For any culinary specialist, making sauce, and even more so preparing it for the winter, is almost the most important of all culinary processes. Sauce tkemali is a typical representative of Georgian cuisine and its production requires several ingredients that grow only on the territory of Georgia and to the south. But this does not mean at all that in the greater territory of Russia there is no way to make such a sauce.
Most of the popular recipes have been adapted to suit local conditions by resourceful hostesses. And tkemali sauce is no exception. Dishes and sauces with tomatoes have long been very popular in Russia. They are often added even to those dishes that initially did not contain them at all. For making tkemali sauce, a recipe was invented using tomato paste, and it turned out to be so successful that it even surpassed the classic Caucasian recipe in its distribution. Having tried this sauce once in winter, you are unlikely to later be able to refuse such a preparation.
Tomatoes or tomato paste
The easiest way to make tkemali sauce according to this recipe is from ready-made tomato paste sold in stores. Its thick consistency best suits the culinary requirements for making a sauce. But a good tomato paste is sometimes difficult to find. On the other hand, if you have your own garden plot with a large number of tomatoes grown on it, then, of course, you need to use them to make your own tomato paste.
According to this recipe, the tomatoes must be washed well in running water, cut into pieces, put a certain amount in a saucepan without liquid and put to heat.
Pretty soon, the tomatoes will sap and settle. After mixing them, add the next portion of the tomatoes and again wait for the juice to release. So, do until the whole pan is filled to the top with tomato paste. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes over low heat. Then the juice can be drained by gently filtering it through a colander, and from the remaining mass, continue making pasta.
To do this, continue to keep it on low heat, stirring from time to time, until the contents of the saucepan are reduced by 5-6 times. Mix the prepared tomato paste with salt. According to the recipe, for 1 kg of finished tomato paste, you need to add 90 grams of coarse salt.
Required components
So what do you need to make tkemali sauce with tomato paste for the winter? All components are readily available and are unlikely to raise any questions for you. But the taste of the sauce will turn out to be very harmonious, and the seasoning can be used both as an addition to meat and for making first courses, for example, the famous kharcho soup.
The recipe has no restrictions on the use of a particular type of plum, but it is desirable that it be sour in taste. Cherry plum is ideal. In recent years, many amateur gardeners have been growing its cultural forms in their plots, so from the end of July to September-October, you can easily find these fruits on the market or from friends.
- Cherry plum or sour plum - 4 kg;
- Tomato paste - 700 grams;
- Garlic - 300 grams;
- Hot red pepper - 3 pods;
- Coriander seeds - half a cup;
- Granulated sugar - 1.5 cups;
- Salt - 60 grams.
You also need water, you need to take so much to just cover the original cherry plum fruits with the head.
Manufacturing steps
The very first step in making a sauce is the most difficult. It is necessary to rinse the cherry plum or plum well in running water, pour it in an enamel saucepan and put it on medium heat. After boiling, cook for a short time - literally 4-5 minutes and immediately discard the fruits in a colander. After draining excess liquid and some cooling, free the cherry plum from the seeds by rubbing it through a colander or through a sieve.
As a result, you should have a fairly liquid fruit mass.
At the next stage, peel the garlic and divide it into cloves, and free the hot peppers from the seed chambers and tails. Grind both components with a meat grinder or blender. Add tomato paste to them, in no way diluting it. At the end, put coriander seeds, sugar and salt in the vegetable mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
At the last stage, combine the vegetable and fruit mixture, stir and put on medium heat. After boiling, cook for about 20 minutes. The sauce should turn out like thin sour cream.
To preserve it for the winter, the resulting tkemali sauce is laid out in a hot state in sterilized jars. It is screwed on with any metal sterile caps, both conventional and threaded.
There is nothing complicated in making tkemali sauce according to this recipe, but you can surprise your guests and your home with an exquisite sauce for festive dishes.
