Aivar: Serbian winter recipe and 2 original sauce recipes

Any hostess can cook ajvar using a Serbian recipe for the winter. This dish belongs to the Balkan cuisine. Aivar is a sauce that can be used both as an addition to main dishes, as a gravy, and also as a spread for sandwiches. In Serbia and Croatia, such a sauce is considered a national dish, however, there is no canonical recipe. In each family, the sauce is cooked according to its own recipe. You can change the density of the sauce to taste.

Cooking nuances

Aivar sauce can be prepared according to different recipes, depending on taste preferences. The classic dish contains red pepper, chili, garlic, but you can add tomatoes or eggplant.

According to the traditional recipe, peppers are baked until a black crust appears on their surface - this is important. Once the peppers are removed from the oven, they must be allowed to cool. Only if this rule is observed, ajvar will turn out to be truly tasty.

Selection and preparation of main ingredients

To prepare a classic dish, you will need the following ingredients:

• pepper of any color, but red is better - 3 kg;
• garlic - 10 cloves;
• two onions;
• chili - 1 piece;
• sunflower oil - 250 ml;
• apple vinegar - 100 ml;
• s alt - optional;
• sugar - 1 tbsp. l.

Products should be fresh, but if there are spoiled spots on the pepper, it is easy to cut them off before baking in the oven.

How to choose the right one

Particular attention is paid to vegetable oil. You can use oil to taste: sunflower, olive, sesame, walnut oil, corn. The traditional recipe calls for sunflower or olive oil. Depending on which oil is used, the taste of the dish may change and take on unusual notes.

There are no special requirements for the choice of products. The main thing is that peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are fresh, without mold.

How to cook ajvar for the winter

The process of preparing ajvar is quite simple and any housewife can handle it. The main stage is the preparation of peppers. They are baked in the oven and then cooled before being ground and mixed with other ingredients.

To make ajvar even tastier, you can use the grill for baking. The finished dish is packaged in jars and sent for storage in the refrigerator.

Classic Serbian ajvar recipe

Cooking process:

1. Peppers need to be washed, put on a baking sheet and baked at a temperature of 200 degrees until the surface darkens. Then the peppers are transferred to a bag and steamed so that the skin can be removed. The seeds are also taken out.
2. Cut the onion into small rings and saute in vegetable oil until golden brown.
3. All ingredients: peppers, onions, garlic, mince. Then the mass must be transferred to the cauldron. Oil, s alt, sugar are added.
4. The sauce is boiled until boiling and tasted. If necessary, add lemon juice, s alt, and boil the mixture for another 10 minutes.

Hot sauce is poured into pre-sterilized jars. Then they are covered with lids and kept under a blanket until they cool completely.

Tomato variant

To make ajvar with tomatoes, you will need the following ingredients:

• sweet pepper - 1 kg;
• garlic - 1 head;
• tomatoes - 500 gr.;
• onion - 2 pcs;
• bite 9% - 20 ml;
• sunflower oil - 55 ml;
• s alt - to taste;
• sugar - '95

Cooking is practically the same as the traditional way:

1. Wash the peppers and bake in the oven or on the grill until a black crust appears.
2. Peppers put in a bag for half an hour, and then peeled. You also need to cut the stem and remove the seeds.
3. Peeled peppers, tomato pulp, garlic, onions are passed through a meat grinder. The whole mixture must be placed in a saucepan and put on fire. For spiciness, you can add chili.
4. In the process of boiling add s alt, sugar and vinegar. The mass must be boiled for 5 minutes, and then poured into jars.

After the ajvar is prepared, it is poured into jars and closed with ordinary lids. Then you need to cool them and put them in the refrigerator.

Eggplant recipe

To give the sauce an unusual and rich taste, you can use eggplant. For this dish you will need the following ingredients:

• sweet pepper, red - 2 kg;
• eggplant - 1 kg;
• two onions;
• chili - 1 piece;
• garlic - 5 cloves;
• sugar - 1 teaspoon;
• s alt - optional;
• sunflower oil - 200 ml;
• Apple cider vinegar - 4 tbsp. spoons.

Cooking process:

1. Peppers and eggplant bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Dark tan marks should appear.
2. Vegetables peeled and stemmed. The core is removed from the pepper.
3. Add 1 chilli for moderate spiciness.
4. Pass the whole mass through a meat grinder, fry the onion and garlic in a pan.
5. The mixture is placed in a cauldron. You need to assure her so that all the liquid comes out. Properly cooked ajvar has a thick consistency.

The workpiece needs to be poured into jars and cooled.

Storage rules

Ready ajvar is closed in jars and stored in a cool, dark place for several months. Can be stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Once opened, the sauce should be consumed within 3-4 days.

The advantage of ajvar is that it is a completely versatile dish that can be used as a sauce, a delicious gravy for meat or a spread for bread.

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