What products can be used to make adjika? Features of cooking. TOP 5 recipes for adjika from pepper, tomatoes, zucchini.
Adjika is a traditional dish of Georgian and Abkhaz cuisine. This is a spicy appetizer that goes well with many dishes. Suitable for both meat and fish. It can be in a liquid pasty or dry consistency.
Features of cooking adjika
As a rule, adjika begins to close as soon as a red hot pepper appears on store shelves. Such an appetizer will give many dishes a richer taste, with spicy-sweet notes. The dish turns out to be incredibly tasty. It is better to close not one, but several jars. Thus, the spicy taste of this dish will delight you and your loved ones all winter.
To prepare traditional adjika, only hot red pepper, a lot of garlic, salt and spices are used. As the latter, suneli hops, cilantro or Provencal herbs are suitable.
Previously, all of the listed ingredients were ground using 2 stones, and the adjika itself was cooked in specially adapted large vats. But since progress does not stand still and today there are many kitchen appliances, all the ingredients are passed through a meat grinder or whipped with a blender.
There is an opinion that if, when preparing this dish, you use not stones, but kitchen equipment, the adjika will turn out to be not at all of the same consistency, it will be thicker. But this is not the case. To obtain the desired consistency, it is recommended to beat all the ingredients until a homogeneous mass is obtained, and then continue to beat for a couple of minutes.
Many believe that adjika turns out to have a rich, bright color due to the fact that it contains a large number of tomatoes. Tomatoes are not added to traditional Caucasian adjika at all. The red color is obtained by adding red pepper.
Sometimes, during the preparation of this dish, in addition to red pepper, they also add unripe green pepper. Thus, adjika turns out to be no less tasty and has a slightly greenish tint.
Adjika can also be cooked dry. To do this, the pepper must be pre-dried, then grate on a fine grater, salt, add suneli hops and dill. Garlic is also finely grated and all of the above ingredients are mixed until smooth. In the process of mixing, add a little vinegar. Such a dish can be spread on pita bread and served not only with the second meat and fish dishes, but also with the first.
Today there are many recipes for adjika. Each housewife has her own signature recipe, for which she uses different ingredients in different proportions. Not only traditional ingredients can be used during cooking. Tomatoes are often added to adjika, not only bitter, but also sweet peppers, and even zucchini. It all depends on your taste preferences.
Adjika has many beneficial properties. Firstly, it is able to positively influence the digestion processes and helps to improve metabolism. Secondly, it is an irreplaceable remedy for colds. Due to its natural composition, it has not only prophylactic, but also antiviral effect. As you know, with a cold, it is recommended to eat garlic, since it contains biologically active substances - phytoncides. They help the body fight off colds and kill germs. It is unlikely that you will want to eat garlic in its pure form, but quite a large amount of it is added to adjika. It will be much more pleasant to spread on bread or wrap a couple of spoons of adjika in pita bread.
It's important to know! Adjika is a rather spicy dish. Therefore, it is not recommended for people with gastritis or those who often have heartburn.
TOP 5 adzhika recipes
The secret to making a truly delicious adjika lies in the correct proportions of ingredients. It is important to stir the dish well to get the right consistency.
Classic spicy adjika
To prepare adjika according to the classic recipe, you do not need many ingredients. Hot red peppers, salt and spices are all you need. True connoisseurs of this dish claim that there should be no tomatoes in the traditional recipe.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 59 kcal.
- Servings - 2-3 jars
- Cooking time - 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- Red capsicum (hot) - 1 kg
- Garlic - 500 g
- Salt - 3/4 tbsp.
- Hmeli suneli - 0.5 tbsp.
Step-by-step cooking of spicy classic adjika
- Both types of pepper must be pitted. Cut into small pieces. Place in a blender bowl. Beat for 2-3 minutes. The pepper should turn out to be a homogeneous pasty consistency.
- Grate the garlic and add to the pepper.
- Rinse the greens well, cut off the roots. Chop finely, then add to a bowl with pepper. Add salt and wine vinegar. Then mix all the ingredients well.
- Divide the resulting mixture into the jars. They must be sterilized. Refrigerate. In a day, the adjika will be ready for use.
Green adjika with pepper
Green adjika will turn out if, in addition to red pepper, you also use bitter green. Thus, the dish will not only change color, but also taste completely different. If you use sweet red pepper instead of bitter, it will come out with a bittersweet aftertaste. This version of adjika with pepper is perfect as a seasoning for soup or for making sauce.
