What is "ajvar"

n. relish made principally out of red bell peppers, with eggplant, garlic and chili pepper, predominantly popular in the Western Balkans

Ajvar (, ; ; ) is a type of relish, made principally from red bell peppers, with garlic. It may also contain eggplant and chili peppers. Ajvar originates in the Serbian cuisine and was therefore long known as "Serbian salad" or "Serbian vegetable caviar". It became a popular salad (side dish) throughout Yugoslavia after World War II and is nowadays popular in the Balkans.

Original homemade ajvar is made of roasted peppers, while some industrial producers use cooked peppers, which leads to a lower quality. Depending on the capsaicin content in bell peppers and the amount of added chili peppers, it can be sweet (traditional), piquant (the most common), or very hot. The ajvar can be consumed as a bread spread or as a side dish.