Ajvar: a Serbian recipe for the winter and 2 original options for preparing the sauce

Hello my dear readers!
I have a special love for Balkan dishes. Probably, Bulgarian blood, mercilessly diluted with Polish and Ukrainian, still remained in large quantities in my veins. Today we have Serbian ajvar on our program, the recipe for which I received from my sister’s mother-in-law. I will not argue with anyone about the authenticity of my recipe. But this is how my many Serbian relatives really cook. Start over.

Easy to prepare

First, the tomatoes are ground, then the prepared sweet peppers, then the onions. Garlic is crushed in any way that suits you and added to the total mass. All the good stuff is put into a large container and placed on the stove. The recipe recommends simmering ajvar for about a third of an hour, after which vegetable oil is poured in. On average, it takes about ten spoons. And the total cooking time can take from an hour to two - this will depend on the volume you are aiming for. At the very end, salt, sugar and mustard are added. You should focus on your preferences. For the first time, you can try the standard proportions: four large spoons of salt, five large spoons of sugar and two coffee spoons of mustard.

Description

Ajvar for the winter is a delicious caviar made from peppers and eggplants, which will definitely add an unforgettable variety to your assortment of winter preparations. Probably, each of us is accustomed to annually preparing those preparations, the recipes of which were received from our grandmothers, and for some reason these stocks practically do not change every year. But in vain! Each preservation season you need to prepare something new and unusual, then the winter period will be more fun and new every time.

Below are detailed step-by-step instructions with photos, which you can use to make the cooking process easier. It describes exactly how to prepare Aivar caviar for the winter and in what order the ingredients are used for this. Each recipe describes the preparation of such caviar in different ways and the ingredients included in it may also differ. In our case, to prepare this delicious appetizer, vegetables such as sweet peppers, which should be red in color and with fleshy pulp, eggplants and hot peppers, are used. In this case, the pepper is not just hot, it is hot and, of course, its quantity is determined by the housewife herself.

We suggest you start preparing ajvar from eggplants, as well as sweet and bitter peppers for the winter.

The most important thing is pepper!

There is by no means just one recipe for ajvar; the culinary world knows many variations of it. But they are all united by one characteristic feature: they contain bell pepper. And you need to prepare it for inclusion in the dish according to all the rules. To do this, all the peppers allocated for cooking are washed, laid out on a baking sheet and sent to the oven. The mode should be set to “hard”, but you should monitor the process so that the vegetable does not turn into embers. And at least once the pods need to be turned over! On average, baking takes a third of an hour.

How to prepare Ajvar step by step with photos at home

To prepare ajvar we will need the following products: red bell pepper, eggplant, garlic (1-2 cloves - I have one big one), salt and sugar (to taste), vegetable oil, white wine vinegar (you can omit it if you don’t plan to spend a long time store the product).

First, wash and dry the vegetables. Cover a baking sheet with food foil and place peppers and eggplants on it. We cut the latter in half lengthwise, make incisions and, if desired, sprinkle with vegetable oil.

Bake in the oven until the pepper skins are soft and charred. I turned on the maximum temperature and baked the vegetables for about 0.5 hours.

As soon as everything is ready, put the baked pepper in a bag, tie it and wrap it in a towel for 10-15 minutes, preferably more. This way the vegetables will be steamed and the skin will be easily removed.

While the pepper arrives, we extract the eggplant pulp. This is easy to do with a spoon - just scrape the pulp from the peel.

The pepper was steamed and cooled a little.

We remove the skin from it.

Then cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon.

Caution: If the pepper is still hot, let it cool. There's quite a lot of juice inside, but we don't need it

Now we need to grind the resulting vegetable pulp. This can be done this way: pass it through a meat grinder, rub it through a sieve, or, as I did, use a food processor (Metal Knife attachment).

Literally a minute and the vegetables turn into an almost homogeneous mass.

Now we need to heat this mass and achieve a very thick consistency. Since I immediately got rid of the juice in the peppers, the paste was already thick, so there is no need to evaporate it for a long time. Add salt and sugar to the mixture to taste (for me, the ideal proportions are those written in the ingredients). Also add chopped garlic. You can add ground hot pepper, but I didn’t use it - I already find it tasty and spicy enough from garlic.

