Tkemali cook for 35 – 40 minutes.
The total cooking time for tkemali from 1 kilogram of plums is 1 hour.
How to cook tkemali
Products for tkemali
per 1 liter of tkemali
Plums or cherry plum – 2 kilograms
Cilantro or parsley – half a medium bunch
Dill – half a medium bunch
Garlic – 5 teeth
Dried hot pepper – half a teaspoon
Water – half a glass (150 milliliters)
Salt – 2 tablespoons
Vinegar – 1 teaspoon 70% vinegar
Sugar – 4 tablespoons
How to cook tkemali
1. Wash the plums, cut them in half and remove the pits.
2. Put the plums in an enameled or brass pot.
3. Pour in water and put the pan on the fire, bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the juiciness of the tkemali.
4. Put boiled plums in a colander, plum broth is no longer needed.
5. Rub the plums through a colander with a mortar. Remove plum skin.
Wash and dry cilantro and dill, finely chop or chop with a blender.
Peel and mince the garlic with a garlic press.
Plum puree put on fire, add salt, sugar, herbs, spices. Bring tkemali with constant stirring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, removing the foam.
Add greens, garlic, pepper to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, pour in the vinegar and stir.
Arrange the boiled tkemali sauce in sterilized jars and leave to cool completely.
Fuss facts about tkemali
Varieties of plums for tkemali
Fresh plums are suitable for tkemali: cherry plum, blue ripe or slightly unripe fruits, thorns (not to be confused with prunes, which are not suitable for making tkemali). Slightly ripe fruits are allowed.
How to serve tkemali
Serve tkemali in a gravy boat with meat, poultry, fish dishes, just on bread. Great as a sauce for barbecue, side dishes of vegetables, rice, pasta.
What to cook with tkemali
– Ombalo (marsh or flea mint) – a spicy herb growing in the Caucasus – is necessarily added to the traditional sauce recipe .
– Ombalo has nothing to do with ordinary mint; if necessary, this spice can be replaced with ground coriander seeds or thyme. Fresh herbs are put in the classic tkemali sauce: cilantro, dill, parsley, basil, and garlic.
– The only dried ingredient in tkemali is red hot pepper, but not ground, but chopped into small pieces.
– In modern recipes , the use of dry herbs is allowed . They help preserve the bright and rich color of the sauce, which, when fresh herbs are added, takes on a brown tint, especially when stored for a long time. Also, when cooking tkemali, you can add adjika .
How to replace plums in tkemali
Alternatively, use gooseberries instead of plums.
How long to store tkemali Store tkemali
for 1 year in a cool place.
What is Tkemali
– Tkemali is a Georgian sauce traditionally made from local plums of the Tkemali variety.