Fruit pickles with sweet sour spicy taste

Acar Buah or Fruits Pickles are a side dish that is a dark red colour cooked with a mixture of pickled  fruits with three sweet, salty and sour flavours combined.

These foods use vinegar to produce a sour taste, sugar to get a sweet taste and salt to balance the taste.

The use of dried chillies and curry powder as a base makes pickles for a hot spicy taste. When this pickle is cooked, the darker the colour, the tastier it is to enjoy.

Fruit pickles are available at Malay weddings. Fruit pickles are a traditional food of the Malay community to be served  especially during feasts.

Because it is very famous and popular in wedding banquets, this fruit pickle is also called Acar Kenduri Kahwin. 

Ingredients needed to make Acar Buah 

The ingredients used are easily available in Malay kitchens.

The simple ingredients are shallots, garlic and ginger. These three ingredients should be finely sliced.

Acar Buah need other additives for the broth, namely dried chillies, meat curry powder, chicken curry powder, vinegar, sugar, salt, hot water and oil.

Then, a variety of fruit pickles were needed. Among the fruit pickles that are usually used are cermai, unripe mango, nutmeg and salak.

How to make Acar Buah

Wash the dried chillies with hot water and grind using hot water. Mix ground dried chillies with meat and chicken curry powder. Mix well into a paste.

Heat oil and sauté sliced onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant.

Add the paste and sauté until cooked. The gravy cooks if it is thick with oil floating on top.

Take a cup of vinegar and pour into the pickled gravy. Add one cup of hot water and cook until the gravy thickens. Add salt and sugar to complement the flavour.

Finally, add the mixture of fruit pickles and mix well.

Cook again over low heat. The pickles are ready  when the colour turns dark red and the gravy sticks to the pickled fruits.

The cooking time of the pickles is 45 minutes to ensure the long lasting fruit pickles. Put it in a bottle when completely cold.

Foods that are suitable to eat with Fruit Pickles

This fruit pickles is a complement to rice dishes and side dishes.

Often fruit pickles are only an option. This fruit pickles are not for daily consumption.

Fruit Pickles for a wedding feast

Fruit pickles are very tasty to eat with rice dishes such as nasi minyak, nasi briyani and nasi tomato.

These various types of rice are often available at Malay weddings.

Various type of pickles

In the world of Malay cuisine, various types of pickles are cooked as a flavouring to the main dish. Pickles are matched with various types of rice and side dishes.

1. Mixed Cucumber and Carrot Pickle

Cucumber pickle is delicious to eat with plain rice along with other side dishes.

Cucumber pickle also uses a mixture of vinegar, sugar, salt in its cooking.

Cucumber and carrot are finely sliced and use the same cooking ingredients as fruit pickles.

This pickle are delicious eaten with plain  rice as a daily dish. Sometimes, this pickle is also served at feasts.

2. Lime Pickle

Lime pickle is made from fresh  lime. Lime pickle can also be included in fruit pickles.

Usually, lime pickles are made by housewives who live in the village.

Lime pickle are hard to come by in the market and therefore many make it at home.

Lime pickle requires fresh lime, salt, sugar and vinegar as the main ingredients.

Lime needs to be fermented for a month before being eaten with hot rice.

3. Pineapple Cucumber Pickle

These pickles are easy to make and do not need to be cooked. This pickle requires cucumber, pineapple, red chillies, onions and salt.

Pineapple cucumber pickle provides more nutrients because it is not cooked and eaten fresh. All nutrients remain and do not dissolve as when cooked. The sweet and sour taste comes from the chopped pineapple extracting the juice.

Pineapple cucumber pickle ready to eat with plain rice, Nasi Minyak, Nasi  Briyani and Nasi Tomato. Add up with chicken or meat rendang.

Conclusion

The Malay community cannot be separated with pickles as a side dish.

Pickles are not a daily dish but to be served in a wedding feast as a complement to the main dish.