Georgia About

Georgian food is often accompanied by sauces, such as Ajika (Georgian: აჯიკა) and Tkemali (Georgian ტყემალი). In this family recipe we show how to make a spicy tomato sauce.

Ingredients: 2 kilos of tomatoes, 2 tbs of blue fenugreek, 2 tbs of dried coriander, 3-4 bay leaves, 3 tbs of dried hot red pepper, 1.5 tbs of black pepper, 30 cloves of garlic and salt (amount dependent upon personal preference).

Preparation: Cut each tomato into 3 or 4 pieces and add to a pot. Add water to cover the tomatoes.

Cover and cook on a medium heat for 40 minutes.

Drain the water from the cooked tomatoes into a new pot using a sieve that has large holes.

Mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

Use your hands (in gloves) to completely mash the tomatoes.

Keep mashing until only skins are left. Use a blender to completely mash the skins.

The sieved and mashed tomatoes should look like the picture below. Cook (uncovered) on a low to medium heat for 30 minutes. It will reduce by about 1-1.5 cm.

Use a mortar and pestle to grind the garlic cloves and salt (amount dependent upon personal preference).

Add the blue fenugreek and dried coriander and carefully mix into the garlic/salt mixture.

Add the blue fenugreek, dried coriander and garlic/salt mixture to the tomatoes. Add 3-4 bay leaves and mix. Cook uncovered on a low-medium heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the black pepper and dried hot red pepper. Stir and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes and then remove from the heat.

Serving: The sauce is delicious with meat, potatoes, fried eggs – in fact, almost everything! If sealed in airtight jars it can be kept for months. Use the bottling process described in our Kaklis Muraba recipe.

Enjoy your spicy tomato sauce!

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