Georgian tkemali sauce, manufacturing methods. Calorie content and useful properties of the seasoning, harm when introduced into the diet. What dishes does it go with?
Tkemali is a popular sauce of Georgian cuisine, the main ingredient of which is sour plum-tkemali, which is why the seasoning got its name. Ombalo (marsh mint), which grows only in Georgia and Bulgaria, is used as a preservative, so you can get acquainted with the taste of the original product only at the places of manufacture. It is difficult to describe it - hot-sweet-spicy, with sourness. The color depends on the degree of maturity of the raw material: if the fruits are immature, the seasoning will be green or brown, ripe - pink, red or burgundy of various saturation. The consistency is homogeneous, thick. The product is used to improve the taste of fish, meat and vegetable dishes, pasta.
Features of cooking tkemali sauce
Families pass on the secrets of how to make the seasoning from generation to generation, experimenting with the ingredients in the composition.
The classic tkemali sauce can be prepared according to the following recipe:
- Plums (1 kg), without peeling or removing the pit, are poured with a small amount of cool water so that it slightly covers the surface, and cooked over low heat until the pit begins to separate.
- The fruits are rubbed through a sieve. The dishes should be with small cells so that not only the bones, but also the skin remain in it.
- The mashed potatoes are again put on low heat, and when it boils, add 5-6 g of coriander, 6 g of suneli, 10 g of salt and 25 g of sugar.
- Chop 30 g of dill, cilantro and 40 g of dried ombalo as small as possible, also add to the sauce. A chili pod is also sent there, after crushing and pre-removing the seeds.
- When the sauce begins to thicken, 3 crushed garlic cloves are dipped into it.
- Turn it off, having received the consistency of thick sour cream.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs to taste before serving. Product yield - 800 g.
Tkemali sweet sauce is made from large plums, which are sold in all stores. The recipe changes slightly:
- Before cooking, pits are removed from the fruit. Mix 1.5 kg of plums with 5 tbsp. l. sugar and pour a glass of clean water. Dissolve sugar, boil for 10 minutes, remove from heat.
- Grind 2 pods of hot pepper, removing partitions and seeds, and 10-12 garlic teeth.
- Pour in garlic, hot pepper and 2 tsp each. Provencal herbs and sweet dried peppers in a cooled semi-finished product, stir, and then put on fire and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened - usually it takes 10-15 minutes.
- If you plan to harvest the sauce for the winter, it is poured hot into sterilized jars.
To prepare sour tkemali sauce, cherry plum is used:
- Pour 1, 2 kg of unpeeled fruit into a saucepan and pour 50-60 g of pomegranate juice.
- Cook until the flesh is soft, covered with a lid. This usually takes 20-25 minutes.
- Grind the berries through a sieve, add 1 tbsp. l. salt and 100 g of sugar, boiled until softened.
- 15 minutes after cooking, finely chop 40 g of dill, cilantro and parsley, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp. l. hot red pepper in flakes and 2 ombalos.
- When packing in jars, it is better to add sunflower oil to the surface.
If the seasoning is not planned to be prepared for the winter, then it must be prepared so that the nutrients do not disintegrate during cooking. For this, the herbs are poured into the sauce, which has cooled to room temperature, and the finished product is not boiled.
Composition and calorie content of tkemali sauce
Despite the fact that the seasoning contains fruits, the nutritional value is quite high. The calculation is carried out relative to the classic recipe.
The calorie content of the classic tkemali sauce is 64 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 0 g;
- Fat - 0 g;
- Carbohydrates - 16 g.
The composition of tkemali sauce is dominated by:
- Tocopherol - has an antioxidant effect, prevents the development of oncological processes.
- Niacin - provides the body with energy, accelerates the absorption of carbohydrates and proteins, accelerates the regeneration of epithelial tissues.
- Retinol - without it, the production of steroid hormones and glycogen in muscles is impossible, improves the development of organic tissues.
- Ascorbic acid - participates in all metabolic processes of the body, without it normal vital activity is impossible, improves the absorption of folic acid.
- Chlorine - stimulates taste buds, increases appetite, maintains a constant level of water and electrolyte balance.
- Phosphorus - provides the growth of bone, cartilage and pulp, participates in lipid-carbohydrate metabolism.
- Sulfur - improves the functioning of the nervous system and normalizes blood sugar levels.
- Pectins - remove heavy metals from the body.
- Tannins - protect the mucous membrane of the digestive organs from aggressive external influences.
Georgian seasoning can be added to the diet of those who are losing weight. Due to its sharpness, it is impossible to eat a lot of the product, and a small amount speeds up the metabolism and allows you to get rid of excess weight and restore the necessary harmony. Such an additive to the diet will help those who are losing weight get rid of the constantly present feeling of hunger and avoid the development of depression.
Useful properties of tkemali sauce
This product is used not only for culinary but also for medicinal purposes. It can be consumed after various diseases, given - albeit in small quantities - to young children and pregnant women.
Benefits of tkemali sauce:
- Helps to quickly cope with vitamin deficiency, anemia, enhances the sense of taste and improves mood.
- Reduces the manifestation of painful symptoms in inflammatory processes of the gallbladder and urinary system.
- Normalizes blood pressure and lowers blood sugar levels.
- Accelerates peristalsis, stimulates intestinal metabolism, quickly removes toxins and toxins from the body.
- Due to its antioxidant properties, it prevents the development of prostate and small intestine cancer, restores the function of sperm production.
- Reduces blood pressure.
- During infectious diseases, it lowers the temperature, helps to cope with complications - cough, bronchospasm, restores breathing.
