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Atjar tjampoer
Atjar tjampoer: Indo-Dutch sweet-sour turmeric pickle of mixed vegetables
Atjar tjampoer is the bright yellow pickle in every Dutch-Indonesian toko and on every rijsttafel: crisp cucumber, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower and shallot pickled in a sweet-sour vinegar brine coloured with turmeric, with a little chilli and ginger. It cuts through rich satay and rendang. A common mistake is cooking the vegetables, which makes them soft; they should only be blanched or simply covered with hot brine. Chef's tip: salt the cucumber first and squeeze it, so it stays crunchy for days.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the vegetables
- 1 cucumberseeded and cut into batons
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 carrotscut into batons
- 7 oz cauliflowerin small florets
- 5 ½ oz white cabbagein squares
- 4 shallotshalved
- 1 red chillisliced
For the brine
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- ¾ cup water
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ¾ in fresh gingersliced
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Method
0/4 doneStep 2: Bring 1 cup white wine vinegar, ¾ cup water, 3 ½ oz sugar, 1 tsp ground turmeric and ¾ in fresh ginger to the boil, stirring.
5 minStep 3: Add 2 carrots, 7 oz cauliflower and 5 ½ oz white cabbage and boil for 1 minute only. Common mistake: cooking them soft.
1 minStep 4: Take off the heat, add the cucumber, 4 shallots and 1 red chilli and cool. Jar and chill for a day before eating. Keeps 2 weeks.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 50 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does atjar tjampoer take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cucumber?
- Courgette, same weight (in salads, use young ones).
- What can I use instead of carrots?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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