Ingredients:
- Red bell pepper - 300 g
- Green bitter pepper - 700 g
- Cilantro - 100 g
- Dill - 200 g
- Parsley - 200 g
- Celery greens - 150 g
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Coriander (ground) - 1 tablespoon
- Wine vinegar - 3 tablespoons
- Salt - 300 g
Step by step preparation of green adjika with pepper:
- Rinse well both types of pepper. Cut into small pieces. In this case, it is important to remove the bones from it. Grind the peppers with a blender. Or mince it a couple of times. It should turn out to be a homogeneous pasty consistency.
- Chop the garlic finely. Add it to the pepper.
- Rinse the greens well. Chop finely. Add to a bowl of pepper. Season with salt and wine vinegar. Mix all ingredients well.
- Divide the resulting mixture into sterilized jars. Refrigerate. In a day, the adjika will be ready for use.
Hot tomato adjika
Despite the fact that tomatoes are not included in the traditional adzhika recipe, the tomato dish is one of the most popular. In contrast to the appetizer with the addition of adjika pepper, the consistency of tomatoes is more liquid and also has a more delicate taste.
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes - 3 kg
- Sweet pepper - 2 kg
- Garlic - 300 g
- Red hot pepper - 150 g
- Sugar - 200 g
- Vinegar 9% - 200 ml
- Sunflower oil - 200 ml
- Salt - 200 g
- Fresh herbs - 400 g
Step by step cooking of hot tomato adjika:
- Wash tomatoes and peppers well. Cut vegetables into small pieces. Pass through a meat grinder and pour into a saucepan.
- Add sunflower oil. Cook adjika over low heat for an hour. It is important to stir the mixture all the time.
- After the time has elapsed, remove from the stove. Add salt and sugar to the still hot mixture. Mix everything well and let the adjika cool completely. Pour in vinegar.
- Chop the garlic finely and add to the saucepan. Rinse greens and chop finely. Mix everything well. Pour into pre-sterilized jars. Put adjika in the refrigerator.
Cold tomato adjika
It is not necessary to cook adjika from tomatoes. The cold recipe for this dish is just as delicious, but it requires fewer ingredients and cooks much faster. Ingredients:
- Tomatoes - 3 kg
- Sweet pepper - 2 kg
- Garlic - 0.5 kg
- Fresh herbs - 300 g
- Hot pepper - 150 g
- Salt - 200 g
- Sugar - 3 tablespoons
Step by step preparation of cold tomato adjika:
- Rinse the vegetables well. Then cut the peppers and tomatoes into small pieces. Be sure to remove the seeds from the pepper. Put the pieces of vegetables in a blender bowl and beat until smooth.
- Chop the greens finely. Pass the garlic through a press. Add everything to the blender bowl. Pour the salt and sugar into the bowl as well. Beat until smooth.
- Pour Adjika into jars, which must be sterilized first.
Adjika from zucchini
Adjika from zucchini is another option for preparing this dish. It doesn't have to be sharp at all. After all, every housewife has her own recipe for how to cook adjika. This dish will differ from others in its original flavor. One of the most important secrets of making such adjika is that it will need different types of peppers, fresh and dry, and young zucchini are also needed. Adjika will turn out to be quite thick and will have a rich orange color.
Ingredients:
- Zucchini - 300 g
- Tomatoes - 200 g
- Red bell pepper - 1 pc.
- Ground red pepper - 2 tsp
- Ground black pepper - 2 tsp
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Vinegar - 20 ml
- Vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon
Step by step cooking adjika squash:
- All vegetables must be rinsed well first. Peel the zucchini from the tails. Remove seeds from pepper. And cut the core out of the tomatoes.
- Before cooking the adjika, the vegetables need to be chopped and then whipped with a blender until smooth.
- Pour the resulting mixture into a small saucepan. Place on the stove and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, add the finely chopped garlic to the vegetables. Season with salt and vegetable oil.
- After boiling, cover the saucepan with a lid. Simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat.
- Remove from stove. Add dry pepper mixture and pour in vinegar. Mix everything well, leave the adjika to cool.
- After complete cooling, pour into sterilized jars. Store adjika in the refrigerator.
