Traditional Ajvar Recipe- Make at Home in 3 Hours

To put it simply, ajvar is a blend of roasted fresh bell peppers and eggplants. Traditionally, it’s prepared as a winter food because, in many Balkan countries, vegetables have been historically scarce during winters, and preparing large quantities of jarred food was the only choice for people to get the needed nutrients from vegetables during this time of the year. Obviously, this isn’t the case anymore but ajvar is still a significant part of not only local cuisines but also cultural heritage.

One of the reasons why ajvar is still so popular and loved by locals and visitors alike is its versatility. It can be used as a side dish, as a dipping sauce, as pasta sauce, or just eaten as a snack with some fresh bread, burek/ byrek, or kifli and white cheese (sirene).

As we mentioned above, the origins of the traditional ajvar recipe are tightly linked to Macedonia but the popular spread is equally popular in Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Croatia (where it’s one of the most famous local appetizers), and Slovenia. As for the name, it originates from the Turkish word ‘havyar’, meaning caviar. Today, ajvar is often called vegetable caviar or pepper caviar and there’s actually a very interesting story behind that (read more in the next paragraph).

During medieval times, caviar was introduced to the region through the black sea. However, just like today, caviar had the status of a rich man’s food and many people knew what it is but most of them couldn’t afford it. Caviar became very popular among the elites and there were even some local production facilities that made caviar for wide consumption. But in the second half of the 19th century, due to labor disputes, production dropped and caviar was no longer available in most local restaurants.

This is where ajvar comes in. Well, technically, ajvar was already widely used in Macedonia and the Southern Balkans but around this time, it was dotted as ‘vegetable caviar’ and quickly took the region by surprise. Even today, a few centuries later, it’s one of the most popular spreads/dips in the Balkans.

In addition to every country having a slightly modified ajvar recipe, there are also a few different variations to ajvar and similar dishes that share its origin. The most popular variations are pindjur (the same as ajvar but with whole pieces of vegetables instead of mashed vegetables) and lutenica (a hot-spicy variation of ajvar). One could argue that even eggplant-based dip, malijano can be counted as an ajvar variation and there’s even the ‘green’ variation made from green bell peppers as opposed to the regular ajvar made from red peppers but this isn’t very common.

And last but not least, we would round up this section of our ajvar guide by mentioning the two only branded variations of ajvar, the Macedonian ajvar and the Homemade Leskovac ajvar (Leskovac is a city in southern Serbia near the Macedonian border).

Enjoying this post? Then you may also like our placinta recipe.

Traditionally, ajvar is prepared by roasting peppers over a wood fire or by using special iron furnaces. However, making ajvar in your oven works too. You just have to keep checking the peppers frequently and remove the ones that are done from the oven. The peppers need to be roasted until blackening. Just make sure that the only thing that’s blackening is the outside layer of the pepper. After this, they need to be peeled away and the flesh beneath the darkened skin should not be dark.

If you want a tip for easier peeling, just store the roasted pepper in a plastic container and close the lid; the heat from the peppers will soften them and make the peppers easier to peel. Another important thing is to not wash the peppers with water. If you need to clean the black portion out, use your hand or a knife.

Once you’re done with peeling and removing the seeds, keep the peppers in a gauze and let them drain overnight. The next day, you’d have to grind the peppers using a meat grinder or finely chop them using a knife.

And last but not least, once you start frying, use a wooden spatula to mix the ajvar constantly; this is very important and if you leave the ajvar without mixing for a longer period of time, it will burn and/or get sticky.

The traditional ajvar recipe uses the pepper known as ajvarka in Macedonia (photo below) or Kurtovska Kapija. Since both of these peppers are local vegetables, you might not be able to find them (depending on your location). In that case, the next best alternatives are red bull horn peppers or red bell peppers.

As we mentioned above, the authentic way locals prepare ajvar is in bulk (meaning using 100 or more kilograms of peppers and eggplants for the preparation). After the preparation is complete, the ajvar is stored in mason jars that are consumed throughout the winter. If you intend to use this method, make sure you sterilize and clean your jars before pouring the ajvar inside.

After you fill the jars, the ajvar has to be pasteurized because if it’s not, it can be prone to bacteria. To do this, you need to keep the jars open and place them in the oven at 90°C for 15-20 minutes. When you see a crust forming on the top of the ajvar, that’s the time to pull the jars out. As an additional precaution, you can also add a little bit of oil on top of the ajvar to serve as a barrier between different kinds of bacteria and your ajvar.

Once that is done, the last thing you need to take care of is…

This is the last part of the traditional ajvar recipe. If you want to have ajvar to eat throughout a span of a few months, you need to seal the jars and store them properly. After you seal the jars, keep them in a turned-off oven at a temperature close to 150 °C. Alternatively, you can also cover the jars with some warm towels or kitchen cloths.

Once this is done, let the ajvar cool down for 30-40 hours, and afterwards, store it in a cold and dark place (preferably a basement) until you want to use it. The ajvar stored in this way can be consumed safely for up to 6-7 months after making it. Some people say ajvar is even tastier after a few months.

In the end, just a few more tips if you’re planning to store ajvar in the above-mentioned method.

• Some recipes use garlic but if you want to store ajvar, you mustn’t have garlic in your recipe because the ajvar will go bad very soon.
• Use only sunflower oil.
• When you fill-up the jars, always leave roughly 1 cm (0.3 inches) on the top.

Ajvar can be served as a side dish alongside dishes like tavce gravce, cevapi, sarma, pljeskavica, or zelnik, but many people also eat it as a snack alongside a simple bread, pogacha, ustipci (or maybe even gibanica) and some white cheese (sirene). Alternatively, if you want to, you can also use ajvar as a dip or pasta sauce, even though this might raise some eyebrows among locals but if you like it, who cares.

Food Processor

Stovestop

Cutting Set

Large Pan

Wooden Spoon

Did you ever try ajvar? Did you like our traditional ajvar recipe? If you tried to make it at home and liked it, don’t forget to leave us a rating!

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