Phali in Georgian: the recipe for cooking

Georgian cuisine occupies a special place in the world's culinary arts. Original, fragrant and insanely delicious dishes, the recipes of which were created many thousands of years ago, are popular not only in Georgia, but also far beyond its borders.

The dishes of Kakheti are to the taste both eastern and western, both northern and southern peoples, because they are universal. By the way, many people think that meat dishes prevail in the Georgian cuisine, but this is far from being the case. Each hostess of this country knows a few dozen, and maybe hundreds of recipes for dishes and sauces from various vegetables and herbs: lobio, adzhika, temali, phali. In Georgian, the latter means leaf cabbage. However, as a dish, it is made not only from this, but also from many other vegetables, herbs and legumes. For example, phalis can be from beets, spinach, beans, eggplants, colored or white cabbage.

In the nineteenth century, when many Russian officers served in Tiflis, this dish became known as mkhali, since the former name, according to the military, was discordant.

Who at least once in his life tried Georgian phali, he certainly could understand what the peculiarity of this dish is in the method of preparation and in spices. In fact, it can be done using a variety of vegetables and greens, but in all variations there are nuts and several fragrant spices.

Further in the article, we will look at how the phali are cooked in Georgian according to a traditional recipe from various products.

What is this dish?

As mentioned above, phalis can be prepared from many herbs and vegetables: beet and its leaves, spinach, carrots, nettles, eggplant, green beans and beans, and, in fact, from different kinds of cabbage. Depending on this, the dish described is called red, white, green, yellow, etc.

Since the name phali is translated as "leaf cabbage", it can be assumed that it was originally made from this vegetable. Later, as a result of the experiments, other recipes were created. Nevertheless, in modern Georgian cuisine the most popular species of phali in Georgian is considered to be green, which is mainly cooked in early spring from fresh greens. Without this dish, there is not a single local table. The best seasoning for meat you can not find, in addition, phalis are very useful and promote digestion. In this article we will tell you about the most popular cooking recipes for the dish described.

Technology of preparation

So, the basis for this dish can be almost anything. In the Adjarian kitchen, even rice is used. How to cook phali for a real Georgian recipe? The product, which is the main ingredient in this dish, is cleaned, finely cut and well brewed. If it's fresh grass, then it should not be boiled, you can only blanch it or give it a little boiling water.

The most important in this dish, which can serve as an independent side dish, as a seasoning or as an appetizer for meat or fish dishes, is sauce-dressing. It is prepared on the basis of wine vinegar, in which walnuts, garlic, chilli, onion, cilantro (coriander), hops-suneli and salt are added to taste. By the way, the heat treatment of the main course should be minimal. In this case, there is no loss of vitamins, in large quantities contained in greens and vegetables.

How do they serve phalis?

In principle, every housewife is free to decorate this dish for presentation to the table, but the most common option is still the formation of small cutlets or bitlets, which are made with the help of a finger groove and put the pomegranate seeds.

At the festive table, as a rule, several types are made at once, which means that different colors are also shoved in Georgian, and they are served on one dish. The result is a beautiful colorful assortment. By the way, the sauce for everyone is the same.

Phali of cabbage: the recipe and the way of cooking

In the first recipe, which we will describe to you, the main ingredient is a vegetable, from whose name this dish happens. In a word, now we will learn how to cook one of the best snacks of Georgian cuisine, namely, phali in Georgian from cabbage.

Required products:

• A small head of cabbage (700 g);
• Two heads of onions;
• Two large cloves of garlic;
• 10 cores of walnuts;
• One bundle of cilantro;
• On a teaspoon of ground coriander and uzho-suneli;
• Salt to taste;
• Red chili pepper;
• Grains of pomegranate for decoration.

How to cook?

Leaves cabbage blanched in salted water, discarded in a colander and let the water drain. After they have cooled down, cut off all the hard parts. Cut cabbage very thinly, and then knead, pre-salt and pepper red pepper.

Cooking sauce

Garlic, onions, greens clean and rinse under running water, then crush and pass through a meat grinder. The same thing to do with nuts. All this season with spices and gently mix until homogeneous. Then sauce to mix with cabbage. From the cabbage-nut mass to form the balls and decorate them with walnuts and pomegranate. Before serving, you need to insist a snack in the fridge for at least one hour.