Boil the paste for about 15 minutes (if yours is liquid, then longer), add vinegar if we are storing the ajvar for a long time. Taste for salt and sugar, add more if necessary.

Place the prepared ajvar into sterilized jars, leaving about 2 spoons in.

Fill it to the top with oil - the paste will not spoil for sure.

Cover with sterilized lids, cool and store in a cool place. I very much doubt that this delicious dish will last long with you - I tested it personally.

The yield of the finished product is 700 g. I have 2 jars: 0.5 liters and 0.2 liters.

author of the recipe

Recipes: 205Vitebsk, BelarusRating: 9563

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Read in full To your quotation book or community! Baked peppers in Serbian style Dancing from the stove to the computer!! Lyudmila has a similar recipe for Baked peppers in marinade on her website. Very tasty)))) Well, so am I with my 5 kopecks.

The main feature of Serbian cuisine is barbecue. Literally everything is grilled here! They bake meat, fish, vegetables, bake bread, fry kebabs. And yet the “calling card” of Serbia is “Baked paprika”. Bell pepper is called paprika here. Serbs are very fond of meaty and juicy bell peppers. In August and September, sweet bell peppers are brought from markets literally in bags for home preparation. The main type of pepper preservation is “Baked paprika”.

Baked peppers for the winter are prepared from fleshy bell peppers, first they are baked over a fire, then the skin is removed and covered in tandem with a delicious marinade of seasonings, garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The result is an aromatic and very tasty pepper, which is added to salads, first courses, eaten instead of a side dish, it goes well with meat and fish

Cooking method: in the oven

When choosing bell peppers for this recipe, pay attention to its color and shape. Choose large, brightly colored peppers

The pepper must be fresh and not wilted. With good pepper you can fully enjoy the true taste of Serbian cuisine. Now we wash it thoroughly. Place on kitchen towels or napkins to dry. Now you need to burn the pepper. Ideally, Serbs use an open fire for this and roast the peppers outside. In Serbia they even sell special electric ovens for roasting peppers. At home, paprika is burned directly on the burner or in the oven. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Grill or convention mode. Place the paprika on a wire rack or baking sheet (but be sure to be hot). Please note that peppers often burst and you will have to clean out the oven. After half an hour, use kitchen tongs to remove the peppers and place them in a large saucepan or plastic bag. We seal it hermetically. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Now comes the most painstaking part. The peppers must be peeled. This is not a pleasant job. But waste 5 minutes of your precious time. Your efforts will be generously rewarded. Then remove the stalk and seeds. Never rinse bell peppers with water. Nothing bad will happen if you get a couple of seeds. We divide the peppers into segments. Attention! Collect the juice from the peppers in a bowl: we will need it. Place the peppers in glass jars, alternating with green basil leaves and garlic cloves. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar, black peas to a bowl with paprika juice. Stir and pour this mixture into a jar of pepper. Close with a nylon lid and put in the refrigerator for 6-10 hours. “Baked paprika” in Serbian style is ready. This pepper can be eaten as an appetizer or served as a side dish with meat, chicken, fish, and fried potatoes. In order to seal baked bell peppers for the winter, they need to be sterilized. Pour a coffee spoon of 70% vinegar essence into a jar of pepper, cover with a lid and place in a cold oven. Turn it on. Temperature 150 degrees. Leave for 20 minutes. Now carefully remove the jars using a kitchen towel, close the lid with a key and place under a warm blanket for a day.

Advice. If your pepper is small, don't worry. I had exactly this one. Perhaps you are very lucky. It can be closed entirely without removing the seeds and stalk. In this way they prepare a wonderful Serbian appetizer for strong strong drinks. In winter, place small peppers in a bowl. Pour fragrant sunflower oil, sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts and herbs. The success of this dish is guaranteed! Serbian baked pepper salad

• marinated baked pepper approximately 100 gr. • tomatoes 1 pc. • pickled cucumber 1 pc. • small fresh cucumber • half a small onion • olive oil 1 tbsp. • basil, green onions, parsley • salt to taste, • ground red pepper to taste Simple, rustic cuisine is valued in Serbia.

Vegetables for salad are cut quite coarsely. Cut the pickled pepper into strips. Tomatoes in slices. Slice cucumbers. Cut the onion into thin half rings and mash. Finely chop the greens. Add salt, red pepper, olive oil. Mix. Serve with chopped steaks and fried fish.

