if you can. If you really can't find them then you can definitely use the Italian eggplant but they tend to be a lot more watery and go mushy a lot quicker.

Baking, air frying, shallow frying or deep frying? It is completely up to you! Remember, eggplants are sponges for oil, so you have to decide whether frying is suited for you. I prefer to bake mine.

Ingredients

For the moju

• 10-12 Japanese or lebanese eggplants or 4-5 normal eggplants (these types are skinnier and have much less water and more flavour)

• 2 large red onions or 6 shallots, cut into tchunks

• 4 long green chilies, sliced

• 4 cloves of garlic chopped

• 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

• 3 tbs finely chopped pandan

• 300g cashews, lightly toasted (optional)

• 150g raisins or sultanas, soaked in 1 cup of warm vinegar for 1 hour (optional)

• 3-4cardamom pods (crushed)

• Small piece of Sri Lankan cinnamon

• 3-4 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp of round ginger

• 4 tbs of brown sugar or caster sugar

• 350ml approx oil

• Salt to taste

• 1 tbs coconut oil

Other items you can include depending on preference:

• Banana peppers, sliced

• Sprats/anchovies (cleaned and deep fried)

• Peanuts (in place of cashews)

• Finely chopped dates

For the dressing

• 200g wholegrain mustard, mustard cream or fresh black mustard seed blended with the 4 tbs vinegar listed below

• 3 tsp chili powder (optional)

• 4tbs white vinegar

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 2 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp garlic paste

• 1 tsp ginger paste

Method

Slice the eggplants on a diagonal. Sprinkle with a liberal amount of salt and toss through.

Put the salted eggplant into a sieve or colander and let the water leech out. Let the eggplant hang for a minimum of four hours before using. This step isn’t crucial but I find it yields a much better flavour and texture to the eggplant. I typically let the salted eggplant sit around for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Once the eggplant has lost its water, coat with oil (around 1/2 a cup of oil until all the eggplant is covered. Place into a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a 170°C oven for 30 minutes or until the eggplant has softened. Conversely, you can deep fry, shallow fry or air fry the eggplant.

Prepare the dressing by blending all of the ingredients together

Slice the onions and chilies (seeds in) and leave aside.

In a large saucepan, heat up 1 tbs of coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add in cardamom pods and cloves. When these start to give off their aroma, add in the curry leaves and pandan and maintain a medium level of heat.

Next, add in about half of the sliced red onion, and half of the green chillies and the garlic. Fry until fragrant and add in the dressing and the drained sultanas if using. If you are making this into a pahi, add in 1 cup of thick coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes

Add in the eggplant and add in the sugar and mix until well combined.

Pro tip: you can use chopped dates instead of the sugar to add some non refined sugar sweetness and texture. You can also use honey or kitul pani too.

Let this cook for about 5 minutes and then add in the nuts and sprats if using. Give that a mix through as well. Be gentle with the mixture and use a wooden spoon.

Take the moju off the heat and add in the remaining sliced chilies and onion. Combine everything together with the heat off.

Garnish with some extra curry leaves and serve! This can be frozen for up to 24 months and jarred/bottled for up to 12 months if you use sterilised jars. Serve with your favourite Sri Lankan dishes.

Sav xx