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Ikra


I don't know how many of you will know what this is, but it is a Mennonite side dish (with, I'm sure, Ukrainian influence) that was/is a favorite of my husband. It is not unlike Salsa, maybe, but it is made with carrots as the main ingredient.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients (It is a large recipe but I like to put it into jars, sealed for future use -- you may cut the recipe down to desired amout )

24 cups of grated or finely sliced carrots
8-10 cups of green pepper (chopped)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup mazola oil

cook above ingredients for 1 hour

then add.....

6-8 or more onions browned in 1/4 cup oil
2 1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 14oz tomato soup (or tomato paste with water to make it gluten-free)
6 large tomatoes (optional)
5 hot red peppers (or less if you want it milder)
1/2 cup of hot ketchup (or use regular if you wish, I do)

Cook for 20 minutes to 1/2 hour . Remove from heat , and ladle into prepared canning jars or store in fridge for immediate use.
This is eaten cold.

30 comments:

  1. This sounds very interesting. I have an Amish cookbook that I have recently found to be one of the best in my collection and saw a recipe for this very thing. I wondered what it really looked like, now I know. Thank you so much for posting it.

    ~Mrs. M

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  2. I've never heard of this but I love carrots so I would probably like it! Thank you for bringing some 'new' recipes to us!

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  3. How is it typically eaten? As a side dish, or as a condiment? With any particular foods?

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  4. I don't ever remember having this and my parents are both Mennonite. But my Dad didn't like hot spicey food so it probably wasn't an option in our home.I am also curious how it was eaten and with what?

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  5. I had to smile at the size of the recipe .. .envisioning you with a huge pot and a huge wooden spoon with your husband waiting patiently for a taste.
    I don't know if I've ever had it. ..but I love relish .. I bet I'd love this too.

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  6. this is what my mom makes every year as well. i like it, but it is foreign to many so thanks for posting this for others to see.
    it really is a nice carrot relish.

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  7. in our home it is served as a side dish for fasba (buns, cheese and cold cuts) or warm along side a roast beef or chicken. not sure how others eat it.

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  8. I have never had this or heard of it, but it would be tasty. Looks like you have a good supply in your pantry. Kathy

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  9. This brings back memories of my Omi (I had an Omi and and Oma to differentiate)! I'm quite sure it's a Ukranian Dish - that's where she came from. She lived with us and this was something only she made and I don't evn know if my Mom liked it - she never made it.
    I liked tasting anything my Omi made and loved it. I think she mostly had it cold, as a side dish with her fried potatoes etc. It's not spicy.
    Will you be selling any of this Julie? The MCC Sale is coming up.

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  10. I have never heard of this before, but it does sound very good. Too bad it seems to make so much, could one make a smaller batch and have it come out okay?? Thanks for all of the great recipes you provide for us.

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  11. This was a regular side dish at our house growing up. The recipe is large because you preserve it in canning jars to eat throughout the year. We ate it cold, alongside our Sunday supper meal (Faspa) of buns, deli meat and cheese.

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  12. My Mom has a Ikra recipe as well. She uses it for spaghetti sauce, cannelloni sauce, cabbage rolls and lots more and I find it delicious!

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  13. Wow, that sounds great. I haven't heard of it but I like how the carrots are the main ingredient. Yum!

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  14. I do know what Ikra is. My Russian mother has made her version of Ikra for years. She makes hers with eggplant, carrots, onion, tomato sauce and salt.

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  15. Nobody's mentioned this in the comments yet, so I thought I'd throw it out there that "ikra" means "caviar" in Russian (and possibly other Slavic languages). When I lived in Russia, you could buy tins of "vegetable caviar." Yours looks much more appealing than the canned stuff in Russia.

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  16. My Mom used to make this..I never acquired a taste for it though. Maybe it's time to try it again.

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  17. Your carrot relish is quite simular to the Copper Pennies Salad that I am familiar with. Thanks for posting this recipe. I'm going to try it.

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  18. My Oma made this ALL the time and canned it faithfully. She's still living in Clearbrook (she's 88) and doesn't have energy to make it anymore, but can still punch out a batch of buns every once in awhile :-). Thank you for posting this... it reassures me that when my Oma passes away, I'll have some sort of way to still ask questions to someone who KNOWS what Mennonite foods are. :-) Blessings to you all... ~Ruth

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  19. Wow, finally people who know about Ikra! My dad just made some tonight, and we had it with farmer sausage and potatoes and carrots. My Oma would make it for my dad too, but we don't use ketchup, just crushed tomatoes. I love it!

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  20. I grew up with this too. my Mom was from the Ukraine. My Onkel Johnny still makes it every summer. We also make the eggplant Ikra. I eat a whole batch by myself, on sturdy rye bread!

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  21. I'm a good Mennonite boy more accustomed to eating than cooking. However I have taken a recent interest in traditional skills, including food preservation skills.

    Ikra was a favorite dish at home when I was growing up in the 50s. I expect my mother made it very much the way you describe. Certainly she canned it. You don't say you do, but you imply that.

    What has come to intrigue me is that I recall my mother relating how she learned to can in Manitoba in the 1930s and 40s, not from her mother, but from home economists sent out by the government. I am of the opinion that Mennonites only began canning ikra in Canada in the 30s and 40s.

    But I think ikra was common before that, before canning technology was common. So how was it preserved then? I submit it was fermented. Does anyone know for certain? How was it done?
    Eric Rempel, Steinbach Manitoba

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  22. Eric,
    I've always assumed this was a Russian word, the way my grandmother said it and it was one of the few things she made. She came from Russia and never lived in Manitoba. She did not can it and I'm afraid I can't ask her anymore.

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  23. Ikra - thanks for putting your recipe up but I was still looking for one that would also include yellow beans. My mom usually made hers with whatever amount of carrots and beans she had. She did tell me though that her mother's original ikra receipe was based on eggplant, as in the Russian references.

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  24. Ikra on multigrain toast is superb!

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  25. Interesting! I found this while looking for my lost recipe for Armenian Ikra, which is made with eggplant.

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  26. I use Ikra when making a pot roast. In my slow cooker put a little bit of water then the roast and top it off with a 500 ml jar of Ikra. Use the juices to make the best gravy .

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  27. My father's family were Mennonites from Chortitza (Ukraine/Russia) and I am sure they made the eggplant version - I was surprised to find the carrot version so well known. It was served cold or warm and I ate it on home-made whole grain bread as a spread - loved it!

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  28. Rocky Mountain LarryMay 1, 2013 at 8:25 AM

    Thank you for saving this recipe from the sands of time ! ! ! Like others, my Oma made this when I was a boy, and my Irish Catholic father adored this. I've been looking for a good Ikra recipe for years !!

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  29. I found a recipe for ikra in a Manitoba gardening club cookbook. (I'm not Mennonite, though.) It's similar to what you have. I changed one or two minor things and didn't use hot spices. In any case, I really liked this great condiment. Erika: I do add yellow beans to the ikra. So you can, too.

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  30. P.S. to Erika about yellow beans in ikra. I just found the recipe and guess what, cut yellow beans are actually the main ingredient in this version. However, this version is overcooked, so I cut boiling time of the beans in half and then baked the whole mess in the oven as instructed. Came out fine. Preserved fine in jars. Shall I copy the recipe out for you? Yes, I know you last posted here 2 years ago! :)

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