What is ajvar

Ajvar is a vegetable caviar made from paprika with the addition of eggplant. There are variations, but paprika as the basis of ajvar is present in every recipe. Sometimes paprika is pre-baked (the result is an amazing thing -), but in this case there is a lot of fuss and waste, and an excellent taste can be obtained simply by following the recipe below. In it, the paprika is not baked, but barena (that is, not baked, but boiled).

You must be prepared for the fact that in correctly made ajvar, the taste of the original products is completely transformed (i.e. this dish is NOT for those who like it “fresh”, unbaked, uncooked).

So, in the fall, in most courtyards, Aivar is prepared on outdoor wood stoves.

A little history

The first recipe for ajvar appeared in the works of culinary specialists of the Ottoman Empire. The meticulous chefs described in detail the necessary ingredients and preparation. The concept of “ayvar” exists only in Turkish and means caviar. But it has nothing to do with fish. What was meant here was vegetable caviar, made from a whole set of vegetables prepared in a certain way with the addition of hot spices.

Aivar quickly spread to the territories of states bordering Turkey, along the sea routes of the Black, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, from there it came to Europe.

The Serbs especially liked ajvar and became a traditional snack for the common people. Among gourmet connoisseurs, Serbian ajvar sauce has long been considered the most harmonious in terms of the ratio and selection of components.

Nowadays, people have learned to prepare ajvar on an industrial scale, unfortunately, adding artificial preservatives, thickeners and sweeteners. Despite this, ajvar has gained its admirers in many parts of the world, mainly among spicy lovers.

Steps

So, let’s immediately bring all the necessary vegetables closer to the table and wash them thoroughly, so as not to waste time on this later.
Let's start with eggplants. First, cut them into two parts, and then cut out all the seeds from them. We will definitely cut off the butts on both sides of the eggplants. Next, clean the insides of the sweet pepper, dividing it in half.
Hot peppers should also be cut into two parts and separated from the seeds. However, with this pepper everything is much more complicated.
Attention! When working with hot peppers, be careful and attentive. Touch it only with your hands, and do not rub your eyes or scratch your nose afterwards.
After handling hot pepper, be sure to wash your hands several times.
Now place the prepared eggplants and sweet peppers on a baking sheet, then bake in the oven until soft. Vegetables should not dry out. Hot peppers also need to be baked, but separately from other vegetables. We take all the baked vegetables out of the oven and put them in one common plate and leave to cool, covering them with gauze.
Next, remove all the peels from the completely cooled vegetables, and put their pulp in a plate.
Place the peeled baked vegetables in a blender container, then grind until smooth. Afterwards, add crushed garlic cloves to the vegetable mass and grind the mixture again. Then add the baked hot pepper pulp to the ajvar, but not all at once, so as not to overdo it with the bitter ingredient. Beat the mixture again with the added pepper.
Place the resulting mixture of vegetables in a saucepan and put it on the fire, after which we add the juice that was released when baking the vegetables, and also add salt, oil and vinegar to the mixture. Mix everything several times. Keep the caviar on the fire until the smell of the vinegar added to it completely disappears. We taste the finished eggplant and pepper caviar. If there is enough of everything, we pack it into jars and roll up the lids. Ajvar in Serbian style is ready for the winter.
Bon appetit!

Let's continue processing

The next tedious but necessary step is peeling the pepper. To make it less sticky, you can use a sleeve for baking. Or, pour cold water over the vegetables immediately after removing them from the oven. Only after “exposure” can you remove the seeds from the pod and grind it into hot sauce.

By the way, if there are any problems with the oven, you can fry the peppers (dry and covered) or use a multicooker in baking mode and, again, without oil.

Ajvar recipe

Ajvar is a Serbian national dish, popularly nicknamed “the poor man’s black caviar”, ideal for grilled meat and kebabs! This word is pronounced with an emphasis on the first letter, Ai-var, which means “namaz” - in Russian it’s approximately the same: namaz is what is spread on a piece of bread! Over the years, I have prepared Ajvar many times. I even know 4 cooking recipes! I cooked each one. And each one is delicious. Nowadays, with the presence of a food processor or electric meat grinder in almost every kitchen, preparing “Aivar” takes very little time, but before, with a regular “meat roller,” you had to sweat! But, to the point!... To prepare “Ajvar” you need pepper. You can take regular Bulgarian, but it is sweet and will only imitate “Ajvar” in the recipe, you need to find this one:

This is a long and spicy pepper. It is not suitable for stuffing. Be careful when preparing it: your hands will burn! And do not touch the mucous membranes of your mouth or eyes (especially your nose)!

