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Classic adjika is a dish of Caucasian cuisine. Initially, its preparation required a lot of expense. First, the pepper pods were hung out in the sun, after which they were ground using stones to a uniform consistency. Garlic and spices were added to the dish. This process can be simplified by using a meat grinder or blender. The main component of adjika is hot pepper, due to which the dish acquires a red tint. Today, the classic recipe allows you to add carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, and apples when cooking. The dish can be prepared without cooking.
Basic cooking principles
To get tasty adjika for the winter, you should adhere to the following recommendations:
- the classic version involves the use of garlic, red pepper and salt;
- when choosing peppers, you need to take into account that ripe specimens are the hottest;
- if the dish turns out to be too spicy, you can adjust the taste by adding apples;
- You can also reduce the spiciness of the dish by using bell pepper;
- maximum nutrients are preserved in preparations without cooking;
- for winter preparations, it is better to boil all the components to increase the shelf life of adjika;
- adjika has low calorie content;
- excessive consumption of adjika can lead to stomach irritation;
- Before you start cooking, you need to choose the right utensils - iron or enamel container;
- the dish becomes more aromatic by adding spices (coriander, suneli hops, cilantro);
- for adjika, choose ripe and fleshy tomatoes;
- It is better to prepare the dish with gloves, especially if hot pepper is used;
- For winter preparations, you need to sterilize the jars and their lids.
The simplest recipe
Classical adjika recipe involves the use of raw vegetables. The dish is prepared quickly enough using a minimum set of ingredients:
- Sweet pepper (1 kg) is cut into pieces and the stalks are removed.
- Half a kilogram of garlic is peeled.
- You also need to prepare 3 kg of tomatoes and 150 g of hot pepper.
- All components are passed through a meat grinder.
- The resulting vegetable mixture is thoroughly mixed, salt and sugar are added to taste.
- The vegetable mixture is left overnight without cooking or other processing.
- The next day, the preparations are laid out in jars.
Cossack adjika
Classic Cossack adjika made from tomatoes will appeal to lovers of spicy food:
- To prepare, you need 1 kg of tomatoes, which need to be washed well.
- Hot red pepper (1 kg is enough) needs to be washed, then cut and the stalk removed. You can leave the seeds, then the sauce will be even hotter.
- Garlic (three heads) must be peeled and passed through a garlic press.
- Tomatoes are passed through a blender or meat grinder.
- The resulting mass is placed on the stove and brought to a boil.
- After the boil begins, you need to add salt to the vegetable mass and mix it thoroughly.
- Garlic and pepper are added to the vegetable mass.The vegetable mixture should simmer for a few more minutes, but no more than ten.
- The finished sauce is poured into jars and rolled up.
- The jars are wrapped in a blanket for several hours until they cool completely.
Caucasian adjika
Classical Caucasian adjika without cooking it will be a good addition to the table:
- Four sweet peppers are cut into pieces, after which you need to remove the seeds from them.
- Hot pepper (0.3 kg) cut into small pieces. To make adjika less spicy, it is enough to use 0.2 kg of hot pepper.
- Vegetables prepared in this way are placed in a container and chopped using a blender or meat grinder. As a result, you need to obtain a homogeneous consistency.
- Add salt (2 tablespoons) to the finished mixture and mix the adjika so that the salt is distributed throughout its entire mass.
- Basil or cilantro is added to the vegetable mass.
- The finished mass is placed in jars.
- Before using the product, let it brew for 40 days. After this, you can use adjika as a snack or sauce.
Georgian adjika
A delicious snack can be prepared according to the classic Georgian adjika recipe:
- Before starting work, it is recommended to wear rubber gloves, since you will have to interact with sharp products.
- First you need to prepare hot peppers, of which 0.4 kg is taken. The stalks are removed from vegetables. If you need to achieve maximum sharpness, then leave the seeds.
- Garlic (0.2 kg) is peeled and finely chopped.
- Peeled walnuts (150 g) must first be placed in the oven or in a hot frying pan. This will remove excess moisture from the nuts.
- Finely chop cilantro or other greens.
- All prepared ingredients are placed in a blender and grinded until a homogeneous mass is obtained.If after processing there is too much juice, it must be drained.
