Nonya Achar/ Pickle Veggie Salad

Instruction
1. Wash all ingredients A-F thoroughly and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
2. Remove seeds from the fresh chilies and cut them into smaller pieces.
3. Heat a pan (non stick pan preferred) with oil and toast the belacan until it dries out, becoming powdery and emitting a strong shrimp fragrance. Remove from heat and let it cool. Alternatively, wrap the belacan in aluminum foil and air fry for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius until fragrant. Allow it to cool.
4. Blend ingredients A-G.
5. Heat a pan with 6 tablespoons of oil and stir-fry the blended ingredients until fragrant add I & J in order mixed well.
6. Add ingredient K-M when paste looks dry. Turn off the fire once the paste starts to boil.
7.Prepare blanching water, add ingredient N to Q and bring to boil.
8. Cut all veggies into same length except cabbage and pineapple.
9. Add salt to cucumber and carrots , squeeze the extra water away from the veggies after 30 mins.
10. Blanch T, U, V ingredient in the Blanching water. Dry the veggies by squeezing out water.
Pat dry with kitchen towels.
11. In a big container, put veggies into the spicy paste and add the Toppings .
12.Toss the mixture and store them in air tight glass jars and refrigerate them.
This recipe yields approximately 2 jars of 500 grams Nonya Achar . Shelf life 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Usage:
Achar is a side dishes serve with rice and dishes such as sambal prawns, Nasi Lemak, Chicken curry, Mee Siam and more.
Tip:
Leave it over night in refrigerator for better taste
Ingredients
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Fresh Ingredients:
SPICE PASTE:
A. 120g shallots
B. 6 cloves garlic
C. 2 stalks lemon grass
D. 150g fresh red chilies (seeds removed)
E. 40g turmeric
F. 60g galangal /blue ginger
G. 40g belacan /shrimp paste (toasted)H. 6 tbsp oil
I. dried chili powder – 30g for mildly spicy
J. 1 cup (220ml) water
K. 200ml white vinegar
L. 1 tbsp salt
M. 10 tbsp (110g) sugar
BLANCHING WATER
N. 2L water
O. 500ml white vinegar
P. 3 tbsp sugar
Q. 1 tbsp salt
VEGETABLES
R. 600g cucumber -batong / cut into short sticks
S. 400g carrots -batong/ cut into short sticks
T. 250g cabbage- cut into large squares
U. 200g cauliflower -cut into smaller florets
V. 150g long beans -cut into shorter length
W. 200g pineapple – cut into cubes
X. 4 fresh red chilies -julienne
Y. 1 1/2 tbsp salt
Toppings
300g ground peanuts
60g toasted white sesame seeds80g fried shallots