Recipe 1: “Ajvar” with tomatoes You need (strictly by weight): 1 kg pepper 0.5 kg tomatoes 0.150 g onions 0.025 g garlic 50 ml sunflower oil 2 tablespoons (level) salt 4 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tablespoon vinegar dining room

Wash everything thoroughly, remove the core from the peppers, let the water drain (dry) and grind the vegetables in a meat grinder.

Then cook over high heat for 30 minutes, STIRING CONSTANTLY. First, “Ajvar” is cooked, then the liquid begins to boil away, then there is little of it left, but when there is practically no liquid left, we remove it from the heat. Look carefully at the photo, I tried to show it.

10 minutes before the end of cooking, add vinegar, then transfer to jars. Sterilization is not necessary. The yield for this recipe is exactly 1 liter. If it is more, it means that “Ajvar” is cooked incorrectly (undercooked). In a properly brewed Ajvar, the spoon should stand up!

Recipe 2: “Ajvar” with eggplants You need (strictly by weight): 1 kg pepper 0.5 kg eggplant 0.150 g onion 0.025 g garlic 50 ml sunflower oil 2 tablespoons (level) salt 4 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tablespoon vinegar dining room

We do everything exactly the same, only I draw your attention to this: eggplants are not tomatoes, they will not give juice. .

Therefore, the cooking time is 10 minutes shorter, and the yield is 200 grams more.

The vinegar I used

If you don’t find such pepper on sale, take a regular bell pepper, but you will need to add hot chili pepper. You can roll it together with the seeds, then it will be very spicy, but if without seeds, the taste will be milder.

Recipe 3: “Ajvar” with apples For 2 kg of pepper: 1 kg of tomatoes and 1 kg of apples (without skin), increase the amount of other spices a little. Recipe 4: “Ajvar” – mixture. For 2 kg of pepper: 1 kg of eggplant and 1 kg of apples (all the same).

The photo shows how “Aivar” differs from one another. Girls! I advise you to prepare “Ajvar”. A very tasty snack and dip! Spicy! Just right for meat! If you add “Ajvar” to rice, you get duvech rice - a popular Balkan dish (from the old magazine “Yugoslavia”, from 1985, or so). I also add it to various sauces (especially good for pasta!).

And one more thing: in winter you can prepare a very tasty snack with Aivar: mix it with village (large grain) cottage cheese. In addition, it can be added to meat dishes when stewing. It gives the meat some heat (slightly spicy!) and a very beautiful color.

Storage: you can store it without rolling it up, just put it in small jars and pour sunflower oil on top (so that there is a thin oil film). You can freeze it, it doesn't change the taste.

Useful tips

Professional chefs give the following recommendations for canning cucumbers in slices:

Adding mustard seeds or 1 tbsp will help prevent jars from exploding. l. alcohol But mustard powder is an excellent remedy for mold.
Horseradish root, which is grated or cut into strips, will help prevent the appearance of mold. This is also facilitated by such spices as black peppercorns, laurel leaves, mustard, cloves, and allspice. Such ingredients also add pungency to vegetables.
Fans of spicier foods can add twice as much garlic and horseradish as recommended in the recipe, and also use chili pepper.
When salting, use only coarse rock salt.
If you pour boiling water over the cucumbers before canning, they will better absorb the spices and will have a richer green color.
Adding vinegar makes storage of the workpiece longer, but the most important thing is compliance with sterilization conditions.
When salting in barrels, it is better to put branches of cherries and currants on top.
Spices and herbs should not exceed 5-6% of the total volume of cucumbers.
The addition of oak leaves and bark will give cucumbers a crunch.
It is better to take spring water for brine rather than from the tap. It must be clean and free of chlorine.
It is convenient to sterilize jars in the oven for 30 minutes or in the microwave for about 10–15 minutes. In the latter option, you need to pour half a glass of water into the container.
After sealing the lid, the jar needs to be turned over so that the lid is better attached to the container.