- Quickly normalizes the general condition, helps to cure vitamin deficiency.
- Useful for pregnant women and the elderly.
- Increases efficiency, improves memory function, speeds up reactions.
Thanks to the routine that is part of the peel of blue plums, tkemali has a beneficial effect on the walls of blood vessels. They become more elastic, the permeability decreases.
Contraindications and harm to tkemali
Before you get acquainted with a new taste, you need to make sure that there are no allergic reactions. That is why you need to learn how to cook a multi-component dish yourself. Individual intolerance often occurs on spices - especially often on suneli hops or other herbs. Due to the abundance of spices, it is impossible to determine exactly what was added to the seasoning.
Harm from tkemali sauce can occur when consumed against the background of exacerbation of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and pancreatitis. You should not enter this product into the diet with renal and hepatic insufficiency, with increased bile secretion.
Care should be taken to enter into the diet for diabetes mellitus - when cooking, use sucrose in its pure form, and fruits contain mono- and polysaccharides.
Tkemali sauce recipes
The sauce goes well with all tastes and dishes. The only exception is desserts. It is not served with baked goods, sweets and ice cream.
Recipes with tkemali:
- Beef stew … Tenderloin, 600 g, washed, dried, cut into portions. Doused in flour, fried in vegetable oil until a crust forms. In a ceramic pan, spread the leaves of white cabbage, cut into 2-4 parts, 200 g, 1 onion rings, 1 grated carrot. Then pour the pieces of beef, pieces of sweet pepper, 3 pcs. Top with tkemali sauce, so as to cover the meat completely. Instead of a lid, parchment is used. They are baked in the oven at a temperature of 180 ° C.
- Chanakhs in pots with herbs and sauce … Lamb, 400 g, cut into portions. Zucchini, large eggplant, 3 pieces are also coarsely chopped. bell pepper. Put a little lamb fat, 6-7 onion rings, 2 garlic cloves in each pot, and on top of a piece of meat, all prepared vegetables, dividing equally, peeled potatoes. Preheat the oven to 280 ° C. Each pot is filled with 1 tsp. adjika and 50 g of tkemali. The pots are placed in the oven, covered with parchment - the sheets are fixed with a thread, baked for 60-70 minutes, until the potatoes are fully cooked. The sauce is mixed separately: 1 chili pod without seeds, 100 g of red wine, 30 g of butter, 3 tbsp. l. Tabasco, 100 ml of tkemali, boiled to thicken a little. Chanakhs are served on a plate, sprinkled with cilantro, shallots and covered with hot spicy sauce.
- Kharcho with tkemali … 0.5 kg of fatty beef is cut into portions and boiled, pouring 2.5 liters of cold water. Pour in washed rice - 50 g, chopped onions, 4 heads, tied sprigs of parsley and cilantro - 3 pcs. When the rice is almost cooked, add 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 chili pod without seeds, finely chopped dill, hops-suneli - 2 tsp, bay leaf and salt to the pan. The cilantro and parsley bouquet is removed. After turning off, pour in tkemali and leave to brew for 5-10 minutes. The soup is eaten hot.
- Chicken with tkemali … To prepare the marinade, mix 2 tbsp. l. tkemali, soy sauce, olive oil, sugar and 1 tbsp. l. spice mixtures - dried celery, black pepper, nutmeg. Rub the chicken pieces with marinade and wrap them in plastic wrap. Put away for 1, 5 hours in the refrigerator. Meat is baked on the grill or in the oven until golden brown.
- Fish with sauce … Trout or salmon fillet, 300 g, cut, placed in a saucepan and pour over with water to cover the surface. Stew over low heat, adding 15 ml of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. The fish is removed from the broth, poured with tkemali sauce and sprinkled with finely chopped herbs to taste. In Georgia, this dish is called Tsotskhali.
Interesting facts about tkemali sauce
Plum and cherry plum grow only in areas with a warm climate. But this does not mean that people living in cooler regions will have to be content with sauce from jars, bought ready-made in the store. You can replace plums or cherry plums with any sour fruits, for example, gooseberries or red currants.
Recipe for an analogue of the original tkemali
: The berry is weighed so that it is clear how many ingredients to add, washed, twisted through a meat grinder or interrupted in a blender bowl along with granulated sugar (600 g per 1 kg of berries). Cook for 5 minutes, like jam, removing the foam, remove from the heat, wait until it cools down, and add seasonings - 2 tsp each. black pepper powder, cinnamon, cloves, 3 heads of garlic and 1 tsp. dried ombalo. Dried Georgian mint can be bought at the market or ordered online. If you need to pour into jars, then they are sterilized by placing them in boiling water and covering them with a lid. To keep it longer, you can add 1 tbsp. l. vinegar 9%. After the cans have been sterilized, the lids are changed to boiled ones and tightened. The preservation is turned over and left under a blanket until it chills itself.
Useful tips for cooking tkemali:
- For the sauce to be tasty, the fruits (or berries) must be a little unripe, hard.
- It is better that the contact with the metal is minimal - it should be cooked in an enameled pan, and not in an aluminum one; stir it with a wooden or silicone spatula.
- It should be packaged in small jars.
- If the seasoning contains ombalo, and not vinegar, the shelf life (even in the refrigerator) is no more than 3 days. Tkemali quickly grows moldy.
To improve the taste, lemon juice, sweet bell peppers, apples are added to the sauce. What is good about it - with an increase in the number of ingredients, it only becomes tastier.
How to make tkemali sauce - watch the video:
