By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated October 14, 2026  | ★ 4.6 (10 reviews) | 26 comments

Sri Lankan wambatu moju(batu moju or eggplant moju).
Wambatu moju, also known as brinjal moju, is a Sri Lankan pickle of fried eggplant strips, shallots, and green chillies mixed with mustard vinegar to pickle them. Giving it a combo of sweet, sour, and heat.
A delicious eggplant pickle or relish for your festive table.

What readers say
“Thank you so much for this recipe. It came out really well. In fact, all your recipes I’ve tried so far have turned out amazing!”
Harshini

Most of my readers get the eggplant frying step wrong the first time. Watch before you cook for the best results.

What does Batu moju taste like?

The combo of sweet and sour, the crunch of the shallots, and the deep-fried brinjals all work well to give you this vegetable pickle.
It takes on the quality of both a pickle and a relish, and the balance of sweet and sour makes it a favourite on festive tables.
You’ll have every opportunity to taste the moju curry if you ever set foot in a Sri Lankan restaurant or home; the dish is a classic and found in most Sri Lankan menus.

What is wambatu moju?

• Wambatu is the Sinhala word for eggplant, so wambatu moju is a Sri Lankan eggplant pickle. You’ll also see it written as batu moju, brinjal moju, eggplant moju, aubergine moju, or wambotu moju.
• Other names for wambatu moju.
  • Brinjal moju, Batu moju, Aubergine moju, and Eggplant moju are some of the well-known names for this eggplant recipe.

The difference between Wambatu Moju and Brinjal Pahi

The two names are often swapped. Wambatu moju is a pickle-style relish of fried eggplant, shallots, and green chillies in a mustard and vinegar dressing, with no coconut milk. Brinjal pahi is fried eggplant simmered in a tamarind, vinegar, and coconut milk sauce.

Ingredients for Wambatu Moju

You’ll find exact quantities in the recipe card below.

• Eggplant:
  • Always buy and cook fresh eggplant. The longer it’s kept after picking, the more bitter it tastes.
  • Turmeric powder and salt: to season the strips before frying.
  • Oil: Coconut, vegetable, or sunflower oil, to fry in batches.
  • Shallots
  • Green chillies: medium-sized
  • Ginger-garlic paste: make your own ginger-garlic paste or use store-bought.
  • Red chilli powder
  • Mustard powder: pound the mustard seeds or use a grinder.
  • Vinegar: coconut vinegar works best (substitute with white vinegar)
  • Sugar

What you will need in the kitchen

• Chopping board and knife
• Large tray lined with kitchen towels
• Medium-sized frying pan
• Small bowl
• Slotted spoon
• Spice grinder for the mustard
• Tongs
• A large bowl to mix all the components of the brinjal pickle
• Dry, airtight glass bottle

How to make Batu Moju(Brinjal Moju)

PHOTO TUTORIAL

Prep the ingredients

Have all the ingredients for the batu moju ready.

Season the eggplants

Cut the eggplant to the required size (see notes above).
Place the thick strips in a bowl or on a flat surface.
Add salt and turmeric powder, combine, cover, and leave for 10 minutes.

Fry the eggplant

Place a frying pan over medium heat, pour in the oil, and gradually bring it to frying temperature.
Keep the heat steady; don’t let it smoke, as this burns the eggplant. If it does smoke, turn off the heat, wait a few minutes, and start again.
Gently squeeze out any extra liquid from the strips.
Fry in small batches, uncovered, until deep golden brown. Don’t take them to dark brown; overfried eggplant turns bitter.
Place the fried eggplant/brinjal on paper towels to absorb oil.
You can also air fry the eggplant strips to make this Sri Lankan eggplant recipe.

Fry the Shallots and Chillies

Use the same oil to fry the shallots and green chillies for 1 to 2 minutes over low-medium fire. 

Place these with the brinjals on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

In a separate bowl, add mustard powder, ginger-garlic paste, salt to season, red chilli powder, sugar, and vinegar.
Combine well until the sugar dissolves.
Taste, and adjust until the sour, sweet, and heat are in balance.

Mix and Rest

Add the shallots and green chillies and combine well.

Add the fried aubergines/eggplant to the pickling onions and green chillies.

Set aside for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving for a better-tasting wambatu moju.