Eggplant option

Another ajvar, the recipe of which is no less popular than the one already described. The main difference is the addition of eggplant to the list of ingredients. They are taken at half the weight of the bell pepper. And you should do the same with the blue ones. That is, put it in the oven along with the main component. Before baking, eggplants need to be pricked on all sides (a fork or toothpick is suitable for this purpose). This version of hot sauce will be tastier if the hot pepper (half a pod per kilo of sweet, but no one forbids taking more) with onions and garlic are first fried in a frying pan with vegetable oil.

Next, the baked eggplants are peeled and chopped into tiny cubes, complemented by frying and seasoned with salt (two level spoons), sugar (twice as much), or optionally with herbs and ground pepper. Peppers chopped almost until smooth are also added here and wine vinegar is poured in (preferably red, the calculation is a spoonful of liquid per half a kilo of mass).

In fact, this ajvar sauce is intended to be consumed in the near future. If you want to save it until the winter holidays, place it in hot sterilized jars, seal and store in a cool place for up to an hour.

Experiments are welcome

The recipe for ajvar for the winter is very variable. However, like most culinary delights. You can simply cut all the vegetables from the list that arouse your liking into cubes (preferably small ones), add salt, season with spices and bake in the oven until nicely crispy. Flipping is a must! The released juices will be enough to form the desired consistency. And if it seems that there are not enough of them, and the sauce comes out too thick, you can always supplement it with interesting additions. And not only tomato, by the way - there are a lot of interesting options. This “stew” can be rolled into jars - and it will be a completely full-fledged ajvar. And don't be afraid to experiment with a variety of aromatic herbs and spices. In the end, they are the ones who “make” the taste; they are the ones who are able to create a true culinary masterpiece from any primitive element. So you have every chance to make a name for yourself in the culinary community as a real genius if you can create a good composition of seasonings.

So try your luck, experiment, and don’t be afraid to take risks! Someday, a gourmet will be ready to give everything he has, including his soul, for a jar of your version of ajvar!

Package

The Serbian ajvar recipe allows you to store the sauce for a year, and possibly longer (it’s just that the seasoning is usually eaten much faster). If you want to prolong the pleasure, the container for storing ajvar and the lids for sealing need to be sterilized in any way convenient for you, the sauce should be put into jars while hot, rolled up and cooled in the “upside down” position. But you can store it anywhere, a cellar is not necessary. Unless the top of the kitchen cabinets, where the heat from the stove constantly rises, would not be the most suitable place.

Ajvar recipe

You will need 5 kg of peeled paprika (crvena mesnata paprika - red fleshy paprika) and 3 kg of peeled eggplant, cut into large pieces. You need to take a large (preferably 15-liter) saucepan, boil 3 liters of water in it, to which you need to add 100 ml of vinegar essence (for my taste, no more than 80 g is better), 150 ml of vegetable oil, 150 g of salt and 150 g of sugar ( I take salt and sugar, 3 heaped tablespoons each).

Whole paprika and pieces of eggplant are boiled in this water until the paprika can be pierced with a fork. Then remove the vegetables and allow the sauce to drain.

Some people pour out the sauce, but I store it in bottles in the refrigerator - there is no better dressing for some salads in winter (for example, for grated carrots or baked paprika).

Then the vegetables are ground in a meat grinder, 0.5 to 1 liter of sunflower oil is added to the mixture to taste, and it is boiled over low heat for at least (and sometimes more) two hours.

Important: do not give in to temptation and leave ajvar half raw!

Let the water evaporate, the vegetables become softer, soaked in juices, and as a result the consistency of the mixture turns out to be quite dense and at the same time fluffy. You can feel the moment of completion of cooking just by the change in consistency.

You need to stir the ajvar often, almost constantly (this is a good sport), and you should keep in mind that towards the end of cooking it may begin to “shoot”.

At the end of cooking, someone will add preservatives, but I will never and will not recommend this, since vinegar, salt and sugar already act as preservatives.

The finished ajvar is placed hot into jars with screw-on lids, turned over until it cools and stored in a cool place (for example, in a basement). This is a proven ajvar recipe (is it okay that I expressed it in SEO style, that is, almost in Russian?).

