In Georgian cuisine there are a lot of vegetable dishes without meat, which are suitable for fasting and vegetarian food. Among such dishes is phali. This is a kind of terrine of cabbage and greens, most often cooked with the addition of garlic, vinegar and walnuts. Cabbage pkhali can be served as a side dish, creating serious competition for mashed potatoes and spreading on bread, but most often this dish is served in the form of balls decorated with greens or pomegranate seeds. This hearty and healthy dish is unique. If you want to please guests and loved ones with an unusual snack, offer them pkhali from cabbage, they will surely be satisfied with such a treat.
Cooking Features
Cooking pkhali from cabbage is not a difficult task. Even a beginning hostess will cope with it successfully if she knows a few moments:
- Traditional Georgian pkhali is made from cabbage without adding other vegetables. Greens are also used of only one type, usually cilantro. However, the phonic canonical recipe does not exist, and nothing terrible will happen if you add pepper, beet, basil and other ingredients to the dish.
- Cabbage and other products in the preparation of pkhali are ground to a state of mashed potatoes. Make it most convenient with the grinder. If you decide to resort to the help of a blender, the vegetables should be pre-cut into small pieces, the leaves of greenery should be separated from the twigs. This is due to the fact that coarse fibers get stuck between the knives of the blender, preventing the grinding of products.
- Often, phali contains nuts. They can be crushed with a blender, a coffee grinder. They are well ground in a mortar. You can also put the walnut kernels in a bag and roll them over with a rolling pin - they will turn into a large crumb.
- Spicy dishes are popular in Georgia. In the number of recipes phali from cabbage includes a lot of garlic, chili pepper. If you do not like hot dishes, the amount of pepper and garlic can be reduced, but such ingredients are not completely excluded from the composition.
Serve phali from cabbage can be hot or chilled. The temperature depends on whether you serve it to a side dish or as a cold snack.
Classic pkhali recipe from cabbage
Composition:
- white cabbage - 0.5 kg;
- walnut kernels - 100 g;
- onions (optional) - 100 g;
- fresh coriander - 50 g;
- garlic - 5 cloves;
- black and red ground pepper, hops-suneli, salt - to taste;
- grape or apple vinegar (6 percent) - 10 ml;
- pomegranate grains or pieces of red chilli peppers - for decoration.
Method of preparation:
- Wash cabbage, remove the top leaves. Cut the cabbage into small squares (about 4-5 cm), fold into the pan. Fill with water, put on medium heat, bring to a boil.
- Salt the cabbage and boil it for 10-15 minutes.
- Drain, let cabbage dry. Grind it to a state of mashed potatoes using a meat grinder or blender. Transfer to a bowl.
- Wash the greens, let it dry. Finely chop with a knife.
- Put the nuts in a bag, roll a rolling pin over them until they properly crumble.
- Cut the garlic cloves into several pieces.
- Peel the onion, cut it into slices. Grind in the same way as cabbage, mix with cabbage puree.
- Place nuts, herbs and garlic in the bowl of the blender. Pour in vinegar. Stir the unit with knives until smooth.
- Combine the nut mass with cabbage, add spices. Mix thoroughly.
- Form balls of a diameter of a tennis ball from cabbage mass, flatten them, put them on a plate. In the center of each ball, place a grain of pomegranate or a piece of pepper.
Gourmets say that the specific smell of boiled cabbage in this snack is not felt, it is somewhat reminiscent of Forshmak, which they forgot to add herring.
Cabbage and cabbage pickles
Composition:
- white cabbage - 0.5 kg;
- beets - 150 g;
- chili pepper - 0, 5 pcs .;
- onions - 75 g;
- walnuts - 100 g;
- cilantro - 50 g;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- wine vinegar (6%) - 10 ml;
- ground coriander, hops-suneli, salt - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Cut cabbage into medium-sized pieces, boil until soft, cool and squeeze.
- Bake beets or boil until tender. Cool, peel, cut into small pieces.
- Cut a peeled onion into several slices.
- Through the meat grinder, skip the nuts twice so that they look like pasta.
- Crush cilantro, onion, pepper, beetroot and cabbage with a meat grinder. Connect with the nut mass.
- Add garlic and spices passed through the press. Pickle. Pour in vinegar. Mix well.
Put the prepared phali in the dish, sprinkle with pomegranate grains or pieces of Bulgarian pepper, decorate with fresh cilantro sprigs. After that, a snack can be served at the table.
Wine vinegar in this recipe can be replaced with dry red wine or lemon juice.
Cauliflower Pkhali
Composition:
- cauliflower - 0, 3 kg;
- leek - 0, 2 kg;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- walnuts - 150 g;
- fenugreek seeds - pinch;
- balsamic vinegar - 5-10 ml;
- hops-suneli, salt, fresh greens - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Cut the onion into slices, stew until soft in a little water.
- In a saucepan, boil clean water, dip the cabbage blossoms into it, cook for 12-15 minutes. 5 minutes before the readiness salted the water.
- Flip the onions and cabbage into a colander, grind them to a mash with a blender.
- In a blender or coffee grinder, chop the nuts to a state of powder.
- Pass the garlic through the press.
- Finely chop the greens.
- Combine the prepared products, add spices and vinegar to them, mix well.
Serve snacks chilled. Before that, it can be spread on toast.
Cabbage pkhali is a healthy and tasty snack that, despite its tangible calorie content, can be recommended for dietary nutrition. The dish refers to Georgian cuisine, but is popular in other countries. If the house has a blender or meat grinder, you can cook this dish without much difficulty.
