This recipe for Egyptian spicy pickled eggplants is so simple to make, it hurts. But if you can’t stomach spicy (i.e.hot chili), then you’ll have to sit this one out.
Egyptian spicy pickled eggplants: one claim to spicy
Egyptian cooking is by no means spicy. In fact, the spiciest it normally gets comes from lots of garlic, or up north in Alexandria, where chilies sometimes create a more punchy ful madammas.
But by comparison to our other north African neighbours, who came up with Harissa (red chili paste), our cuisine is far from hot and spicy.
Except for this wondrous condiment.
My mother used to make this for us as children. It wasn’t one of those items we knew she was making, or even asked about, but you would open the fridge and see the these little eggplants glistening in their juices and bursting at the seams with chili and garlic. And the smell…..oooo such a smell that you’d have to eat one then and there.
First bite. Heaven. Then five seconds later, it hits you. All that garlic and chili…but the subtle eggplant to balance it out and give it an underlying sweetness is what made you come back for more. But this time armed with a hunk of bread.
And so it goes. And that’s how we had pickled eggplants. As a side dish with your meal — as you would with some olives — or in sandwiches for some extra kick, or to salads for some extra punch.
Egypt’s beloved spicy pickled eggplants: small is better
In Egypt, you’ll find this as an extra condiment that you would normally add to any meal for some additional kick. It’s not terribly popular….or not that I’ve noticed, but it’s common enough that most people know about it.
I’ve discussed before the origins of eggplant or betengam in arabic. You can read about it here (LINK TO ME’SAHA)
In this particular recipe, it’s best if you can find the baby eggplants or the small ones (the size of a finger). But they are not easy to find, so I’ve adjusted this recipe to be used with regular fat ones. But the small ones are best since they can be sliced open and stuffed with garlicky-chilli goodness.
Voyage of the chili
Now, as I mentioned earlier chilies, or hot peppers, do not play a major role in Egyptian cooking. But they are readily found across other North African countries. How did they worm their way into Egypt? Easy: the Ottomans.
Chilies were first cultivated in Mexico as far back as 7000 B.C., but it was our friend Christopher Colombus who brought them over to Spain at the end of the 15th century after learning about them during his voyages in the Americas. The Portuguese commander Vasco de Gama then took them onwards to India first, specifically Calicut in 1498.
At the time, many were suspicious of this new spice, but further south in India, people were braver and began finding ways to use it. Over the next few decades, its popularity grew, across India and then into east Asia and Africa. They were eventually picked up by the Ottomans. With Egypt being a province in the Ottoman empire, and with much of its innovative cuisine being centralised in Istanbul, the use of chilies eventually made its way into Egyptian homes.
I initially thought it would have been via the Moors after they took over Spain in the early 700s, but that would have been before the Americas were discovered, and thus no chilies in sight to be brought over.
Egyptian spicy pickled eggplants (betengam milkhalil)
Ingredients
- 4 large eggplants
- (OR) 15 small eggplants
- 118 ml (0.5 cups) olive oil
- 25g 3 tbsp chopped garlic
- 25g 3 tbsp chopped fresh green chili
- 14 ml 1 tbsp white vinegar
- salt & pepper
Instructions
Regular eggplants
- Keep the skin on and cut into round slices.
- Cut the slices into halves.
- Place the halves onto a baking sheet and brush each side with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Place in the oven under grill, until both sides are cooked (around 10 – 15 mins).
- When done, place eggplant in bowl.
Garlic & Chili sauce
- In a separate bowl add chopped garlic and chili.
- Add a tablespoon of vinegar.
- A pinch of salt.
- Mix and taste. Mixture should be the consistency of a relish.
- If too vinegary tasting, add a dash of olive oil.
- Combine with cooked eggplants.
- Cover and let set overnight (in fridge or counter top)
Small eggplants
- Boil the eggplants in salty water until soft in the middle.
- Remove from water and slice a small hole in each one.
- Prepare chili & garlic mix (see instructions above)
- Place eggplants in a bowl and stuff each with one chili & garlic mixture.
- Add remaining mixture into bowl.
- Cover and let set overnight (in fridge or counter top).0
