Popular Georgian spices are famous far beyond the borders of their home country. However, few people know what is the difference between utskho-suneli and hop-suneli.
Suneli Hops is a herbal blend that includes hot red peppers, parsley, celery, coriander, mint, fenugreek, saffron, thyme, savory and a few more ingredients. Translated from Georgian, hops-suneli means "dry aroma". All herbs are taken in equal proportions, except for saffron and pepper - their composition does not exceed 1%. Hops-suneli is used to flavor meat, fish, vegetables and other dishes of the national oriental cuisine.
Utskho-suneli is ground blue fenugreek seeds, is an independent seasoning, well complements meat, fish, vegetable and other dishes, as well as an integral part of many spices, including hops-suneli. This seasoning has a greenish color, pleasant nutty aroma and tart taste. It reveals its taste only after roasting.
Depending on the type of fenugreek, the seasoning prepared from its seeds is also called differently - fungurek, shambhala. These spices are quite interchangeable, so they are often confused. Blue sweet clover, blue clover, shamrock are synonyms for blue fenugreek.