Nutritional and energy value:

Ready meals
kcal 8395.6 kcal	proteins 129.2 g	fat 572.6 g	carbohydrates 2160.3 g
Portions
kcal 1049.5 kcal	proteins 16.2 g	fat 71.6 g	carbohydrates 270 g
100 g dish
kcal 69.9 kcal	proteins 1.1 g	fat 4.8 g	carbohydrates 18 g

Aivar sauce recipe

The cooking process is quite simple and takes about 30 minutes, no more.

The essence of Ajvar sauce is baked vegetables, so set the oven to heat to 280 degrees or as many degrees as possible if you don’t have 280. Perhaps you have a grill and a desire, then you could fry vegetables on it.
We take our pepper and eggplant and place it on the grill. The eggplant must be pierced with a knife or fork, because... it has a tendency to explode in the oven. You don't need to do anything with the pepper.
We put our vegetables for the sauce in the oven and time for 12 minutes for the eggplant and 14-15 minutes for the pepper. Cooking until charred is important. The peppers will turn blackish, and the eggplant... it will simply become darker. Check your vegetables from time to time, because... The pepper will need to be turned over, the eggplant is optional.
Take onions and garlic, they will be fried.
"Sauchière's Tip" You can immerse the onions and garlic in cold water to make them easier to peel.
Peel the onion and garlic and chop them finely.
Aivara often has a spicy note, if you are not a fan you can skip this step. And everyone who is in favor of hot pepper, you understand that it is provided by hot pepper, fresh or dried and ground into powder, whoever has what, we have it fresh. We cut off a small part from it, take out the seeds 3-4 cm and chop it finely.
Take a frying pan to fry the onions, garlic and peppers. Pour out all 3 tbsp. l. olive oil in a frying pan, this will make the sauce juicier.
First, throw the onion and hot pepper into the frying pan; don’t add the garlic yet, because... it often burns. In general, it is better to sauté garlic rather than fry it outright.
The onions should become translucent, a sign that the onion flavors have dissolved into the oil. After 25-30 seconds, add our garlic there. Stir and remove the frying pan away from the heat; the residual heat will allow the garlic to reach the desired condition.
We take our eggplant out of the stove and place it on the board. Cut it lengthwise and remove the eggplant pulp with a spoon. Then we chop the pulp and transfer it to a clean bowl, which will ultimately contain our Aivar sauce.
Add our onion, hot pepper and garlic to the chopped eggplant pulp, along with the oil from the frying pan and mix thoroughly.
Add salt and sugar.
“Tip from Sauchiere” For the peppers from the oven, you need to prepare a suitable bowl with cold water and salt it well. This is a kind of bath for baked vegetables, so you will quickly cool the vegetables, it will be convenient to remove the skin, and the salt in the water will allow the pepper not to lose its taste.
Remove the pepper from the oven and place it in cold salted water. “Clarification just in case” There is no need to soak the pepper, just cool it a little so that you can peel it (10 seconds).
Peel off the skin and remove the seeds. Chop the pepper pulp. Despite the fact that it is harder to chop, remember that the pepper particles must be “readable”, so chop without fanaticism.
Add to the bowl where our future ajvar sauce will be.
In ajvar, the sour note is very important, so you need to add wine vinegar, about 2-3 tbsp. l.
Mix well and you're done!

Aivar has a beautiful, variegated color that will wonderfully complement the visual component of your dish. Well, and of course the taste, which will not leave anyone indifferent. There are many recipes on the Internet that are as simple as possible, because their whole essence is chopped baked peppers and... everything, in general, they add garlic and sometimes onions, but in our opinion this is not Aivar. Of course, if you disagree with us and can explain why, write about it in the comments.

The sauce recipe was from our hearts to your soul, bon appetit!

Share the recipe with your friends!

Super spicy ajvar recipe in Serbian

This option is not suitable for simple people who are not accustomed to heat. Or they will be able to consume “caviar” in very limited quantities. Simply because it uses not sweet peppers, but hot ones. Moreover, the sauce requires that same long, oblong and extremely hot variety, the mere smell of which makes your eyes water. And you will need a whole kilogram of pods - despite the fact that only half a kilogram of “softening” tomatoes will go into it. On the other hand, the spiciness will not be enhanced by garlic and onions (according to the recipe, only two heads are taken).

