Georgian Tkemali Plum Sauce with Garlic and Spices for Winter

An exquisite all-around masterpiece! A wonderful recipe for a classic Georgian sauce that's sure to win you over with its remarkable flavor.

Recipe author

Servings:

Plums

Salt

Sugar

Garlic

Ground coriander

Utskho-suneli (blue fenugreek)

Khmeli-suneli

Chile peppers

Mint

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 8 % 1 g

Fats 0 % 0 g

Carbohydrates 92 % 12 g

51 kcal

GI: 83 / 0 / 17

Cooking method

Cooking time: 55 min

Step 1:

Gather the ingredients and spices for this delicious Georgian tkemali sauce.
Step 2:

Run the well-washed, pitted plums through a meat grinder. Put the purée in a pot, set it over medium heat, and bring it to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula the whole time.
Step 3:

Put a teaspoon of coriander in a mortar with a teaspoon of khmeli-suneli and a teaspoon of utskho-suneli, and grind well with the pestle.
Step 4:

Cut the stems off the hot red chiles, remove the seeds, slice them, and put them in a blender.
Step 5:

Add two heads of peeled garlic and a sprig of peppermint to the blender and process everything well.
Step 6:

Add one tablespoon of salt to the pot of boiling plum purée.
Step 7:

Add three tablespoons of sugar, stir well, lower the heat, and cook for 20 minutes.
Step 8:

After 20 minutes, add the ground spice mix and the garlic-and-chile purée, stir well, and cook for another 20 minutes over low heat.
Step 9:

Pour the hot sauce into sterilized jars, seal them tightly with sterile lids, turn them upside down, cover with a blanket, and leave to cool for several hours. Store the finished sauce in the refrigerator or a cellar.
Step 10:

Cooking together, cooking simply, making the most delicious dishes at home from everyday ingredients — enjoy!

Let's put up tkemali sauce for winter! Khachapuri, satsivi, tkemali — just naming these famous Georgian dishes is enough to make you hungry, even right after a meal. A Georgian table is unthinkable without wine and sauces, and tkemali holds such an important place in the cuisine that women there learn to make it from a young age. This sauce can turn any meat, fish, or vegetable dish into something special, which is why home cooks like to make extra and put it up. Let's get into the recipe and make this wonderful homemade tkemali. A quick note on the spices: khmeli-suneli is a complex dried-spice blend of ground herbs — basil, hot red pepper, parsley, celery, dill, coriander, bay leaf, summer savory, mint, marjoram, utskho-suneli (blue fenugreek), hyssop, and Imeretian saffron (marigold). Utskho-suneli on its own is a unique, very aromatic blend that's an ideal seasoning for fish, meat, and vegetable dishes, and can also go into soups and gravies.