Tkemali is a sauce of traditional Georgian cuisine. It is made from small wild-growing plums, which can vary in color and taste. The classic tkemali sauce has a sour-spicy pungent taste. It is in perfect harmony with Caucasian cuisine and is not at all difficult to prepare at home.
Brief information about tkemali plums
Georgian cuisine is considered one of the most distinctive, delicious and unique cuisines in the world. In traditional Georgian cuisine, they know how to cook meat with sauces and seasonings especially delicious. The most popular sauces are satsebeli, satsivi and tkemali. Wild tkemali plums grow in almost every Georgian yard. Not a single Georgian feast is complete without this spicy sauce.
The wild plum tkemali is a subspecies of cherry plum, which belongs to the Rosaceae family. The sauce is made from red, yellow and green cherry plums. When choosing plums for tkemali sauce, it should be borne in mind that spicy tkemali with sourness is obtained from red and yellow plums. Green plums are sweeter, so turner is added to enhance the taste. In the recipe for the classic Georgian tkemali, the ombalo herb (a type of swamp mint) is necessarily present. Ombalo grows mainly in the mountainous regions of Georgia, this plant gives a unique tart taste to tkemali sauce. You can replace ombalo seasoning with lemon balm or mint.
Benefits and contraindications of tkemali sauce
The popular Georgian sauce is prepared only from natural ingredients. It is useful for the human body due to its high content of fiber, pectin and vitamin C. Pectin has the ability to remove heavy metals and toxins from the body, and also lowers cholesterol levels, improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, enhances metabolism and improves immunity. In addition, tkemali plum contains organic acids, minerals, tannins, vitamins B1, B2, E, P and trace elements. For those who want to lose weight, tkemali sauce, due to the large amount of spices and herbs, perfectly burns excess calories and helps to digest meat and fatty foods.
The sauce should be used with caution for people who have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcer, heartburn, gastritis). Since it contains a large amount of garlic, hot spices and herbs. For this reason, allergic reactions to the ingredients of the sauce or individual intolerance to some of its components are likely.
What is tkemali sauce used with?
Tkemali sauce goes well with meat, fish and vegetable dishes. It can be served with many side dishes, such as potatoes, cereals, pasta. In Georgia, it is served with national dishes: shashlik, chakhokhbili, kupaty, chanakhi, kaurma, buglama, kharcho and basturma. It is also used for grilling poultry and meat.
The classic recipe for tkemali sauce
When choosing a recipe for making tkemali sauce, remember that you can adjust the amount of ingredients in the recipe to your liking. In traditional Georgian cuisine, a lot of hot spices and garlic are usually added. If you prefer a sweeter flavor in the sauce, add more sugar. So, just change the ratio of the ingredients without forgetting to taste the sauce.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg tkemali plum
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 5 medium cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch ombalo (mint mint, can be substituted with lemon balm or regular mint)
- 1 bunch of dill
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- half a bunch of basil
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek (utskho-suneli)
- 1 small chili pod
- 0.5 teaspoon fennel (cerezo)
- 0.3 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 0.5 teaspoon allspice
- 100-150 ml of water
Preparation:
- Wash the tkemali plums and put in a saucepan. Pour the plum with clean cold water and cook over low heat, for 15-20 minutes, until the skin and bone begin to separate from the pulp.
- Throw the boiled plum into a colander with small holes and carefully grind into a clean bowl. The pits and peels should remain in the colander, and the puree plum mass in the bowl.
- Transfer the prepared puree to a saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Add salt, sugar, dry seasonings - utskho-suneli, coriander, pepper.
- Wash and dry the greens well. Beat the herbs in a blender or chop finely and add to the sauce.
- Wash the chili peppers, remove the seeds, chop finely and add to the rest of the ingredients.
- Peel the cloves of garlic, pass through a press, mix with the sauce. Boil the sauce for 5-10 minutes.
- Taste the tkemali while it is hot and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Remove sauce from heat.
Tkemali sauce can be preserved for the winter, or cooled and served.
Tkemali sauce with walnuts
Ingredients:
- 3 kg of red tkemali cherry plum
- 1 head of garlic
- 100 g sugar
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 1 tablespoon hop-suneli spice
- 1 bunch ombalo (mint)
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 1 cup walnuts
- 300 ml of water
Preparation:
- Wash the cherry plum, put in a saucepan and cover with clean cold water. When the water boils, boil the plums for 20-30 minutes, until they are boiled and the pulp begins to separate from the skin. Rub the plum through a colander or sieve.
- Finely chop the greens and garlic or chop with a blender, mix with the cherry plum. Add salt, sugar and hop-suneli seasoning. Stir the tkemali well and put on low heat. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Chop the walnuts and add to the sauce, bring the tkemali to a boil again and remove from the stove.
Divide the sauce into the jars, pour about a tablespoon of vegetable oil on top of each jar and close tightly. Store in a cool, dark place.
Tkemali blackthorn sauce
The blackthorn (blackthorn) is a type of wild-growing plum. It has a sour, astringent taste. Sloe sauces are ideal for meat and poultry dishes. Blackthorn fruits ripen in late autumn. But for the preparation of tkemali sauce from thorns, unripe plums are often used, the taste of which has an astringent sourness.
Ingredients:
- 2 kg sloe
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 2 bunches of dill
- 2 bunches of cilantro
- 2 chili peppers
- 0.5 bunch ombalo (mint)
- 150 ml of water
- Remove seeds from thorns, sprinkle with salt to extract juice. If the plums are not allowed to juice, add water to them and simmer for 5 minutes over low heat.
- Wash the chili peppers, remove the seeds, chop finely and add to the plums. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.
- Wash the greens, dry, chop finely, crush the garlic with a press. Put prepared herbs and garlic in the sauce, boil the tkemali for another 3-5 minutes.
- Mix the resulting sauce well, remove from heat and cool slightly. Beat the tkemali to a puree consistency using a blender.
- If you want to preserve the thorn sauce for the winter, it must be boiled again, then poured into sterile glass jars and sealed with lids.
The sloe tkemali sauce is kept in the refrigerator or in a cool, dark place.
Tkemali thorn sauce with lemon
This sauce is considered versatile and goes well with all meat and fish dishes.
Ingredients:
- 700 g sloe
- 0.5 cups lemon juice
- 25 ml vegetable oil
- 5 medium cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 0.5 teaspoon ground coriander
- 0.5 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 0, 3 teaspoons of ground red pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 150-200 ml of water
Preparation:
- Wash the plums and transfer to a saucepan. Pour in water to lightly cover the fruit and put on fire.
- After the liquid has boiled, cover the pot with a lid and reduce heat. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Drain and let the plums cool. Grind the thorns through a colander or sieve.
- Chop the garlic with a press and finely chop the cilantro.
- Add spices with garlic and herbs to the sauce, mix.
- Pour lemon juice into tkemali, salt, bring to a boil again. Add vegetable oil at the end.
Put the finished sauce in sterilized jars and close the lids. Let the lemon sauce sit for 6-8 hours before serving. Tkemali sauce is stored for about two months in the refrigerator.
