Tkemali from plums - the most delicious sauce for any dishes

Indispensable components of the national Georgian cuisine are fresh vegetables, fruits, all kinds of greens and a variety of seasonings based on these products. For example, a tkemali sauce made from plums is an ideal supplement to meat, fish, poultry or any garnish. It is prepared from red or yellow fruits of wild plum with the same name, which grows mainly in the western regions of Georgia. The unique flavor of the seasoning stimulates the appetite, and its sour-sweet taste and beautiful color add to any dishes of refinement with an acute note.

How to cook tkemali from plums

For a classic sauce, red or yellow plum is used - these miniature plums of Georgians are called "tkemali". However, in the absence of wild plum, you can use other unsweetened varieties of plums. Tkemali from plums possesses astringency and aroma because of presence in its structure of various grasses, spices and garlic. For example, an obligatory ingredient in the "real" plum sauce is a mint ombalo, which is also called flea. She has a pleasant mint-lemon flavor, but, unfortunately, this plant is rarely found outside of Georgia. As for the other components, they are all easily accessible in our region. It should also be noted that the recipe below is not a strict guideline, since any dish should be prepared based on your own taste preferences.

Tkemali from plums in Georgian

Ingredients: 1 kg of cherry plums will require slightly more than one teaspoon of salt, 3 tsp. Sugar, 5-6 cloves garlic, 1 chili pepper (lovers of the acute can increase this amount), 30 grams of fresh dill, mint ombalo and coriander, 1 tbsp. L. Coriander of ground and dry mixture.

Cooking method

The washed plum should be put in a saucepan, pour 100 ml of water and cook over a small fire under a tightly closed lid until complete digestion. The degree of readiness of plums is not difficult to determine by their appearance: somewhere in 20 minutes the skin of plum will crack, and the flesh will easily fall behind the stone. After about 30 minutes, when the fruits are boiled to a puree state, they are transferred to a colander or a fine sieve, where it is carefully grinded, squeezing the puree into a separate container, so that only sandpaper and pits remain in the sieve. The resulting mass should again be brought to a boil, fill it with dry ingredients (salt, sugar, coriander and suneli) and mix well. Further in the Tkemali from the plums put well washed and finely chopped greens and chili, which must be previously cleaned from the seeds and also very finely chopped. The last in the sauce is added garlic, passed through the press. The prepared mass is thoroughly mixed and put on a slow fire for 8-10 minutes, constantly stirring it.

Everything, tkemali from plums is ready, but it should be remembered that it's impossible to immediately evaluate its taste qualities, because the sauce will acquire the necessary sharpness and astringency not earlier than 4 days later. Therefore, do not rush to add spices. The amount of sugar and salt depends on the desire of the hostess, but the correct taste of tkemali is sweet and sour. Store the finished sauce in the refrigerator.