Tkemali
A Georgian sour plum sauce, the country's answer to ketchup: plums simmered soft, sieved smooth, and seasoned with garlic, chili, cilantro, dill, and mint. Tart and herbal, it is served with grilled meat, chicken, and potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 kgsour plums
- 5 clovesgarlic
- 1 cupfresh cilantro
- ½ cupfresh dill
- 1 tbspfresh mint
- 1.5 tspground coriander
- ½ tspred pepper flakes
- 1 tspsalt
- 1 tspsugar
- 120 mlwater
Method
- Halve the sour plums and remove any loose pits. Place them in a pot with the water, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook 15 to 20 minutes until very soft.
- Press the cooked plums through a fine sieve or a food mill to leave the pits and skins behind. Return the smooth puree to the pot.
- Finely chop the cilantro, dill, and mint, and crush the garlic.
- Stir the garlic, red pepper flakes, ground coriander, and salt into the puree and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro, dill, and mint and simmer 1 minute more so they keep their aroma.
- Taste and add the sugar only if the plums are too sharp; adjust the salt.
- Cool, then store in sterilised jars in the refrigerator. Serve with grilled meat, chicken, or potatoes.
FAQ
Wild sour plums are hard to find outside Georgia. Use the sourest or most unripe plums you can get, cherry plums (alycha), or even sour cherries. Adjust the sugar to the actual tartness.
Ombalo (pennyroyal) is the signature herb of tkemali. But it is potentially toxic to the liver, so at home it is replaced with ordinary fresh mint, spearmint or peppermint, the standard safe substitute.
Green is made from unripe plums in spring, sharper and more sour. Red is made from ripe plums in late summer, milder and sweeter. The method is the same.
In sterilised jars in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks. For longer keeping, process the jars in a water bath; the salt and acidity help preserve it.
It is Georgia's ketchup: with mtsvadi and other grilled meat, fried chicken, and potatoes; it is also stirred into soups for a sour note.
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