Jelatah is a hybrid side dish usually served with nasi briyani or nasi tomato, although this is not a hard and fast rule.
This cucumber-pineapple-salad-meets-pickle is really easy to make, requiring only a few ingredients. Besides being simple and super delicious, one of the best things about it is that the ingredients are fairly common and available across the world, so even if you live abroad, you’ll be able to whip this up easily for a taste of home.
Unlike most pickles, jelatah does not need to rest for hours or overnight, although it can if you want to. It retains a fresh flavour and crunch that goes well with just about any rice dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 500g fresh pineapple
- 2 red onions
- 1 red chilli
- 1 green chilli
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
Method:
- Peel and halve the cucumber, then slice thinly.
- If using a whole pineapple, cut into eight segments and remove the core. Slice thinly.
- Slice both chilies and deseed, unless you wish to retain the extra heat.
- Peel and halve the onions. Slice thinly also.
- Place the cucumbers, pineapple, onions and chilli in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, and squeeze a whole lime into the mix.
- Toss all the ingredients together, and it’s done! If you would like to serve it later, store it in the fridge.
Tips:
- You can also use a mandoline or the mandoline attachment of a food processor to evenly slice the ingredients.
- To remove the bitterness of a cucumber, slice one or both ends off (about 1-2cm) and rub the exposed portion of the body against the exposed end of the slice until you see a thick white foam appear. Continue rubbing until no more foam develops. It might sound strange, but it works!
- White rice vinegar is used in this recipe, but any natural white vinegar will do.
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com, a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of its people, food and places.