Eggplant & Capsicum Relish Recipe

I had a great harvest of both eggplants and capsicum this summer, unfortunately coinciding with not being able to eat them (gut issues due to long covid). I had frozen both in the hope that I could eat them this winter but with so much in my freezer in that category, I decided to turn them into preserves that I could share with others, and adapted a relish recipe to suit.

It takes quite a while to prepare all the ingredients for this Eggplant & Capsicum Relish Recipe – but the result is worth it!

1 kg eggplant (roasted in 1cm slices, skin on or off, can be frozen)*
0.5kg capsicum (roasted and peeled, can be frozen)*
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 large onions (about 750g)
2 bulbs garlic
100g knob of ginger
6 whole red chilli peppers (heat preference of your chosing)
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp ground fenugreek
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp plain salt
3 tbsp black mustard seeds
3 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1 cup brown sugar
50g tamarind paste
2 cups malt or other vinegar

*The original recipe called for 2kg whole eggplants, I used approx 1.5kg of pre-prepared vegetables. You can adjust the ratio to suit your preference and what you have available.

Cut the eggplant into 1cm cubes and the capsicum into 1cm squares.

Peel and chop the onion.

Separate the garlic cloves, peel and roughly chop.

Peel the ginger and slice into thin strips.

Remove the seeds and membranes from the chilli peppers and dice finely.

Heat the oil in a preserving pan, then add the onions and eggplant. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the capsicum, garlic, ginger and chillies. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the garam masala, salt, turmeric, fenugreek and cumin, and cook until the spices become fragrant.

Add the mustard seeds, brown sugar, tamarind paste and vinegar.

Bring to the boil and turn down the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Blitz the relish using a stick mixer to a chunky puree (or pulse it in a blender or food processor).

Return the relish to the preserving pan and heat on low for another 5 minutes, stirring carefully (the mixture can bubble and splurt).