It is impossible to imagine Georgian cuisine without eggplants, cauliflower, peppers, and beans. Despite the long-term influence of Turkish and Iranian culture, national dishes have retained their special flavor. A lot of seasoning is added to vegetables that are fried, stewed, or pickled, and although the snacks turn out to be spicy, they still retain their sharpness at the same time. Recipes for Georgian preparations for the winter have long been used by women from different countries. Aromatic jams are made from fruits, and salads and assorted dishes are made from vegetables.
Features of Georgian cuisine for the winter
Residents of the mountainous country prepare vegetables for storage by pickling and fermenting; they add a lot of spicy herbs. Eggplants fried in wine vinegar create a real culinary masterpiece. In Georgia, dried wild apples and pears and wild raspberries are used to make a puree that is eaten with bread. Dogwood is used for canning, sauces and pies are made from nuts, and salted and dried barberries are added to many dishes.
Requirements for containers and products
Jams and preserves are made from both wild fruits and fruits grown in the garden. Vegetables are washed and cut for salads, cabbage is salted in a barrel, cabbage is fried and stewed, stuffed with various products.
The jam and assortment are closed in a glass container, which is cleaned of dust and dirt with soda, mustard and disinfected:
- over steam;
- by boiling;
- in the oven.
Vegetables are salted and fermented in a barrel, which is thoroughly washed and dried. Tkemali sauce is poured through a funnel into sterile bottles, sunflower or corn oil is added, and sealed with hot stoppers.
Recipes for Georgian preparations
If the technology is followed, even novice housewives can obtain aromatic delicacies from fruits and spicy vegetable snacks.
Applesauce
Children eat vitamin desserts with pleasure; they are good for babies; they feed infants with fruit pulp. Having collected 3 kg of apples from your garden or bought at the market, you can make puree; the preparation process is simple:
- Washed fruits are freed from the center and seeds, cut into 4 parts.
- Place the slices along with the peel into a deep pan, pour half a cup of water into the bottom of which, and pour in 300 g of sugar.
- The container with crushed fruits is placed on the stove. After boiling, reduce the heat and cook the mixture for 20 minutes.
- Place the softened apple pieces in a colander and grind into puree.
The dessert is placed in jars. If it is prepared without sugar, it is sterilized with the container for a quarter of an hour.
Green tomato salads
Georgian women make this snack every year, although in a country with a lot of sun and long and warm summers, tomatoes always ripen. In addition to 1 kg of green tomatoes, you will need:
- garlic;
- 4 onions;
- sweet pepper 300 g and bitter pepper - 1 pc.;
- hops-suneli - 2 teaspoons;
- vinegar - ½ cup;
- sunflower oil - 100 ml.
The tomatoes are cut into slices, sent to a large container and salted.
The onion is chopped into half rings, the pepper into strips, and the garlic is squeezed out. The juice is drained from the tomatoes and combined with vegetables, herbs, and spices. Vinegar is poured into the mixture, oil is added, and pressure is applied.
A day later, the salad is placed in containers, sterilized, and sealed with lids.
Preparing grape leaves for dolma
In Georgia, they make a flavorful dish with different fillings - rice, minced beef, lamb, pork, but unlike cabbage rolls, young grape leaves are used, not cabbage. For harvesting, white varieties of the crop are chosen, the greens of which have a sweet and sour taste and have a smooth surface.
Leaves are cut from the stems with scissors, washed from the inside and outside under the tap, and left to dry. Pour 3 liters of water into a saucepan, add 60 g of salt, move it to the stove and boil.
The leaves are placed on top of each other and a tube is rolled out of every 10 pieces, sent to a glass jar, which is filled with brine, sealed tightly, and stored in the cellar.
They take out the leaves when they are going to prepare dolma.
Assorted green and red bell peppers
Snacks in Georgia are made from all the vegetables that grow in the country. A bright and beautiful aromatic assortment is made from multi-colored sweet peppers. For 10 kg of fruit, 1500 g of rock salt is consumed.
Vegetables are washed under the tap, the ends are removed, and then placed in an enamel bowl, into which plain water is poured and salt is added.
The mixture needs to be stirred throughout the week, which helps prevent the appearance of dark plaque. The pepper is transferred along with the liquid and stored under a plastic lid in the refrigerator or basement.
Georgian eggplants for the winter
The blue ones are used to make salads, stews, adjika, and stuff vegetables with shiny purple skins with tomatoes, herbs, and mushrooms. Any table will be decorated with pickled eggplants, which are eaten with meat and mashed potatoes. To prepare a snack from a kilogram of blue ones you need to take:
- 3 tomatoes;
- garlic;
- 3–4 carrots;
- parsley and dill;
- black pepper - 5 g and red pepper - 1 tbsp. l.
Prick the sides of the eggplants with a fork, place the fruits in salted water and cook for 10–15 minutes. To drain the liquid and remove the bitterness, the blue ones are put under a press for a couple of hours, after which they are cut lengthwise.
Chop greens and tomatoes, grate carrots and simmer in a frying pan. Seasoning is added to the frying. Eggplants are treated with garlic, stuffed with vegetables are placed inside, and tied with threads so that they do not fall apart. Dill is placed in glass containers, the blue ones are sent, filled with brine, and hermetically sealed.
