Preparation and composition of Adjika

Adjika is a fragrant symphony of oriental spices with an acute character. It is difficult to find a more perfect combination of scented herbs, hot pepper and nut butter. This product is actively used for flavoring meat, is added to numerous soups and serves as an excellent addition to various dishes.

What is the Abkhaz Adzhika Made of?

The very name "adjika" came to us from the Abkhaz language and in translation means ordinary salt. Despite the fact that the Abkhaz adzhika is of different colors, the basis for all species remains unchanged. Salt, garlic and red hot pepper are the main ingredients. The color of the seasoning depends on the composition of the greens and dried herbs, grinded in a special way.

From orange and red adzhika, after grinding with walnuts, walnut oil was squeezed out, which was later used for processing meat, pickling poultry, dressing vegetables.

The technology of cooking the classic Abkhazian seasoning

According to the ancient tradition, the real Adzhika is prepared on a flat stone, which has a slight erasure in the center. The answer part, which is crushed by the ingredients, is also stone, but smaller. The grinding stone is pressed with the left hand from above, and the right is carried out by circular motions. With the help of such an adaptation, the Abkhaz also rubbed walnuts, roots or chestnuts.

Using stone grinding allows you to make adzhika very fine consistency, like butter. So sometimes you want to call this product "Caucasian oil". Abkhazians use adjika with almost any food and do not imagine life without this magical seasoning.

Unfortunately, at present a lot of fakes have appeared that have nothing to do with the classical Abkhazian adzhika. Beautiful labels can be misleading even a true gourmet. Especially strange are the inscriptions that adzhika is made somewhere in the Moscow region, or the composition of Adzhika contains tomato paste. But the most insulting is the fact that the origin of this magnificent product is attributed to the Georgian cuisine, mistakingly assuming that they created the perfect recipe for seasoning with an Abkhaz name.

Secret ingredients of Abkhazian Adzhika, composition, recipe

Adjika can be divided into two types: hot red and green. Red color is given by seasoning pepper, and not tomatoes, which in the recipe are generally absent. The recipe uses 500 g of dried chilli peppers. To restore its natural moisture, the product is placed in a container with warm water, pressed down with a load and left for three hours.

Then the liquid is drained and the softened pods rub off on the stone surface together with the remaining spices, namely with all the remaining ingredients that are part of the adzhika: with a garlic head, coriander seeds, chabera and dill taken in the amount of 10 g each. Some mistresses pass the mixture through a meat grinder, but this grinding does not allow the essential oils that are contained in the seeds to stand out and provide the signature flavor of seasoning. So, if possible, use classical technology.

To maintain the required viscosity of the flavored puree, shredded walnuts are added to the mixture, approximately 100 grams. Nut butter will provide the product with a creamy taste. Also in adzhika you need to add salt to taste. The seasoning is stored in a glass jar for a long time, and it does not require a refrigerator.

Green adzhika is prepared similarly to red, with one difference is that the pepper is taken green. To add more flavor to the mixture, mint, cilantro and basil are added in the form of fresh herbs. Salt in the seasoning is also present in reasonable quantities. Strangely enough, this green composition of Adzhika is no less popular among the Abkhazians. In the Caucasus, it is even used with dairy products.

Adjika with Georgian coloring

Despite the statement that Georgian Adzhika does not exist, there are still recipes that closely resemble this product. Walnuts are very popular in Georgia, and therefore practically in all dishes they are present. Adjika was no exception. The composition of the Georgian Adzhika is very similar to the Abkhazian, but the mass fraction of the walnut paste in it considerably exceeds the norm. In addition, the greens, which is added to the paste, is not rubbed, but cut with a knife into small parts.

Walnuts, before they peretut in Adzhika, are dried in an oven or in a frying pan. Then they are cleaned of fine husks and only then grind.

Russian variants of the Caucasian Adjika

As noted above, the composition of Adjika Abkhazia does not contain the tomatoes that we are accustomed to. But while the recipe has come down to us, it has slightly changed. Naturally, the classical taste was partially lost, but due to the introduction of new ingredients, the dish received a new flavor. Let's consider several such recipes.

Adjika in Russian

To prepare the seasoning you need fresh peppers in the amount of 800 grams, five heads of garlic, 125 grams of large salt, half a glass of mixed spices (hops-suneli, dill, coriander).

To work with such ingredients, you need rubber gloves, since the skin of your hands may suffer from burning peppers. If the amount of red pepper seems large, then it can be partially replaced with sweet paprika or tomato paste.

All the prepared foods must be passed through the meat grinder and mixed well. You can use to grind the blender. The resulting paste does not need to be heat treated. Just spread the mass over the glass containers and store it.

As you can see, the composition of the Adjika homework is slightly different from the classics, but it also has the right to exist.

Adjika with horseradish

As it is known horseradish possesses certain sharpness and is an excellent preservative. Composition Adzhika with the addition of horseradish will look like this:

· Bulgarian and hot pepper - 6 pcs .;

Tomatoes - 4 pcs .;

Average horseradish root;

· Salt in a reasonable dose;

· Parsley greens, fennel seeds and coriander;

Garlic 1 head.

Judging by the bouquet of ingredients, the result will be quite hot, therefore the consumption of such adzhika will be minimal. Although many gourmets are able to use such a mixture of spoons.

Tomatoes and peppers need to be cleaned and crushed through a meat grinder, seeds can not be removed. The root of horseradish should be rubbed on a coarse grater. Garlic can also be rubbed or simply added to a tomato paste in a meat grinder. Greens are cut into small fractions and added to the mixture. Pasta at the end is salted and laid out on cans.

As you can see from the examples above, everyone has his own adzhika. The composition and preparation are very different, therefore, when searching for the classical seasoning, it is more appropriate to appeal to the Abkhazian culinary specialists.