To make real chakhokhbili, and not chicken stewed in tomato sauce, you need to know a little more about home Georgian cuisine than international catering establishments offer, away from Georgia.
Shish kebab, satsivi, khachapuri and a dozen more dishes that we had to try in a restaurant version only remotely resemble those dishes that every Georgian woman prepares every day.
Georgia is a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, so the history of its culinary traditions was influenced by Iran, Turkey and Russia. The nature of Western and Eastern Georgia, with different terrain and climate, also left its mark on the choice of products and the taste of dishes.
Since we are talking about chakhokhbili - a poultry dish, now there will be a little acquaintance with the cuisine of Western Georgia, where they prefer to cook poultry dishes, more than in the eastern part.
Georgian Chakhokhbili in chicken - main technological features
Of course, every housewife in cooking is guided, above all, by the tastes of her family, but chakhokhbili is a classic dish, and therefore there are no significant differences in its preparation. In a nutshell, chakhokhbili - stew of poultry in vegetable sauce.
The most classic ingredient for chakhochbili is pheasant. It is clear that there will not be enough pheasants for everyone, so the best alternative poultry meat for this dish is fatty home-made chicken, so that you do not have to add oil when frying it. Chicken can be replaced with turkey, but geese and ducks in Georgia are not very popular.
The carcass is cut into portions. You can buy a finished chicken, butchered on the legs, thighs, wings. Chakhokhbili is made from fillet of birds, without bones, but such recipe variations are not common. Prepare the dish also from chicken giblets.
The meat is pre-fried, with or without added fat, depending on the fat content of the bird. For this it is convenient to use bulk dishes with thick walls and non-stick coating, so that immediately add the rest of the dish to the roasted meat. Butter gives a special taste to roasted meat, and besides, when frying it gets a nutty flavor. To prevent it from burning, use melted butter, or add a little vegetable first. But the dish should not be fat!
The main thing is the fresh flavor, and in this matter Georgian cuisine is adamant. At first glance, Georgian dishes seem too sharp, but, in fact, this sensation is created by smells of spicy herbs. Hot pepper is used in Georgian dishes in reasonable quantities, and it is not the main spice, with the exception of some special sauces typical of the kitchen in the western part of Georgia. Of course, at once it is impossible to learn how to create the right combination of herbs, so it remains only to strictly follow the recipe of the dish. If you are going to prepare the present chakhokhbili, go to a specialized shop - there they will tell you what kind of seasoning you need to buy. Caucasians share their culinary secrets with great pleasure.
Georgian cuisine by the number of sauces can argue with French splendor, but there are fundamental differences in the technology of their preparation. The sauce in Georgian cuisine, as a rule, is thickened by the method of boiling natural juices, although the density is loudly said, in comparison with the French sauce, which is prepared with the addition of flour. The main thing in Georgian sauce is the correct selection of ingredients and balanced taste: in this Georgian culinary principles are similar to the cuisine of the peoples of Asia. Spicy, acid, salt and sweetness should be equally present in the dish.
We can not say about the nuts that are present in many Georgian dishes. First of all, it is walnuts. To make sauces, their kernels are ground to a paste, and the sauce determines the taste of the dishes. It can be served separately or braised meat or vegetables.
In the case of chakhokhbili, the sauce for poultry meat is vegetables, in the juice of which the meat is stewed after pre-roasting by the dry method. Most often for this dish they use tomatoes, ready-made tomato juice or sauce, tomato paste - depending on the season, but with the addition of traditional spices for the dish: garlic, cilantro, celery, parsley, basil, pepper. If you do not have enough natural juice to cover the meat - do not blaspheme, especially in the presence of culinary traditions: you can only add chicken broth, wine, wine vinegar. Add water so that no one sees, and no more than half a glass. Of course, the water should be boiled and hot. Use of lemon, pomegranate juice, cherry plum, cornel, plums is allowed. In Georgia, leek is used more often than in Russian cuisine, but onions remain in the field of view of national cuisine, on a par. In addition to onions and tomatoes, carrots, lettuce peppers are often added to the dish, occasionally potatoes and other vegetables are used.
1. Georgian Chakhokhbili with Green Hot Pepper
Ingredients:
Chicken homemade 2.2 kg
Onion 700g
Juice, tomato 1,5 l
Fresh coriander, parsley - 30 g each
Green pepper, hot 1 pc.
Vinegar, grape 180 ml
Ghee or fat, chicken
Bay leaf 4-6 pcs.
Garlic 4 slices
Red pepper
Salt
Working order:
Place chopped chicken and bay leaf into the goose.
Pour half a glass of vinegar and water.
Boil, stirring, until the water and vinegar evaporate.
Add vinegar and chopped onion.
Stew the onion until golden brown.
Chop the garlic and add it with tomato juice to the meat.
Stew for 7-8 minutes, with constant stirring.
Before the end of cooking, season with finely chopped parsley, cilantro, green and red pepper, and salt.
2. Georgian Chakhokhbili with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
Cooking oil 100 g
Thighs, chicken 12 pcs.
Onion 800g
Walnuts (kernels) 1.5 tbsp.
Vinegar, wine 150 ml
Garlic 40g
Salt
Dried coriander 20 g
A mixture of peppers, ground
Preparation:
Put the sliced meat into a heated pot with thick walls (cast iron or ceramic), after adding a little oil or chicken fat.
Fry the meat until golden brown.
Add chopped onion, lightly fry it.
Combine the vinegar with half a glass of water, add the solution to the meat, and simmer until soft.
Crush dried coriander into powder, chop garlic, roasted walnut kernels and peppers.
Add cooked pasta to chicken meat and mix everything well. Serve with tomatoes, fresh cilantro and parsley.
