Mkhallal

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 600 gsmall cucumbers
• 500 gturnips, peeled and cut in wedges
• 1raw beetroot, peeled and sliced, for the turnips
• 200 ggreen olives, cracked
• 8green chillies, pricked
• 1 headgarlic, cloves peeled

Brine

• 1.5 litreswater
• 90 gcoarse non-iodised salt — 6% of the water’s weight
• 100 mlwhite vinegar
• 1 tbspblack peppercorns
• 2bay leaves

Directions

1. Trim a sliver off the blossom end of each cucumber and prick the chillies two or three times so the brine gets inside them.
2. Dissolve the salt in the water and stir in the vinegar. The splash of vinegar gives the brine an acidic head start, which is why Levantine pickles come ready faster than a pure salt ferment.
3. Put the turnips in one jar with the beetroot slices layered through them — the beetroot is there for colour and it turns the whole jar shocking pink within days.
4. Put the cucumbers, olives, chillies and garlic in the second jar.
5. Divide the peppercorns and bay between the jars and pour over the brine so everything sits 3 cm below the surface. Weight anything that floats.
6. Cover loosely and leave at room temperature for one to two weeks, tasting from the end of the first week.
7. Move to the fridge once they taste right. They keep for months.
8. Set them on the table with every meal — mezze, grills, mansaf — as the sharp thing among the rich ones.

Technique

• Keep turnips and cucumbers in separate jars. The beetroot colours everything it touches, and pink cucumbers look wrong even though they taste fine.
• Everything under the brine. It is the only real failure mode.
• Crack the olives with a stone or the flat of a knife so the brine can reach the flesh.

Substitutions

• Cauliflower, carrot or small aubergines, all of which are pickled this way.
• Lemon slices in the cucumber jar, which is common.

Variations

• The Palestinian and Lebanese versions are essentially identical.
• Kabees el lift — the pink turnips alone — is the best known of them.

History

Home brining of turnips with beetroot and of small cucumbers is standard practice in Jordanian households.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mkhallal?

Mkhallal is a fermented & pickled from Jordan: brined cucumbers, turnips, olives and chillies set on the table with every meal. Home brining of turnips with beetroot and of small cucumbers is standard practice in Jordanian households.

How long does Mkhallal take to make?

Mkhallal takes 30 min plus 1 to 2 weeks of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes fills 2 × 1-litre jars. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mkhallal?

Yes, within limits. Cauliflower, carrot or small aubergines, all of which are pickled this way. Lemon slices in the cucumber jar, which is common.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mkhallal?

Dissolve the salt in the water and stir in the vinegar. The splash of vinegar gives the brine an acidic head start, which is why Levantine pickles come ready faster than a pure salt ferment.