Wambatu moju or pickle is quite popular in Sri Lanka as a delicious dish . Usually it is made for an exclusive dinner or lunch. You can keep Wambatu Moju for weeks in an airtight container. Served normally with rice and curries, wambatu moju is a quite tasty eggplant. On a special day you might find your mom made this to cheer things up or you might see this at most Sri Lankan festival.
The eggplant typically the purple-skinned, slender, and long variety – is sliced into bite-sized wedges and fried, which gives the eggplant a crispy surface with a silky and soft within. It is then caramelized with a spoon of vinegar, sugar , green chilies, mustard seeds, red onions , chili powder along with a turmeric powder to turn the color into almost black .
When you take a small bite, you will enjoy juicy and soft texture of the eggplant melting in your mouth — the slightly salty, sour, and sweet contrast is completely sensational.
The other unique thing about Wambatu Moju is that it can be made a few days before you eat it. So it will taste nicer this way too . All the aroma and spices passes through each piece and delivers a satisfying flavor. Washing egg plants in turmeric water with salt and then take out water soaking in salt into it. When squeezed it is so much easier to fry and it will take pretty much less time. Fry the egg plants until it gets brown. If you would like to store it ensure that you use clean airtight container.
Different person wambatu moju in different methods. I got this recipe from my friend when I was about 20 years old. Still I use the recipe today and it tastes more delicious compared to what I have tried anywhere else.
My last tips is, if you buy egg plants make sure you buy the matured ones , making it steady when you fry it .