Ajapsandali - vegetable stew, vegetable sauté, imbayaldy, ratatouille and a great many more names that people in different countries have come up with for this simple and ordinary dish of stewed vegetables. The secrets of cooking do not count, they can be measured by the number of housewives who invent their own versions of recipes for vegetable stews. In Georgian cuisine ajapsandali is made from a mandatory set of products, which includes eggplants, onions, red tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, garlic, spicy greens, and if you want to make a hearty and nutritious dish, potatoes. Also, be sure to add spices to spicy herbs, without which Oriental cuisine is not conceivable - coriander, hop-suneli, bay leaf.
- Cooking time: 45 minutes
- Servings: 4
Ingredients for Georgian Ajapsandali vegetable stew:
- 500 g of eggplants;
- 500 g of potatoes;
- 60 g onions;
- 50 g carrots;
- 120 g of sweet pepper;
- 120 g tomatoes;
- 30g green basil;
- 30 g fresh cilantro;
- 35 ml of olive oil;
- ground red pepper, hops-suneli, bay leaf.
Method of cooking Georgian vegetable stew ajapsandali
Cut potatoes for ajapsandali in small cubes, heat about 1/3 of the selected amount of olive oil in a frying pan, fry the potatoes until half cooked. Salt is not necessary. We shift the potatoes in a quenching container (deep frying pan or chafing dish).
Separately heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, add chopped onions and carrots, chopped into strips.
Pass vegetables about 5 minutes.
To the browned carrots with onions, add Bulgarian pepper, sliced into thin strips. For this adzhapsandali recipe, it is better to choose red, yellow or orange pepper varieties - they are juicy, ripe, sweet and fragrant.
Put tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Then immediately shift to a bowl of cold water, and easily remove the skin. Cut tomatoes, add to onions, carrots and peppers, fry all together for 6-7 minutes. We shift steamed vegetables to fried potatoes.
Cut eggplants into round slices or strips, sprinkle with salt, leave for 10-15 minutes, then rinse, press to remove moisture, fry in the remaining olive oil for 7 minutes.
Add the fried eggplants to the rest of the ingredients, salt it all together to taste, put the bay leaf, pour a teaspoon of hop-suneli and, if you like food with peppercorn, chopped chili peppers. Cooking on moderate heat for 15-20 minutes.
5 minutes before adjapsandali is ready, add spicy greens - finely chopped bunch of fresh cilantro and green basil, sprinkle with stew ground red pepper.
Leave the finished dish in the pan for about 20 minutes. I do not advise you to serve it to the table at once, it should be infused.
Sprinkle with fresh greens before serving. I advise you to pour vegetables with sour cream or Greek yogurt, it turns out very tasty! Enjoy your meal!
Ajapsandali is a tasty vegetable dish suitable for a lean table, as it does not contain animal products. For the same reason, ajapsandali can be included in the vegetarian menu.
