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The cuisine of every nation has its own characteristics. As a rule, they are determined by the range of products that can be grown in a given area. Georgia is a fertile country. Any, even the most heat-loving vegetables, grow well in the hot southern sun. That's why there are so many of them in different dishes. Peppers, tomatoes, beans, onions, and garlic are prepared in Georgia. But the palm undoubtedly belongs to eggplants. They love them there, and they cook them with pleasure no less than in our Russian south. The number of dishes that include these vegetables is large. They also make blanks from them. for the winter.
Pickled eggplants, canned, are very tasty. in pieces with tomatoes. But most often they make caviar.
Classic eggplant Georgian caviar
Georgian eggplant caviar has standard, time-tested ingredients. These are necessarily peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, and various spices. A special feature of Georgian cuisine is a large number of herbs and spices. Not a single meal is complete without a dish with various herbs, and any food is generously seasoned with pepper and other spices. And this is understandable. In hot climates, any dish can quickly go bad. And garlic and pepper slow down this process.
For 6 medium-sized eggplants you will need:
- tomatoes, carrots, hot and sweet peppers - 2 pcs.;
- garlic – 6 cloves;
- parsley - a large bunch;
- lean oil – 150 ml;
- various spices: ground hot pepper, coriander, fenugreek;
- add salt to taste;
This caviar is prepared quickly. Peel the eggplants, cut them into slices and lay them out to the frying pan, pour over oil, sprinkle with salt, fry for 15 minutes.
Finely chop the onion and carrots and fry them together in one frying pan with the addition of oil for just 5 minutes. The fire should be medium. Add crushed tomatoes, add salt, and season with spices. Without further frying, grind the vegetables into a puree.
Fried eggplants, sweet peppers, and garlic are minced through a meat grinder.
Mix all the vegetables, season them with finely chopped parsley, and heat over the fire for another 4-5 minutes. This dish is served hot. Sliced hot peppers are used as decoration.
For winter preparation, the vegetable mixture needs to be heated for about 30 minutes over low heat, adding finely chopped hot pepper.
To keep the caviar better, you can add 1 teaspoon of 9% vinegar to the vegetable mixture.
Caviar is packaged in sterilized jars immediately after preparation. Boiled lids are used for rolling. Banks should be wrapped for a day.
According to the following recipe, caviar is prepared from baked peppers and eggplant, which allows you to reduce the amount of vegetable oil and make the dish more tender. A large number of tomatoes makes the caviar taste rich and the color bright.
Georgian eggplant caviar with onions and baked vegetables
The only spices in the recipe are salt and ground black pepper.But every housewife can expand their range to suit her taste, giving the dish a real “Georgian” taste.
For 5 kg of small eggplants you will need:
- tomatoes – 5 kg;
- carrots, red bell peppers, onions – 2 kg each;
- lean oil – 200 ml;
- garlic – 2 heads;
- hot pepper – 2 pcs.;
- salt and ground pepper.
This caviar is seasoned with spices, salt, garlic and hot pepper according to the taste and desire of the hostess. You can also add chopped greens to the caviar. Parsley and basil go best with eggplant.
Bake sweet peppers and eggplants in the oven. Baking temperature is about 200 degrees. And the time depends on the degree of ripeness of the vegetables.
Meanwhile, three carrots, chop onions, mince tomatoes. In a large frying pan, first fry the onion, then add the carrots, fry again, add the tomato.
Peel the baked and slightly cooled vegetables, remove the seeds from the pepper, and grind through a meat grinder.
Combine all the vegetables and simmer for about 40 minutes. 5-10 minutes before readiness, add spices, salt, chopped garlic and hot pepper, chopped herbs.
The finished caviar should be placed in pre-prepared jars and hermetically sealed. Jars and lids must be sterilized.
The following recipe is not intended for winter preparations. This caviar is served immediately to the table. It contains an ingredient that is unusual for us, but quite familiar to Georgian cuisine - walnuts.
They go well with eggplants and make this dish uniquely delicious. You can buy the balsamic sauce that finishes it off or make it yourself. The eggplants for this dish should be small and very thin.
For 15 eggplants you will need:
- peeled walnuts – 250 g;
- onions – 2 pcs.;
- pepperoni or hot pepper – 1 piece;
- garlic – 3-4 cloves;
- peppercorns and salt - to taste;
- vegetable oil - as much as vegetables require;
- balsamic sauce - to taste.
Bake the eggplants in the oven at 180 degrees until soft.
While the eggplants are baking, use a blender to grind the walnuts to fine crumbs.
Finely chop the onion and sauté a little in oil, add the nuts and fry for another 5-7 minutes.
Peel the warm eggplants and grind them using a blender. Add the eggplant puree to the onions and nuts and fry for 7-10 minutes.
Finely chop the garlic, piperoni or hot pepper, grind or crush the peppercorns. Add all this to the caviar and simmer for a few more minutes.
At the very end, season to taste with balsamic sauce. This caviar is best served cold. It is good both as an independent dish and as a spread on toast.
It’s not so easy to get to Georgia these days. Therefore, you may not be able to try delicious Georgian dishes where they are always prepared. But organizing a “Georgian cuisine day” at home is within the capabilities of every housewife. Satsivi, lobio, khachapuri, kharcho - the list can be long. But eggplant caviar in Georgian style must be prepared.