Since we are not talking about sweet peppers here, there is no need to bake them (a unique recipe among others). All vegetables are cleaned (and gloves will not be superfluous, at least when “gutting” hot peppers), blended in a blender and placed in a saucepan with a thick bottom. To avoid burning and to add a Mediterranean note to the ajvar sauce, you can add three tablespoons of olive oil to the mixture. From the moment it boils, this delicacy will have to be simmered on the fire for about forty minutes, with regular stirring, so be patient. About ten minutes before it’s ready, you’ll need to pour vinegar into the sauce, either balsamic or white wine. Hot ajvar is poured into jars, screwed or capped - and stored without refrigerators or cellars. It is so pungent that it becomes its own preservative.

By the way. If whites are rare guests in your household, use lime juice. The effect is the same, perhaps the taste will become even more interesting and piquant, even if it turns out to be less pronounced.

Let's prepare Aivar

Ajvar (from the Serbian ajvar, from the Turkish havyar - translated as caviar) is a dish of Balkan cuisine and is a type of salad. This is a paste-like mass of baked or fried red sweet peppers.

Ajvar is used as a seasoning for side dishes and meat dishes. In addition, it can be eaten as an independent dish, for example, with bread.

Interestingly, depending on the amount of capsaicin in the bell pepper, ajvar can be quite hot. Often, in recipes for cooking peppers, garlic and eggplant are added. And caviar based on eggplant alone is called pinjur.

Today we will prepare ajvar with the addition of eggplant and garlic. The result is a product that is simply excellent in taste. Yield: 700 g.

Pinjur, lyutenitsa and tomato juice from Baba Bisa.

So, what is the difference between ajvar and pinjur ? In our particular family with Pirochan traditions, pinjur is the same baked pepper, but with the addition of tomatoes. Eggplant can also be added, but this vegetable is mainly used in Croatia in pinjur cooking.

Another difference between these two dishes is the cutting of the pepper before cooking. If for ajvar you need a meat grinder, then for pinjur you need a board with a knife. By the way, about cutting peppers. I noticed that all my old-school Serbs I know absolutely do not accept the idea of using blenders in preparing winter clothes. Only a meat grinder and a knife - “otherwise it will turn out to be a mess.” Mashed potatoes, of course, are good for kids, but not for adults and advanced cooks. I also discovered an interesting detail during the tasting process: completely grinding an object really kills the taste! It’s not that the result is nasty, but the zest disappears somewhere. Although, the taste and color...

Step-by-step recipe with photos

Ajvar is a popular dish in Balkan cuisine. At its core, it is a very thick paste/caviar made from baked or fried peppers. Depending on the regional characteristics and preferences of the cook himself, the dish can be prepared using only sweet bell peppers or with the addition of other vegetables - most often eggplants or tomatoes.

Extremely simple and unpretentious in preparation, ajvar sauce is not capricious in terms of storage conditions, thanks to which it has gained great popularity not only as a seasonal snack, but also as a preparation for the winter.

With a rather modest set of ingredients and a minimal amount of spices in the composition, the dish turns out incredibly aromatic and tasty! Its delicate creamy texture, seductive aroma and taste with smoky notes captivate you from the first bite. Ready-made ajvar can be served as an independent appetizer/caviar, and as a sauce for meat dishes and side dishes, as well as added to soups, gravies and stews as a seasoning, and, of course, the easiest option is to make delicious sandwiches! Try it!

Prepare the ingredients according to the list.

Today we will prepare ajvar from baked peppers with the addition of eggplants. This addition will not particularly affect the taste, but it will pleasantly increase the final volume of the snack. For comparison: from 2 kilograms of bell pepper I get about 800 grams of well-boiled, thick ajvar (prepared for the winter). By adding 1 kg of eggplants, I get 1 liter of preparation for the winter and another 250-300 grams are left for sandwiches. Ajvar that you plan to eat right away will turn out a little larger - you don’t need to boil it down too much.

Place the eggplants and peppers (sweet and hot) in an oven preheated to 200 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes, until soft and darkly charred. Turn the peppers several times during the process to ensure even frying.

You can also roast vegetables over coals. The slightly burnt skin of the pepper and the aroma of the fire give the finished appetizer an incredibly appetizing smoky aroma.

Place the baked peppers in a sealed bag and leave for another 10-15 minutes - this will make the skin easy to peel. Cool the eggplants slightly and separate the pulp from the skin.

Also peel the hot peppers and remove the seeds. For a spicier tasting snack, add 2-3 hot peppers. I add 1 hot pepper - the appetizer turns out to be moderately spicy in taste.

