Sri Lankan Wambatu Moju (Brinjal Moju)

Sri Lankan wambatu moju or brinjal moju is another delicious recipe that no one can resist. It has its own identity which takes place in any special occasions. A Sri Lankan wedding or any special occasion meal is not complete without brinjal moju. This is why even if you visit Sri Lanka for a holiday, you must taste wambatu moju before you leave the country.

As I read once, wambatu moju is another recipe gifted from Malay community in Sri Lanka which makes our own Sri Lankan cuisine rich with unique flavourful dishes. I remember that few years ago there was a blog which shared Sri Lankan Malay recipes which was one of my favourite sites to visit. Though I wanted to read that article again after some years, unfortunately I couldn’t find. (So, please correct me if I am wrong in saying wambatu moju and its roots to Sri Lankan Malay food.)

Anyway, wambatu moju is another kind of pickle which is prepared with brinjal and vinegar. The taste is a mix of salty, sour and sweet. Once cooked, it is easy to keep wambatu moju in a glass bottle for few days same as other pickles.

Updated Wambatu Moju Post and photos

Few years ago, in 2011 when I first started writing this Sri Lankan food blog Food Corner, I shared wambatu moju recipe. Although the way I cook batu moju is still the same, in any day I couldn’t get the beautiful appearance of Sri Lankan wambatu moju simply because of the brinjal type I find in Singapore. This large size brinjals are with more white parts than the purple skin. So, the fried brinjal always looked whiter without purple skin.

As I found some small brinjals recently, I could anyhow cook brinjal moju which looks similar to Sri Lankan Batu moju. So, I thought of updating the brinjal moju post shared in 2011 with new photos .Wow! Food Corner is almost 7 years old!

Things to know before cooking Wambatu moju (Brinjal moju)

It is necessary to fry the brinjal well. Adding turmeric powder will avoid the browning of brinjal. You can add salt too before frying. But, sometimes salt will make brinjal more watery and you cannot fry it well. Squeeze any water before deep frying brinjal.

Find fresh brinjal with bright purple colour. That will add vibrant colour to your final dish.

Some Sri Lankans prepare this wambatu moju with raw onion and green chili. I usually fry a little bit. You can choose any method at the time of preparation.

Recipe : Wambatu moju (Brinjal moju)

 

Ingredients: (for 4-5 servings)

1-2 large size brinjal

10-15 small red onions (shallots)

5-10 green chilies

1 tbsps. chilli powder

2 cardamom pods

2-3 cloves

1-2 tsp. sugar

Salt to taste

2-3 tbspn vinegar

1 tspn turmeric powder

1 tspn mustard seeds

1 inch piece of cinnamon

Oil to fry

Method:

Step 1:

Slice brinjal length wise, mix with turmeric powder. Squeeze any liquid.

Deep fry it until golden brown.

Drain oil & keep aside.

Step 2:

Grind mustard seeds, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon piece using some vinegar.

Then mix all chili powder, ground mustard seeds, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, salt & sugar in a bowl. Add vinegar and prepare it like a liquid sauce.

The taste of this sauce should be a mix of spicy, sweet & sour taste. Adjust salt accordingly.

Keep this sauce aside.

Step 3:

Remove the skin of red onions. If the onions are big, cut into halves.

Slit the green chillies lengthwise.

In a pan, heat 1 tbsp. of cooking oil.

Once it is hot, add green chilies & red onion.

Sauté few seconds.

Once it is little tender, add the fried brinjal.

Mix well.

Now add the sauce and mix well.

Adjust salt if need.

It is ready to serve.