Pickled Tomato and Cucumber Chutney without vinegar
The turmeric (yellow root) turns this lovely Indonesian pickled tomato and cucumber chutney into a yellow colored dish. It’s vegetarian (no trassi -shrimp paste- goes in). This dish is originally from Purwokerto (
This dish is originally from Purwokerto (central Java) and is called Atjar Tanpa Tjuka.
This summery dish is easy to make, pretty fast and healthy too.
This recipe is enough for 3-4 people as a side dish and is done in 30 minutes.
Pickled Tomato and Cucumber Chutney without vinegar (Atjar Tanpa Tjuka – Purwokerto) #416 translated from Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesisch Kookboek, page 338.
Ingredients
5 medium tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
juice of 1 lemon
Herbs and spices
2 teaspoons of turmeric
5 lomboks (chilies)
4 teaspoons of sugar
pepper
salt
I take out the seeds of the cucumber with a teaspoon. A teaspoon perfectly fits the stroke of seeds that needs to go.
I also deseed the chili peppers. It makes them less spicy.
Beb doesn’t mention to cut the cucumbers in smaller pieces but of course, that is necessary.
I mix garlic, turmeric, sugar, salt and pepper together in my mortar. It becomes a lovely dark yellow, sticky bumbu (herb-paste).
Now I stir-fry this bumbu in two tablespoons of oil. In the beginning, it is difficult to make it into a nice evenly fried paste, but after a while, the herb mix becomes tender and is easily stir-fried with the vegetables.
Now the vegetables can go in. I start with the chilies. The bumbu will cover everything with its lovely flavor and yellow color.
When all the veggies are in I add the lemon juice immediately. I bring it to the boil. I mix it once and then it is done and can be served ;-).
We eat this lovely atjar with an Indonesian meat dish and white rice, delicious! If you want to keep it completely vegetarian, choose one of the Indonesian eggs dishes on this blog.