- The prepared vegetable mixture is rolled into jars without cooking.
Abkhazian adjika
The traditional Abkhaz recipe for adjika includes the following sequence of actions:
- One onion is peeled and finely chopped.
- Do the same with garlic, of which you need 2 heads.
- Finely chop the cilantro and basil.
- Walnuts (150 g) are crushed, to which dry chili pepper, suneli hops and salt are added.
- All prepared components are mixed. If adjika turns out to be too dry, it can be diluted with water.
A modern version of Abkhazian adjika involves using tomato paste and fresh chilies instead of dry peppers.
Classic spicy adjika
Another traditional recipe allows you to get a spicy snack for the winter:
- 2 kg of red sweet pepper is cut into several parts and the seeds and stalks are removed.
- Do the same with red chili peppers, the stalks of which need to be removed.
- 0.4 kg of garlic is peeled.
- The prepared components are passed through a meat grinder twice to obtain the most homogeneous consistency.
- Paprika, spices, and cilantro are added to the resulting mass.
- Place the vegetable mixture on low heat.
- When the vegetable mass begins to boil, remove the container from the heat and pour into jars.
Classic adjika with horseradish
By adding horseradish you can achieve sharpness and piquancy in adjika. Tomatoes make a tasty and unusual snack for the winter:
- Ripe tomatoes (2 kg) are cut into pieces. For bell pepper (1 kg), you need to remove the stem and seeds.
- Then you need to carefully peel one fresh horseradish root.
- Tomatoes and sweet peppers are passed through a meat grinder.
- Ground black pepper is gradually added to the vegetable mass. At the same time, you need to constantly check the taste of the dish to avoid excessive spiciness.
- Horseradish root is crushed and added to adjika.
- You need to add 9% vinegar (1 glass) and salt (1 glass) to the dish.
- The container with the vegetable mass is covered with cling film and left for several hours.
- After the specified time, the excess liquid is drained, after which the adjika is placed in jars or served.
Spicy adjika
Not everyone will like the spicy snack. In this case, you can prepare a delicious sauce that contains a minimum of spicy ingredients. Variations of the classic recipe allow you to get a more piquant adjika:
- Ripe tomatoes (3 kg) are cut into pieces, bell peppers (10 pcs.) are cleared of seeds, carrots (1 kg) must be peeled and cut into small cubes.
- The next step is preparing the apples. To do this, you will need 12 sweet and sour green apples, peeled and seeded.
- The prepared components are sequentially passed through a meat grinder. Hot pepper will help add piquancy, however, it should be used with caution and periodically check the dish for taste.
- The resulting vegetable mass is placed in a saucepan and put on fire.
- When the adjika boils, you need to reduce the heat and stir the mixture for an hour.
- 10 minutes before removing the dish from the stove, add olive oil (1 glass), vinegar (150 ml), sugar (150 g) and salt (30 g).
- The finished dish is placed in jars and served as an appetizer.
Adjika with carrots and onions
A delicious snack is prepared using simple technology using carrots and onions:
- 0.5 kg of red bell pepper needs to be chopped and seeds removed.
- 0.5 kg of carrots and 2.5 kg of tomatoes are cut into several parts.
- Hot pepper (3 pieces) is cut into pieces, removing the stalk.
- 0.2 kg of garlic is peeled.
- Vegetables prepared in this way are passed through a meat grinder.
- 0.3 kg of onion is grated.
- All components are mixed and placed on the stove. The dish needs to simmer for half an hour.
- Then sugar (1 cup) and salt (a quarter cup) are added to the adjika. The dish is cooked for another hour over low heat.
- If the sauce is being prepared for further canning, the cooking time is extended to 2.5 hours.
- At the ready stage, add 250 ml of vegetable oil to the dish.
- For canning you will need 250 ml of 9% vinegar.
- The finished adjika is canned or served.
Conclusion
Adjika is a common type of homemade preparation. It is added as a sauce to dishes made from chicken, duck, pork and other types of meat. Adjika can be prepared by mixing vegetables raw or by boiling them. The classic version is prepared based on hot peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and spices. If necessary, the taste of the preparations is adjusted by adding sweeter or spicier ingredients.