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Every nation has special dishes, recipes for which are passed down from generation to generation. Georgian Tkemali can safely be called the calling card of an entire nation. Classic tkemali is made from wild plums of the same name. This sauce is an excellent addition to meat, fish, and poultry, allowing you to reveal their taste.
Georgian housewives often prepare tkemali from yellow cherry plum. And the sauce made from green and red cherry plums is just as good. These fruits contain a lot of acid, which is necessary for classic tkemali. We will try to reveal some of the secrets of making the sauce with photographs. Moreover, the taste of the finished seasoning will depend on the herbs and spices used. You can create an entire experimental laboratory in the kitchen.
Little tricks
For Georgian tkemali sauce for the winter, you can use yellow, green or red cherry plum. Although the seasoning is traditionally prepared from yellow fruits.
- In Georgia, the sauce is prepared in large quantities; not a single meal is complete without it. Recipes usually indicate a small amount of ingredients. When preparing the sauce, the cherry plum boils down greatly.
- Georgians are big fans of herbs, but they are added depending on the color of the selected fruit.For example, fresh herbs are more suitable for yellow cherry plum. Dried spices and herbs are added to the red or pinkish berry sauce. The taste of tkemali made from green fruits is perfectly revealed both with dried spicy ingredients and with fresh ones.
- According to the rules of Georgian cuisine, ombalo grass is added to cherry plum tkemali for the winter. But it grows only in Georgia. Instead, you can use lemon balm, thyme or peppermint.
- Vinegar is never used to prepare Georgian tkemali sauce from yellow cherry plum. After all, the berries themselves contain a large amount of acid, which is an excellent preservative. The sauce does not require additional sterilization.
- When pouring sauce, it is better to use small bottles, for example, ketchup bottles, since opened tkemali cannot be stored for a long time.
We hope that these little tricks will help you prepare cherry plum tkemali and treat your family.
Tkemali from yellow cherry plum
Georgian sauce made from yellow cherry plum fruits is inherently intended for meat dishes. It is distinguished by its pungency and spice. Don't rush to make a large portion. First cook using a minimum amount of ingredients. If you like everything, make as much sauce for the winter as your family needs.
For yellow cherry plum tkemali recipe you will need to stock up on the following ingredients:
- yellow cherry plum fruits – 1 kg 500 g;
- granulated sugar - 5 tablespoons;
- salt (not iodized) – 1 heaped tablespoon;
- parsley, dill and cilantro in total - 60 g;
- garlic - 5 cloves;
- ground red hot pepper – 1 teaspoon;
- vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons.
Cooking method
We offer you a recipe with a step-by-step description and photos.After all, many housewives have not yet cooked such tkemali.
Step one
Wash the cherry plum thoroughly and remove the stalks.
Step two
Tkemali yellow cherry plum sauce for the winter according to the classic recipe should have a creamy consistency. But the fruits have a tough skin, and it’s not so easy to remove the seeds even from overripe cherry plums. You will tell me what to do then. This is how to cook the sauce and we will talk about it.
Place the fruits in a saucepan and fill with water so that the cherry plum is completely covered.
Cook it for no more than 25 minutes over high heat. We count the time from the moment it boils under the lid. This time is enough for the yellow berries for the sauce to soften.
Step three
We take out the yellow cherry plum with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a colander to drain the liquid.
Grind the boiled berries thoroughly to remove seeds and pulp. We will end up with cherry plum puree.
Step five
Add salt and granulated sugar to the prepared puree and cook for a quarter of an hour at low temperature. The cherry plum mixture must be stirred constantly so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Step six
While you cook the tkemali base, prepare the greens. Classic seasoning recipes require the presence of a large amount of this component. We thoroughly wash the leaves from sand and chop them with a knife.
We have already talked about experiments in preparing tkemali.
Remove the outer clothing and inner films from the garlic. Grind in a garlic press. Add greens and garlic to the future yellow sauce.Immediately add red pepper to the cherry plum, as indicated in the recipe. It will take another 15 minutes to cook. Then remove from the stove.
Step seven
What you have in the pan is a mass of yellow color with green splashes of herbs. Place the Georgian seasoning for meat into prepared jars, add oil to them and immediately close hermetically.
Tkemali made from yellow cherry plum can be stored in any dark and cool place.
We talked about how to prepare spicy cherry plum sauce for meat dishes. We recommend watching the video.
Yummy, try this:
Red cherry plum sauce - recipe
As we have already noted, seasoning for meat and poultry can be made from red cherry plum. We offer you one of the recipes for preparing for the winter.
What you will need:
- 2 kg of cherry plum, pink fruits can be used;
- half a kilo of ripe tomatoes;
- 6 cloves of garlic;
- 4 sprigs of green mint;
- a pod of hot pepper (chili can be used);
- 30 grams of coriander seeds;
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar;
- 180 grams of sugar;
- 1 tablespoon of natural honey;
- 60 grams of salt (not iodized!).
The winter seasoning is pink in color.
Cooking rules
The initial stage almost completely coincides with the first recipe: red or pink cherry plum is boiled, ground into puree and put on fire.
10 minutes after the first bubbles appear, add all the ingredients intended for the sauce, except vinegar. Cook tkemali for another 7 minutes and add vinegar.
The preparation of the sauce is complete. Pour into jars and put in the refrigerator or cellar.
Many of our readers complain that I cook and prepare sauces for the winter, but they instantly disappear. But this is great, it means everything is incredibly tasty.
Conclusion
Georgian cuisine is famous for its sauces.They don't have any names! Cherry plum tkemali is not in last place among seasonings. Take any of the suggested recipes as a basis and prepare some goodies for your family. Believe me, even a piece of bread spread with tkemali will become more appetizing.
