Crispy fried eggplant tossed in a sweet-sour sauce, punctuated with mustard and Maldive fish.
Wambatu moju, also called brinjal pickle, is a Burgher and Sinhalese household preserve that keeps for weeks refrigerated and was historically made to use a glut of eggplant or to pack for travel. The vinegar-sugar-mustard combination shows Dutch colonial influence (1658–1796) on top of an older south Indian fried-eggplant base. Standard component of rice-and-curry plates.
Wambatu moju — Burgher and Sinhalese household preserve, sweet-sour-spicy fried eggplant batons that keep weeks in the fridge. Vinegar-sugar-mustard combo is Dutch-period (1658–1796) layering on top of an older South Indian fried-eggplant base. Two oil stages: hot fry first, separate tempering second.
Long purple eggplant, sliced into batons, deep-fried until the edges are crisp and the inside collapsed to silk. Then tossed in a sweet-sour-spicy sauce of vinegar, sugar, mustard, dried chili, onion, and Maldive fish. Sticky, glossy, intense — a teaspoon goes far. Sweet hits first, then heat, then the dried-fish funk in the back. Side dish, not main.
Two oil-stages: first a hot deep-fry to crisp and dehydrate the eggplant (this prevents it turning to mush in the sauce), then a separate pan tempering of mustard seed, onion, and chili in oil before the vinegar-sugar mixture goes in. Adding fried eggplant to wet sauce too early kills the crisp; toss right before serving or just before storage when fully cooled.
Variations
Standard Burgher version with Maldive fish and mustard; vegetarian Sinhalese skips fish; Muslim variant adds extra cardamom and clove; Sri Lankan rice-and-curry buffets always run a tray of it as the sweet-tart corner.
On the Palate
Where Brinjal Pahi sits in the Sri Lankan flavor cloud
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 1 hour
- 117 min
Slice eggplants and fry until golden and crisp.
Watch outFry the eggplant hot until the edges go golden and crisp — undercooked here and it collapses to mush once the sauce hits.
- 217 min
Sauté onions, chilies, and mustard seeds.
- 310 min
Add sugar and vinegar to make a sauce.
- 46 min
Combine fried eggplant with the sauce and Maldive fish.
Watch outFold the fried eggplant in only at the very end — sit it in the wet sauce too long and the crisp you worked for is gone.
- 510 min
Cook briefly to meld flavors.
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