Phali of white beans

In Georgia, as is known, beans are often used for food. This vegetable-rich product can form the basis of many delicious and healthy hot and cold dishes and snacks. We will tell you how to cook phali from beans in Georgian using a canned white lobio.

Necessary ingredients:

• 1 can of white beans;
• 100 grams of walnuts in a refined form;
• 2-3 small cloves of garlic;
• Coriander (1 bundle);
• A bunch of green onions;
• Saffron and hops-suneli - one tablespoon each;
• Hot chilli pepper;
• salt;
• Grains of pomegranate for decoration.

How to cook phalis from beans?

After opening the cans, the legumes will need to be thrown back onto the sieve to allow excess glass liquid. Then place the beans in a deep bowl and mash with a fork or pestle.

Pre-cook the sauce-filling. To do this, we remove the garlic from the film and knead it in a mortar with salt and nuts until smooth. Add to the walnut-garlic paste finely chopped cilantro, onion, hops-suneli, Imeretian saffron and hot red pepper.

Next, you need to combine the paste from the bean with dressing and also slightly stir. You can feed phali from the bean to the table only after 1,5-2 hours after cooking. Mix the mixture with a slide on a plate, spread it out with a knife or spoon and cover with pomegranate seeds and finely chopped nuts. Gorka decorated with a branch of cilantro.

Phali from eggplant

This is one of the most favorite vegetables for Georgians. Eggplants cook hot first and second dishes, casseroles, salads, sauces, snacks and even jam. One of the popular Georgian dishes is phalli from eggplant. For its preparation it is necessary to acquire the following products:

• Aubergines of medium size (3 pieces);
• A large bundle of coriander;
• Vegetable oil (for lubrication);
• 10 peeled walnuts;
• Salt and pepper (to taste);
• ½ tablespoons ground coriander;
• Three cloves of garlic;
• Grain of one grenade.

Next, we learn how to make eggplant phalas. The recipe is presented below.

Cooking method

Eggplants need to be rinsed under running water, thoroughly dried and made with several forks on them with a fork. Fruit oil and bake in the oven until soft (40 minutes). After the eggplant has cooled, remove the skin from them. Pulp with a fork. Then you need to cook the sauce. To do this, the garlic is peeled, my cilantro, dried and finely chopped. Garlic and nuts are passed through a meat grinder. All this is mixed with the eggplant paste to a homogeneous state, salt, pepper, add ground coriander, etc. Serve the phali from the eggplant, sprinkling it with the seeds of a pomegranate. You can also use walnut kernels for decor.

Dish from beets and cabbage

Telling about this delicacy, it is impossible not to mention the beet-cabbage variant. It is very useful and gives a beautiful view to any table. For its preparation you need large beets, half a cabbage head, onions, walnuts in large quantities (about 200 grams), coriander and parsley, green ajika, spices.

Method of preparation

Cut cabbage and beets together and boil them together in salted water, then recline them on a sieve and let the water drain. After the vegetables have cooled, they must be twisted through a meat grinder. Do the same procedure with onions and walnuts. All this carefully mix and add finely chopped greens of coriander and adjika. If necessary, salt. From this mass to form small balls. Give them an oval shape and put on them the rings of red onions. Decorate with several pomegranate seeds and a fluffy branch of cilantro.

So you learned how to cook another species of phal. The recipe, as you can see, is quite simple. You just need to follow all the rules, and your table will decorate another amazingly delicious and healthy dish.

Green Phal

After reading this article, you certainly want to immediately start making this dish according to one of the above recipes. However, do not rush, as we have not yet told how to cook green phalas, but it is the most delicious and most useful. To make it, you need either spinach or beet tops (leaves). You need to take at least ten beams, two hundred three cloves of garlic, two tablespoons of wine vinegar, a bunch of cilantro. From the seasonings you need hops-suneli, black and red pepper, salt.

We have told the principle of preparation more than once, therefore you can independently make phalis. The recipe, as you can see, varies according to the main product, but the sauce always remains unchanged. We wish you a pleasant appetite!