3. Georgian Chakhokhbili with tomatoes, basil and wine
Ingredients:
Chicken meat 1.2 kg
Leek 350g
Garlic 50g
Fresh meaty tomatoes 600g Dry white wine 50 ml
Butter
Coriander 30g
Bay leaf 1 pc.
Basil, red and green - 20 g each
Salt and red pepper to taste
Cooking Technology:
Rinse young homemade chicken and cut into eight or ten pieces. Onions and greens finely chop. Pass the leek in butter and add the chicken pieces. Stew for a few minutes.
Pour in white wine, twice, for about five minutes.
Put the crushed tomatoes without skin: to do this, put them in hot water, and wait until the skin begins to crack.
Then quickly move the tomatoes into cold water and peel.
The skin is very easily removed.
Choose fleshy varieties of tomatoes, with a small amount of seeds. It is better to remove them altogether so that the dish looks more presentable.
As soon as the chicken meat is ready, add the grated garlic, bay leaf, chopped greens, salt, red pepper. Boil three more minutes, and serve immediately.
4. Georgian Chakhokhbili with creamy taste
Products:
Chicken carcass 1.9-2.1 kg
Fresh tomatoes 1.3 kg
Leek (large stalks) 3 pcs.
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Coriander and Parsley Bunch
Butter - for frying
Dried Coriander 15g
Cooking:
Start by cutting a carcass clean: divide it into pieces of the same size. Do not remove bones.
Onions are cut to the desired shape.
Blanch the tomatoes, peel them and cut into medium-sized slices.
In the oil, fry the chicken pieces, when the meat is fried, put the onion to it and continue to fry.
Add tomatoes when the meat reaches the half-cooked stage, and reduce the heat.
Mix salt with pepper, ground garlic, spices.
Feeding on the table, sprinkle with herbs.
5. Georgian Chakhokhbili with tomato paste and sweet pepper
Chakhokhbili with sweet pepper and wine has an excellent taste.
Ingredients (6 servings):
Chicken 1 pc.
White wine 100 ml
Bow 2 heads
Tomatoes 500 g
Sweet red pepper 12 pieces
Tomato paste 70 g
Coriander 25g
Dill 100 g
Garlic 30g
Dried coriander
Salt
Hot peppers
Cooking:
Combine the tomato puree with the tomatoes, first removing the peel from them and finely dicing. Remove the skin from the sweet pepper, rubbing the flesh with a grater. For meals, of course, it is better to use domestic chickens.
Slice the chicken and fry. Add onions first and then tomato sauce.
Reduce the quenching temperature to the minimum value.
Moisture should evaporate by half.
Dish at the end of cooking season with salt, pepper and chopped cilantro.
Pour in the wine, and after a couple of minutes, serve on the table
6. Georgian Chakhokhbili with vegetables
Composition of products (2-3 servings):
Hips, legs, wings 900 g
Bulgarian pepper 300 g (net)
Leek 250g
Vegetable oil 120 ml
Carrots 250 g
Tomato juice 400 ml
Coriander, parsley - 40 g
Pepper
Salt
Preparation:
Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat, pouring a little olive or peanut oil, and fry the meat for three minutes.
Add chopped onion, carrot and pepper, simmer another 4-5 minutes.
Stir periodically. Then add the tomatoes.
Mix well again and leave on the fire for 3 minutes. Put the prepared ingredients in pots and pour over the sauce.
Meat should be covered with liquid. If juice is not enough, add boiled hot water to fully cover the mass, but not more than 100 ml.
Preferably in such cases, add chicken broth.
Add chopped greens, salt and pepper, and simmer until soft in an oven at 180 ° C.
7. Chakhokhbili from Georgian chicken (from chicken giblets)
Ingredients:
Offal, chicken (stomachs, liver) 0.8 kg
Leek 200 g (net)
Sweet cream butter 80 g
Garlic 50g
Fruit Vinegar (Lemon Juice) 100 ml
Salt
Cilantro, mint, basil, parsley 120 g
Black pepper
Cooking Technology:
Lay the giblets in a heat-resistant dish, add oil, and put the stew on low heat.
Stew the sliced leek separately and combine with the giblets. Then stew together, until ready.
At the end add the crushed garlic, vinegar or lemon juice, chopped herbs, spices, and salt. Stir, add broth if necessary, and simmer another 5 minutes.
8. Chakhokhbili from chicken in Georgian in pots - Tbilisi cuisine
Single Serving Products:
Chicken thighs 300 g
Onions - shalott100 g Sweet salad pepper 70 g
Ground pepper
Ghee 50 g
Garlic
Tomatoes, meaty 300 g
Leek, parsley 100 g
Salt
Cooking Technology:
At the bottom of the ceramic pot, place the butter, pieces of chicken, chopped onion, chopped garlic, sweet peppers, sliced thinly, in straws, tomatoes (medium-sized slices).
Salt everything, season with spices, sprinkle with herbs, cover and place in the oven for an hour and a half.
Serve the yogurt with matsoni, combined with chopped greens.
Georgian Chakhokhbili in Chicken - Useful Tips
- Don't like the smell of cilantro? Try combining it with garlic, quite a bit. The combination of these spices forms a pleasant aroma, since cilantro and garlic, complementing each other, form a completely new flavor. In the sour sauce, these spices “sound” even better, their smell becomes less pronounced and pleasant.
- Tomato-based sauces are not made to be sweetened in Georgian cuisine, but tomatoes also ripen in Georgia so that they have enough sugar. Therefore, if you prepare the sauce in Georgian for poultry or another dish, then a small error in the recipe is permissible, due to the lack of the desired variety of tomatoes.
