Tkemali Sauce

In Georgia, tkemali sauce is served at the table regardless of what lunch is made from. Its sour taste is in harmony with any dish, especially meat. Even soups with him acquire a unique taste. This Georgian sauce is made from plum tkemali, which is one of the varieties of cherry plum. However, there are recipes for tkemali sauce, which is prepared from other varieties of plums, including even from the turn. The taste of the sauce cannot but depend on the variety of fruits used for it, but still, regardless of the recipe chosen, tkemali is moderately spicy, with pronounced sourness and a slight chill, has a seductive aroma.

Cooking Features

Whatever recipe of tkemali sauce you choose to cook, you can use the advice of Georgian food connoisseurs who know how to make it tasty, fragrant and able to be stored for quite some time.

The best thing for tkemali is cherry plum, or more precisely, its variety called tkemali. However, you can use other types of plums for the sauce. The main thing is that they are sour, slightly unripe, otherwise the sauce will lose its “branded” sourness and will not be sufficiently similar to the original one.
It is known that seasonings and spices affect the taste of ready-made dishes. It is especially important to observe their ratio when preparing the sauce. At the same time, you need to know that ombalo is considered to be one of the essential ingredients of tkemali sauce in Georgia. This is a mint variety called “flea mint”. This spice gives the sauce a characteristic chill and serves its best preservation, as it is a natural preservative. However, this mint variety is actually poisonous, and this product cannot be consumed in large quantities. You can get out of the situation in two ways: do not exceed the amount of this ingredient indicated in the recipe, or even reduce it, or replace it with the usual peppermint in the same amount. Despite the fact that it will be a deviation from the traditional recipe, it does not affect the taste of the finished sauce.
Do not cook the sauce in an aluminum pan, as aluminum, when interacting with acidic foods, emits harmful substances.
The tkemali sauce can be prepared in significant quantities, since, being poured into sterilized jars and tightly closed, it can be stored for a long period, up to a year. However, it is not necessary to distribute it among large banks, since after opening it will be necessary to consume the sauce for a week or to throw it away - it will no longer be stored for longer.

Tkemali can be served with meat, poultry, vegetables and even the first dishes - this Georgian sauce is combined with almost all products.

Georgian Tkemali Sauce

The composition (1, 5-2 liters):

plum of tkemali variety (peeled) - 2, 6 kg;
salt - 80 g;
sugar - 120 g;
garlic - 3 heads;
hot peppers - 1 pc .;
fresh dill - 100 g;
fresh parsley - 100 g;
fresh coriander - 100 g;
fresh mint - 100 g;
fenugreek - 20 g;
vegetable oil - 125 ml;
Apple Cider Vinegar (6%) - 40 ml.

Method of preparation:

Wash the plums. Cut them in half, remove the bones.
Sprinkle plums with salt and sugar, leave for 2-3 hours in a cool place. During this time, the plum will give juice.
Place the container with the drains on a slow fire. After the contents of the pan begin to boil, boil the plums for 10 minutes.
With a blender, turn the plums into mashed potatoes.
Finely chop the greens.
Peel and pass garlic cloves through a press.
Wash the pepper. Take the seeds out of it. Finely chop the pepper with a knife or chop with a blender.
Add greens, fenugreek, garlic, pepper and vegetable oil to the plum puree. Mix the resulting mass and put on fire.
If you are going to keep the sauce in the refrigerator and not for too long, then cooking the sauce is enough for half an hour. In this case, it will get more. The sauce intended for long-term storage is boiled for one and a half hours, it turns out to be thicker, so its volume will be less.
Add vinegar, mix.
Sterilize the jars, wait for them to dry.
Pour the prepared sauce over the cans.
Boil the lids and screw the jars tightly. If you keep the sauce in the refrigerator, you can use plastic lids.
Flip and roll the jars in a towel. When they cool, store for storage.

To keep the tkemali sauce prepared according to this recipe does not cost more than a year. It will be even better if you eat it in 6-8 months.

Green Tkemali from Cherry Plum

The composition (1, 5 l):

green cherry plum - 2 kg;
fresh coriander - 100 g;
fresh dill - 100 g;
ombalo or peppermint - 50 g;
hot peppers (preferably green) - 2 pcs .;
garlic - 2 heads;
coriander seeds - 20 g;
salt - 60 g.

Method of preparation:

Pick and wash the cherry plum. Put it in an enamel basin or pan. Fill with water so that it covers the fruit completely. Put on a slow fire and boil until the skin and bones begin to separate.
Remove the cherry plum, cool it and wipe with a wooden spoon through a sieve to separate the flesh from the seed and rind.
Ceiling coriander seeds in a mortar with salt.
Peel the garlic. Wash the pepper. If you do not want the sauce to be too spicy, remove the seeds from the pods.
Wash, shake greens. Cut the cilantro and mint leaves with kitchen shears, discard the stems. Finely chop the dill with a knife.
Put greens, peppers, and garlic into the blender bowl. Crush them together. Add in cherry plum puree. There, add salt with crushed coriander.
Put the resulting mass in a pan with a non-stick coating, bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes.
Spread over sterilized jars, close them with clean covers. When the jars have cooled to room temperature, put them in the fridge.

Bottles or jars with the sauce prepared according to this recipe can only be stored in the refrigerator and not longer than 6 months.

Tkemali sauce with walnuts

Composition (1 l):

early plums - 1, 5 kg;
sugar - 60 g;
salt - 20 g;
walnut kernels - 70 g;
hot peppers - 0, 5 pcs .;
fresh dill - 30 g;
fresh coriander - 30 g;
garlic - 2 cloves.

Method of preparation:

Wash and sterilize in any convenient way jars or glass bottles, as well as suitable lids.
Wash, peel off the plum stones, cut each in half. Crush the plums with a blender.
Plum puree boil over low heat for 10 minutes, mixing it with salt and sugar.
Put the rest of the ingredients in the blender bowl and chop them. Mix with plum puree and cook for another 10 minutes.
Pour the sauce over the prepared containers, seal the cork.

After cooling, remove the containers with tkemali sauce in the refrigerator and store there for no more than 6 months. The sauce prepared according to the above recipe will not be ashamed to serve even to the festive table.

Georgian tkemali sauce is made from sour plums and has a unique taste. It can be served to any dish. The sauce can be prepared for future use and used for a long time. With proper preparation and storage, it will not deteriorate for at least six months.