By Evonne Sarich
This recipe reminds me of my maternal Grandmother, Evelyn De Silva, who was of Dutch and Portuguese decent and was born and lived in Singapore. By way of background, the Eurasians are one of Singapore’s earliest residents. We are the decedents of Europeans who settled in various ports in Asia, such as Malacca, Penang, Ceylon, Goa and parts of Sumatra, and who married the local Chinese, Malay, Indian or Islander women.
My Nanna usually made this dish at Christmas or on other festive occasions like Weddings. This pickle dish was made as a side dish to accompany various festive rice dishes such as Nasi Biryani (a Spiced and aromatic rice) or Nasi Kuning (Spiced turmeric rice).
The Achar includes green cabbage, cucumber, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, whole green chillies and small shallots.
My Nanna would start making this dish about 2 to 3 weeks before Christmas so the vegetables had time to absorb all the flavours and spices they had been immersed in. She’d start by sourcing the required ingredients at the local fresh food market. The ingredients would then be peeled, washed, sliced and dried in the sun for 3 to 4 days under netting to ensure no ants of bugs got to the vegies. When Nanna was satisfied that the ingredients were ready, she’d then prepare her pickling ingredients. Lots of finely sliced garlic and ginger were lightly fried in a little oil with mustard seeds, turmeric, sesame seeds, vinegar and sugar. The dried vegetables would be added and mixed well. The pickle would then be put into jars and sealed, to be enjoyed over the festive season and beyond.