Tkemali is a sour dark plum, small in size, used in cooking to make sauces rich in taste. This is a traditional Georgian dish, which with great pleasure was adopted by gourmets of various nationalities. And now the sauce is served not only in restaurants to barbecue, other dishes of meat, poultry, various side dishes, sold ready-made in stores and even made at home.
Tkemali classic
The classic tkemale
sauce recipe includes, in addition to plums of this variety, without fail a herb (spice) such as mint. In Georgian, it is called ombalo. Without this herb, Georgians do not consider such a sauce real. A dish is also prepared from other berries and fruits, also with sourness - dogwood, gooseberries, currants (red), even from some grape varieties. The usual tkemale sauce is brewed (the recipe recommends) this way: plums are placed in a cast iron or enamel pan, filled with water (so that they are completely covered) and boiled for 35 minutes. After this, the contents must be wiped through a sieve. Skins from fruits, throw out the bones. Tkemale sauce is already half ready. The recipe further prescribes mashed potatoes along with water, in which the berries were boiled, and let the mass boil a little on low heat until the density is medium sour cream. Garlic, which is also one of the ingredients, must be passed through the garlic or grind in a mortar. Put it in tkemaley sauce. The recipe also advises pouring a handful of coriander, a little red pepper and salt to taste. The sauce should boil for the last time, then refrigerate and serve.
Harvest for the future
If you liked the dish so much that you want to provide yourself for the entire autumn-winter season, then we can tell you how to do it. Brewed in this way, tkemali is well stored, like any quality homemade canned food. For the proposed portion you will need: the sink itself - 1 kg, a little water (half a glass or at your discretion), a medium-sized head of garlic, dry dill (2 tablespoons of spice), coriander and mint (2 teaspoons each), red pepper (dish usually made hot, so one and a half teaspoons are recommended in the recipe, but less can be).
More information on how to make tkemale sauce: divide the fruit into halves, put in an enamel bowl, add water and cook over low heat until the skin and bones begin to lag behind the pulp. The second stage of preparation is that the broth is merged, and the thick is ground in mashed potatoes. The peel with pits (they give the sauce "richness" and a characteristic bitter taste) are reclined, and the flesh is sent for re-cooking. In the pan, as needed, pour the stored broth. Just do not forget to mix your tkemale sauce all the time. Cooking ends when the mashed potato becomes quite thick. Grind the spices into powder and pour into the dish. Salt to taste. Strain the sauce for another 5-7 minutes and remove from heat. If you are satisfied with the taste and aroma, bottle it, add a tablespoon of sunflower oil and close. Let them stand for a day just hermetically sealed, then fill with sealing wax and put in the cellar. The sauce so preserved can be stored for 2 to 3 years.
Bon appetite!