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Shkmeruli (Georgian: შქმერული) is a chicken dish from the Racha region of Georgia. A young chicken is usually used for this recipe and is cooked in milk and garlic. Sour cream can be used instead of milk. Ingredients: 1 whole young chicken, 50 grams of garlic, 100 ml of milk (80 grams of sour cream if you prefer), 80 ml of water (100 ml if you are using sour cream instead of milk), 30 ml of oil, and salt (amount dependent upon preference). Preparation: Cut the chicken length ways but do not separate into two halves. Rub oil and salt on to both sides of the chicken. Flatten the chicken out and add to a pan of hot oil and press it down. Use a pestle or any suitable heavy object to keep the chicken flat so that it cooks evenly. Fry both sides of the chicken. When the chicken is cooked, turn off the heat and remove the chicken from the pan and cut into pieces. Do not discard the oil as it will be used to fry the garlic. Crush the garlic. Add the crushed garlic to the oil in the pan that was used to cook the chicken. Use a wooden to mix the garlic and oil. Add 80 ml of water (100 ml if you are using sour cream instead of milk) and heat on a medium heat, stirring continuously. Add 100 ml of milk (or 80 grams of sour cream). Taste and add a little salt if needed. Stir until the mixture boils and then turn off the heat. Add the chicken pieces to an oven proof dish (we used a traditional Georgian clay ketsi dish). Pour the milk (or sour cream) and garlic mixture onto the chicken pieces and add the ketsi to a hot oven for 3-5 minutes. Serving: Serve hot.

Enjoy your Shkmeruli!

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