TOP 17 classic recipes for making plum tkemali sauce for the winter

Each country in the world has its own unique flavor, in which national cuisine plays not the last, but rather one of the main roles. And in Georgian cuisine, various sauces act as its most important component. One of the main sauces is tkemali, made from plums, and there is also a recipe for classic preparation for the winter.

Principles for preparing tkemali sauce for the winter

This is an excellent sauce originally from sunny Georgia, one of the hallmarks of national cuisine. Tkemali is prepared from plums, mint, garlic, as well as herbs and spices. The sauce goes especially well with various fish, poultry and meat dishes, as well as potato side dishes. For cooking, ordinary plums are suitable, which grow in almost all gardens or dachas..

Requirements for main ingredients

The first important point is that ideally the plums should be Tkemali - this is the name of the cherry plum variety. They gave the sauce its name.

But you shouldn’t be upset - ordinary, but definitely sour, plums are quite suitable for cooking.

The second point is mint. The original recipe uses its swamp variety - ombalo. In the southern regions it usually grows in reed floodplains. If it is not possible to find or purchase just such a variety, then ordinary mint growing in the garden will do.

How to properly prepare containers

Jars and their lids must be well washed and sterilized. You can sterilize them in the microwave by pouring a little water into them, using steam over a pan, or putting them in the oven for 15 minutes.

The most delicious tkemali sauce recipes

It’s not difficult to prepare a delicious sauce at home - you just need to know the right recipes and strictly follow their instructions.

Classic cooking method

It’s not difficult to prepare tkemali according to the classic recipe; the main thing is to strictly follow the recipe and choose the right, high-quality ingredients.

Compound:

• sour plums (cherry plum) – 1 kilogram;
• hot (hot) red pepper – 1 pod;
• cilantro – 1 large bunch;
• garlic – 1 head;
• dill – 1 small bunch;
• salt – 4 teaspoons;
• mint (ombalo) – 1 small bunch.

The plums are selected by cutting out rotten areas, washed, added water to the pan and boiled for half an hour. Then, after cooling, grind through a sieve, discarding the peel and seeds. Garlic is grated or finely chopped. Mint, as well as herbs and peppers, are also finely chopped. Everything is added to plum puree and put on fire.

After bringing to a boil, cook the sauce for 10-15 minutes, turn it off and let it cool, and then pour it into jars.

Simple recipe

There is a recipe according to which tkemal sauce is very simple to prepare; you need to mix all the ingredients and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Compound:

• plums (cherry plum) – 1 kilogram;
• sugar – 50 grams;
• salt – 1 tablespoon;
• garlic – 5 cloves;
• ground red pepper – 0.5 teaspoon;
• ground black pepper – 0.5 teaspoon;
• coriander – 1 teaspoon;
• hops-suneli - 1 teaspoon.

Yellow plum version

The most correct, “plum” option for preparing real Georgian tkemali. Ordinary garden, yellow cherry plum will also do.

With pomegranate juice

This option for preparing it for the winter differs from the classic recipe only in that pomegranate juice is added to tkemali instead of water.

No cooking

This is a great snack to eat simply spread on bread. The ingredients are the same as for boiled sauce, but the cooking itself does not occur. For “raw” tkemali, the ingredients are minced in a meat grinder, thoroughly mixed several times and poured into jars.

With walnuts

This sauce is an excellent addition to many dishes and is also used as a marinade for meat. Prepared from both yellow and blue plums (per 1.5 kilograms), with the addition of walnuts (100 grams).

With tomatoes

A delicious version of traditional tkemali, reminiscent of adjika. All ingredients are traditional, only tomatoes are added (1 kilogram of tomatoes per 1 kilogram of plums).

Spicy tkemali

For those who like “spicy” things, a recipe for making a sauce is suitable, where the ingredients include black and allspice. And for 1 kilogram of plums they put not one, but a couple of pods of hot pepper.

In a slow cooker

When preparing the sauce in a slow cooker, boil the plums for 10 minutes. The remaining ingredients are finely chopped and then blended with a blender, along with the plums, until smooth. Then pour everything into the multicooker bowl and cook for 4-5 minutes. The sauce is poured into jars and sealed with lids.

Through a meat grinder

Instead of grinding plums through a sieve, a regular meat grinder is often used when preparing the sauce. The components of tkemali are passed through it, resulting in a mass of the desired consistency, which is then boiled for 10-15 minutes.

From gooseberries

Sour, unripe gooseberries are used as a base for the sauce. Moreover, despite the replacement of plums, tkemali turns out very tasty and is not much different from the original.

From the thorn

The tart taste of sloe adds richness to the tkemali sauce as a whole. For cooking, sloe is harvested in late August or early September. The main ingredients for the sauce are sloes, hot garlic and cilantro.

From dogwood

A variant of making dogwood sauce is common in the Caucasus and goes great with fried meat. It has a unique aroma and spicy sweet and sour taste.Main ingredients: dogwood, garlic, salt and suneli hops.

From red currant

Not only a tasty, but also a healthy option, tkemali is made from red currants, which have the necessary sourness. In addition to cilantro, ground coriander seeds, as well as cumin, garlic and salt are added to it.

From prunes

A sauce made from prunes with the addition of various herbs will be universal, and most importantly, distinguished by a bright, original taste. Add rosemary, oregano, thyme, tarragon (tarragon), thyme and suneli hops. Moreover, the composition of spices changes depending on the preferences of the person cooking. Therefore, there will be no two identical recipes for prune tkemali.

From cherry

Tkemali made from sour cherries will be interesting and tasty. In addition to the cherries themselves, mint, ground coriander seeds, hot pepper and sweet paprika, as well as sugar are added to it.

Georgian, from plums

But the most important, authentic sauce remains tkemali, made from the cherry plum variety of the same name. But, in addition to yellow cherry plums, sour plums are also used, and ombalo mint is replaced by growing in the shade of the garden.

Further storage

Rolled homemade tkemali is stored in a dark, cool place for up to 1 year. Suitable for both a refrigerator and a closet, pantry or cellar. But an uncorked jar of homemade sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3-4 days.