Atjar Wangi [ Pickled Vegetables with Spices ]

Indonesian dish are famous for its fiery hot condiments as well as its refreshing relishes. The simplest relish (atjar/acar) known are made out of carrot and cucumber. Today I basically made the simple relish with a bit of hint of Indonesian spices. I just love the way the spicy fragrant relish balances the bite of my other Indonesian dish.

Ingredients:

For the Veggies:
1 Cucumber, peeled and seeded
3 Carrots, peeled (if you have the kind of carrot with big yellow heart, its better to de-heart it)
1 Medium-size red bell pepper, cored and seeded
1 Medium-size yellow bell pepper, cored and seeded
4 Shallots, peeled

For the Marinade:

1 1/3 Cups (330 ml) distilled white vinegar (you might need less amount if you are using authentic Indonesian vinegar (cuka) since its more powerful)
½ Cups (125 ml) sugar
2 Star Anise
4 Cinnamon sticks (3 inches each), DO NOT substitute with the powdered one
5 whole cloves
2 slices (¼ inch thick each) peeled fresh ginger, smashed with the side of a cleaver
Salt to taste

1. Prepare the veggies. Cut cucumber, carrots and bell peppers into long strips (4 by ¼ inch strips). Slice the shallot thinly. Place the veggies in a large glass bowl, toss to mix and set aside.

2. For the marinade: mix the vinegar, sugar, Star anise, cinnamon, cloves and ginger in a small non reactive saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat. once it boils, reduce to medium heat and let it simmer for 10minutes until richly flavored. Add salt. Set aside and let it slightly cool.

3. Strain the spice from thevinegar mix. Leave out the spices.

4. Pour the marinade mix over the veggies and leave for 8 to 10 hours. Don`t forget to stir from time to time to make sure all the veggies got soaked in the vinegar mix.

5. This Atjar can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 week.

PS: If you want to give a hot kick to your Atjar, simply add some chopped bird-eye chillies (Thai chillies will do to).

Happy Cooking!