Clean the pepper by removing the skin and seeds. Place the peppers in a sieve to remove all the juice. If time permits, you can leave the peppers in a sieve for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

The more juice you can separate at this stage, the less time it will take to boil the ajvar. Further preparation of the dish is essentially aimed at evaporating excess liquid to obtain a thick ajvar consistency. By separating as much liquid as possible at once, we simplify our further work and reduce cooking time.

Chop the prepared vegetables very finely with a knife.

Or grind in a blender.

Fry the onion in a frying pan until golden brown. Then add the chopped garlic and fry everything together for another 1 minute.

Combine the prepared mixture of baked vegetables, fried onions and garlic, and vegetable oil. Add a few pinches of salt, ground black pepper, a pinch of sugar and, stirring, bring to a boil. Taste the ajvar and add more spices to taste.

Cook the ajvar, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens so much that the spoon will stand and the mixture begins to lag behind the walls of the pan. If you run a spoon along the bottom of the pan, the mark should be completely healed in five seconds. Typically, the cooking process in this case takes from 20 to 40 minutes. If you plan to eat ajvar right away, you can boil the ajvar for a shorter amount of time, 10-15 minutes.

To prepare ajvar for the winter, 5 minutes before it’s ready, pour 4-5 tbsp into the pan. wine or apple cider vinegar (adjust the amount to taste). For short-term storage, you can omit the vinegar, replace it with lemon juice, or add just a little, to taste. Pour the finished ajvar into sterilized jars and roll up.

Aivar is ready! Bon appetit!

You can store ajvar without sealing it - for example, pour it into sterilized jars, add a small amount of vegetable oil, seal it tightly and store it in the refrigerator, or simply freeze it in portions. Even in sub-zero temperatures it will not lose its taste.

Ingredients:

Red pepper - 2 kilograms;
tomatoes - 2-3 pieces;
onions - 3 pieces;
dill - a bunch;
carrots - 2 pieces;
celery - a small root;
salt - 1.5 teaspoons;
vegetable oil - 1 cup;
allspice peas - 3 pieces;
black peppercorns - 1 teaspoon;
vinegar - 2 tablespoons.

Step-by-step recipe for pepper caviar for the winter

To prepare caviar, you need to bake the pepper. To do this, rub it with vegetable oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
When the pepper is still hot, remove the skin, seeds and stalks. Grind using a blender or meat grinder.
Tomatoes also need to be peeled; to do this, scald them with boiling water, then the skin can be easily removed.
Grate the carrots and celery root. Pour half the vegetable oil into the frying pan, add carrots and celery.
Peel the onion and cut into small cubes, fry in the other half of the vegetable oil.
Mix peppers, tomatoes, carrots, celery root and onion, add salt, black and allspice.
Simmer all vegetables for 30 minutes, add vinegar 5 minutes before cooking.
Place hot caviar in sterilized jars and roll up.

Serve pepper caviar on a festive table, combining it with meat and fish dishes. You can also add it to first courses, stews, and make a marinade.

How to eat ajvar

Ajvar is an excellent product for sandwiches, the basis for multi-decker sandwiches, an addition to hot dishes (served in a separate small container), and it is also added to scrambled eggs, and to dishes with Serbian “syr”, and to cold appetizers made in the form of a variety of rolls, etc.

Sometimes I really like to eat ajvar just like “salty ice cream” - from a bowl with a spoon, without anything. Aivar without the addition of hot (fierce) paprika is called blagi (good - good) ajvar, and with the addition of the latter - ljuti (љuti - fierce) ajvar.

Thank you for your attention and have a nice ajvar! I have been using this ajvar recipe for 4 years. Neighbors and friends say that the result is exactly what is needed

Numerology of the name

In accordance with the information provided by the science of numerology, the name Aivar corresponds to the number 7. This means the following:

an irresistible desire for constant spiritual improvement and acquiring new knowledge;
the ability to deeply analyze information and draw the right conclusions;
ability to plan for the long term;
desire for leadership and mentoring;
inability to independently make important responsible decisions;
increased sensitivity to public opinion;
developed intuition and rich imagination;
tendency to solitude and hermitism;
intolerance to noise and fuss;
healthy egoism and the desire to benefit from any action;
sincere emotionality;
pessimistic views on life.