I have already written about ajvar, a close relative of pinđur. It is said to originate from Macedonia (North Macedonia 🇲🇰) as well, however the word pinđur is of Hungarian 🇭🇺 origin. Like the internationally better known ajvar, it is popular all over the Balkans, with many local variations, all containing pointy red peppers (crvena rog-paprika in Croatian) and tomatoes (the tomatoes are the main difference to ajvar – ajvar is never made with tomatoes!). Like ajvar, it is commonly made at the end of summer, when ripe and juicy peppers and tomatoes are abundant and cheap in these parts of the world.

Here in Croatia 🇭🇷 this delicious relish (condiment, sauce, chutney, call it as you wish) is made only with tomatoes and peppers, in weight ratio 1:2. To get the proper taste, one also needs garlic, sunflower oil, apple vinegar, salt and sugar. Many add parsley, some add hot peppers or some other spices. It is slightly less work than ajvar, because of two reasons – it is not necessary to drain the peppers overnight (even if it can reduce cooking time), and more importantly it should not be fully smooth, so no grinding or blending required. It is still a bit of a labour of love, but this is mostly due to the time needed, not because being very complicated to make!

Suitable for: Pinđur is vegetarian, vegan, halal and kosher. It does not contain any of common allergenes (glutene, lactose, soy, shellfish, nuts, eggs).

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⌚ Ca. 4 hours

Ingredients 🛒 (for 4 jars, each ca. 200 ml)

1.5 kg pointy red peppers of good quality 🫑, 0.75 kg ripe juicy tomatoes 🍅, 3 garlic cloves, 35 ml apple vinegar, 80 ml sunflower oil, a handful of chopped (straight-leaved) parsley, 1/2 tbsp salt, 2 tbsp sugar

How to 🍳

Preheat oven to 200°C. Wash the peppers and the tomatoes. Remove the stems from the peppers, halve them, remove the seeds. Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, skin side up. Bake for ca. 35-40 min, until charred. Meanwhile, heat water in big pot and blanch the tomatoes.

Transfer peppers to an empty pot, cover and leave for about 30 min. Peel the tomatoes, remove their stems and chop into small cubes. Transfer them into the pot in which you plan to cook your pinđur.

Put the pot on medium heat. Peel the skin off the peppers, chop, and add on top of the tomatoes, stir. Finely chop the garlic and parsley, add into the pot. Mix the juice that remained from the peppers in the pot they were cooling off, vinegar, oil, salt, and sugar. Pour this mix into the pot. Stir.

Continue cooking (lid off!) on low to medium heat, stirring every few minutes, until reduced to a thick sauce. It takes about 2 hours of cooking, and you know it is done when you stir but “see the bottom of the pot”, meaning that when you stir the mixture, it does not immediately cover the pot, but you can see the bottom for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, sterilise your jars and their lids. Pour the hot pinđur into them, screw lids on, turn upside down and leave like that until cooled down. Then transfer to a dark place. They will be good for a few months, after opening they should be refrigerated.

N. B. You can reduce the cooking time if you don’t use the juice of the peppers, and if you strain the tomatoes before cooking.