What to serve with Wambatu(brinjal) moju

• Rice
  • Plain white rice
  • Sri Lankan yellow rice
  • Ghee rice
• Fried rice
  • Chicken Fried Rice
  • Beef fried rice
  • Vegetable fried rice (spicy)
• Try the Batu Moju with various biryani rice
  • Chicken biryani (Hyderabadi)
  • Chicken Pot Biryani
• Vegetable curries
  • Sri Lankan spicy Dry Potato curry (ala theldala)
  • Sri Lankan Potato curry (ala kiri hodi)
  • Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry
  • Cashew curry(kaju maluwa)
  • Sri Lankan Dhal curry (parippu, dal, daal)
• Meat and fish
  • Slow-cooked beef curry (like my grandmother makes)
  • Sri Lankan chicken curry
  • Sri Lankan red chilli fish curry
  • Kalupol-spicy black chicken curry

Frequently asked questions about Wambatu moju

• What Is Wambatu Moju in English?
  • Wambatu is the Sinhala word for eggplant, so wambatu moju is a Sri Lankan eggplant pickle. You’ll also see it written as batu moju, brinjal moju, eggplant moju, aubergine moju, or wambotu moju.
• Brinjals, eggplant, aubergines. Are they different?
  • No, they are not; they all refer to the same vegetable, depending on which part of the world you hail from.
• Why Is My Wambatu Moju Bitter or Soggy?
  • Bitterness usually comes from eggplant that isn’t fresh, or from frying it too dark. Sogginess comes from crowding the pan, oil that isn’t hot enough, or covering the pan while frying.
• Can I Make Wambatu Moju Ahead?
  • Yes. It tastes better after resting, so make it at least 1 to 2 hours before your meal, or the day before a festive table.

Storage, Freezing and Reheating Guide

Storing: Wambatu moju is fridge-only. Store it in a clean, dry glass jar and always use a dry spoon.
Freezing: As it’s a pickle, I don’t freeze it; refrigerate it.
Serving from the fridge: avoid reheating. Spoon a portion into a bowl and let it come to room temperature; don’t return leftovers to the jar.

More Sri Lankan Eggplant Recipes

Eggplant sweet and sour curry (Sri Lankan brinjal pahi).
Sri Lankan fried brinjal salad
Creamy eggplant curry
Sri Lankan kaliya curry (cooked ash plantain-brinjal curry)
Fried eggplant (brinjals)in yoghurt salad

Watch more Sri Lankan recipes on my YouTube channel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEHAN
Recipe creator. Food Blogger. Video creator
I’ve been cooking and sharing Sri Lankan recipes, along with other dishes I love making at home on Island Smile since 2015. I’ve tested every recipe on this site more than once in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog.
I grew up eating this food, and I still cook it the same way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough that you can follow.
If a recipe doesn’t work the way I say it will, tell me in the comments; I read every one, and I’ll help you fix it.

Little things, big feelings…….
Once in a while, often a little piece of my life enters the blog; these can be feelings and moments I would like to reflect on later.
If you are really in a hurry to get to the recipe, please scroll down to the recipe, but I would suggest that you continue reading this part of the post; there’s a lesson somewhere in this short paragraph you might relate to.
Today I watched my youngest wearing her shoes…
It took me a few minutes to realise that she didn’t ask me to help her, 6.00 a.m. is not exactly the time to start with the waterworks, but I sure did choke on a few tears.
A few years back, I couldn’t wait for my kids to grow up; they were my terrible four, and they were honest to god real terrors. Some days it felt like I was being pulled, prodded, and made to take sides in four directions.
I used to wish for a fast-forward button or time to just move a bit quicker, so each one of them could just grow up and do their own thing.
When she(18), started with wanting her own room to being a typical teenage girl who knew what she wanted and wanted to do everything on her own, I thought, “well, that’s o.k, I’ve got three more who needs me and I can’t wait for them to grow up quick”.
Then he(17) started grooving to his own tune,” Two down, two to go, I’m going to be free to do a bit of my own thing, maybe go out and have fun with my friends”.
And then, he(12), not grown up yet, but he’s been watching and following the footsteps of his elder siblings, is just about to break loose from his mama’s clutches.
And it hit me,
I’m almost close to ending the first stages of bringing up my kids, helping them with tiny things that they couldn’t do on their own.
And today, when I watched her(7) wearing her shoes, I realised she’s the last one. Although not grown up yet, she’s doing all her own things more than any of the three combined.
I thought I’d be glad, I thought I’d start doing a happy jig… not choking on tears that my babies are almost grown-up.
That’s how fast time flies, I’ve been worrying about the chores, basically doing what every other mother does out there, except savouring those little moments that create memories for life.