Tkemali Sauce

⏳ Time

30 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

Tkemali is a special sour variety of plum. In Russia, it is very difficult to find tkemali; markets only sell cherry plums. You can also make tkemali sauce from cherry plums, but it won't be quite the same. If you do decide to make tkemali from cherry plums, be sure to use unripe ones. We don't recommend even trying to make tkemali from sweet plums. Ombalo is a Georgian variety of mint. The leaves of this perennial wild herbaceous plant are used as a seasoning in both fresh and dried forms, as well as in the preparation of certain sauces and cheeses.

Ingredients

Cilantro - to taste
Tkemali (plum sauce) - ½ glasses
Dill - to taste
Mild Chili Spice - 1 piece
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ground coriander - to taste
Ocean salt - to taste

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Place the plums in a pot, add enough water to cover the fruit, and put it on the stove. The plums cook very quickly: in about ten minutes, they will be ready.

Step 2

Drain the water. Using your hands, remove the pits from the plums and mash them with a spoon, or pass them through a sieve, or blend with a mixer — this will create a smooth mixture similar to a fruit puree.

Step 3

Finely chop the pepper and mix it with the plums. Add salt. In a mortar, crush the cilantro, dill, and garlic, and mix them in with the plums as well. Add a bit of coriander. It's generally believed that you can't make tkhemali without the herb ombalo, which only grows in Georgia, and is hard to find here. However, we manage perfectly well without ombalo and don't notice much difference.

Step 4

And that's it — the tkhemali is ready. It gets eaten very quickly. If you want to prepare tkhemali for the winter, simply cook the plums, remove the pits, salt them, and jar them. Then, in winter, before using the tkhemali, you can add cilantro, pepper, and garlic to it. In spring, when the plums have grown but are not yet ripe, it is customary in Georgia to invite guests for freshly made tkhemali. It pairs well with chicken, meat, fish, and young potatoes. But the star of the meal is the tkhemali itself. After winter, this fresh young dish is especially delicious.