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Even from the name of this spicy sauce you can understand that it came from hot Georgia. Sauce tkemali from plums is a traditional dish of Georgian cuisine, it is prepared with the addition of a large number of herbs, spices and herbs. Tkemali is good for health, but it can only be eaten by those who do not have stomach problems, because the sauce is quite spicy. The traditional recipe for tkemali involves the use of Georgian plums of red or yellow color, their variety is also called tkemali. Today, sauce recipes are very diverse: instead of plums, you can use any berries (gooseberries, currants or sloe), and Georgian mint (ombalo) is replaced with regular mint or not added to the dish at all. Sourish tkemali is especially tasty with poultry, but it is also eaten with fish and meat, and added to pasta or pizza.
How to cook tkemali, how the recipes for this sauce differ, can be found in this article.
Recipe for plum tkemali for the winter
Tkemali plum sauce prepared according to this recipe will not be a shame to treat the most picky guests. It will go well with shish kebab, barbecue or chicken thigh, as well as with homemade cutlets or meatballs.
When preparing tkemali for the winter, you need to stock up on the following products:
- “oblique” plum in the amount of 1.5 kg;
- a head of garlic;
- ten spoons of sugar;
- two tablespoons of salt;
- a teaspoon of prepared Khmeli-Suneli seasoning;
- 50 ml vinegar.
First, you need to wash the plums, changing the water to clean water several times. Now the pits are removed from the plums, and the garlic is peeled. Plum slices along with garlic are passed through a meat grinder.
After preparing the puree, add spices, sugar and salt. Now put the puree on the fire and stir continuously until the plum releases juice. After this, you can stir only occasionally so that the sauce does not burn.
You need to cook the puree over low heat for about an hour, at the end of the process add vinegar, stir and turn off the heat. Roll the sauce into sterile half-liter jars, after which they are wrapped in a warm blanket.
Delicious classic plum tkemali
To prepare traditional tkemali sauce from plums for the winter, you will have to find real Georgian plums and pennyroyal. Ombalo mint does not grow in our area, but it can be found dried or ordered through an online spice store.
The sauce made from Tkemali plums is sweet and sour, very aromatic and tasty - like all recipes in Georgian cuisine.
For 800 ml of sauce you will need the following ingredients:
- Georgian plum – 1 kg;
- a tablespoon of salt;
- two and a half spoons of sugar;
- 3-5 cloves of garlic;
- small chili pepper;
- fresh dill - a bunch;
- Georgian mint – a bunch of fresh or a handful of dried;
- a small bunch of cilantro;
- dried coriander - teaspoon;
- the same amount of suneli (fenugreek).
When all the ingredients have been collected, you can start preparing the classic sauce:
- The plums need to be washed and placed in a pan. Add half a glass of water there and put on fire. Cook over low heat until the skins of the plums begin to separate.
- Make a puree from boiled plums by grinding them through a metal sieve or fine colander.
- The resulting mixture should be brought to a boil over low heat. Then add dry spices.
- Fresh greens are washed and finely chopped with a sharp knife, then also added to the sauce.
- Chili peppers are cut as finely as possible and added to the puree, garlic squeezed through a press is also added, and the mass is mixed.
- Place the delicious tkemali sauce in jars and seal them for the winter using sterile lids.
Traditional Georgian recipes are distinguished by their spiciness, so those who do not really like spicy food are advised to reduce the dose of chili or completely remove this ingredient from their dish.
Tkemali from yellow sour plums
Of all the sauce recipes, one can highlight tkemali, made from yellow plums. WITHThe lavenders must be sour and not overripe, otherwise the finished dish will look like jam rather than a spicy sauce.
To enjoy a delicious sauce in winter, you need to take the following ingredients:
- kilogram of yellow plums;
- half a shot of sugar;
- a third of a stack of salt;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- a small pod of hot pepper;
- a small bunch of cilantro;
- the same amount of dill;
- half a teaspoon of ground coriander.
Having prepared the ingredients, get to work:
- The plums are washed and the pits are removed.
- Grind the plums using a meat grinder or food processor (for small portions you can use a blender).
- Add sugar and salt to the puree and cook it over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly and add chopped herbs and spices to the sauce.
- Place the aromatic tkemali in small glass jars that have previously been sterilized.
The sauce will be yellow, so it will stand out against the background of red ketchup or adjika.
Recipe for tkemali with tomatoes
It is not necessary to use traditional recipes; you can add tomatoes to the dish. The result will be something between tkemali and ketchup; the sauce can be eaten with pasta, barbecue and other home-made dishes.
Ingredients for tomato and plum sauce:
- 1000 g tomatoes;
- 300 g plums (you need to take unripe plums, they will give the sauce the necessary sourness);
- a pod of hot chili pepper;
- large head of garlic;
- half a teaspoon of ground red pepper;
- spoon of salt;
- a spoonful of ground coriander;
- 250 ml water.
Cook this tkemali a little longer than usual. You will have to go through the following steps:
- The tomatoes are washed and cut into four parts.
- Pour a little water into the pan and simmer the tomatoes there for about 30 minutes until the peel begins to separate from them.
- Cooked and cooled tomatoes are ground through a fine metal sieve.
- Remove the pits from the plums, peel the garlic and chili peppers. All ingredients are passed through a meat grinder.
- Grated tomatoes are poured into the plum puree. Everything is mixed with herbs and spices.
- The whole spicy sauce is simmered over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring continuously with a spoon.
- Now the finished tkemali can be placed in sterile jars and covered with lids for the winter.
Tricks for preparing tkemali
Particularly delicious dishes come from those who know some cooking secrets:
- It is better to take unripe plums, they are more sour;
- the dishes must be enameled;
- Do not put fresh herbs into the boiling mass; the sauce should cool slightly;
- garlic and hot pepper must be chopped very carefully;
- Tkemali can be stored in an uncorked jar for no more than a week, so the size of the jars for the sauce is chosen based on the needs of the family.
If everything is done correctly, tkemali will turn out spicy and very aromatic, this sauce will be a reminder of summer and sunny Georgia. A big plus of the traditional recipe is the absence of vinegar, thanks to this dish you can treat children and those who suffer from gastritis. Also, sour plums contain a lot of vitamin C; tkemali will be an excellent help in maintaining immunity in the cold winter.
