Tkemali from yellow plum - an ancient recipe

You can learn a lot about the country, its people and customs by studying local food. Dishes of Georgian cuisine are the visiting card of this country. They are familiar to many since childhood, as the housewives gladly use these recipes to please something new and unusual. The main dish of Caucasian cuisine is tkemali sauce made from yellow cherry plum. He must be present on the table.

A small digression

To prepare this sauce, take a small sour cream, which is called "tkemali". It was she who gave the name to this magnificent addition to many dishes. There are several options for cooking tkemali. The recipe and the final product depend on many factors. The color of the sauce is influenced by the color of the plum. In the green sauce also add the turn, which makes it more sweet. A real tkemali sauce made of yellow cherry plum or any other is made with the addition of an ombalo seasoning. This name does not say much, but everyone in Georgia knows it. This is one of the varieties of mint. It gives the sauce an unusual taste and aroma, which can not be confused with anything. During cooking, you can replace it with a simple mint or melissa, but it will be a slightly different taste. Serve tkemali from yellow cherry plum to meat, chicken, fish, potatoes, vegetables and bread. It is also added to the famous soup kharcho. You can say that this sauce is eaten with any dish. Each landlady in Georgia has her own original Tkemali recipe. Arachi trees grow in every yard. Sour plums contain many useful substances, pectins, which help meat digestion in the body more quickly. This is one of the secrets of the longevity of the Caucasian inhabitants.

Tkemali recipe

Recipe tkemali of yellow plum is not too complicated, but requires some skill. We take plums and wash them. During cooking, they are 4 times cheaper. Spread the fruit in a pan and fill it with water (preferably filtered or spring water). The liquid should cover the plums completely. Now cook them until soft, until they boil. After that, we wipe the tkemali sauce from the yellow plum through a sieve. Thus, remove the stone and peel. The rest of the mass continues to boil until it becomes a liquid sour cream. Do not forget to stir the sauce constantly, otherwise it will burn and there will be an unpleasant aftertaste and smell. Now start adding the rest of the ingredients. At 4 kilograms of cherry plums, 4 bunches of fresh coriander, 4 garlic heads, 2 bunches of fresh dill, two pods of bitter pepper, a bunch of mint (ombalo or other) and salt to taste. In the Caucasus, all ingredients are usually pounded in a mortar. It's better to open fragrances. But you can grate garlic on a grater, chop peppers, and chop the greens finely. Add all the spices, seasonings and spices. Then sauce should be added to taste. Ideally, tkemali from yellow plum should be slightly acidic, but not very sharp. Cook for five minutes and turn off the fire. To serve the sauce, the sauce is cooled. For harvesting for the winter it must be poured hot into the prepared containers. At the same time, we observe sterility, so that tkemali does not lose its taste qualities during storage. Vinegar is not added to the sauce. You can put a little thyme. But that the sauce was homogeneous, all the ingredients are well ground.