Caucasian adzhika: a recipe with a photo

With what do we usually get used to associate the culinary delights of the cuisine of the Caucasus? Shish kebab and chahokhbili, lobio and kharcho, many and many other national dishes. And you will agree, one of the main conditions for some of them is impeccable sharpness! Here the most common seasoning is the Caucasian Adzhika. The recipe for its preparation, it should be noted, is radically different from what the vast majority of Russian housewives mean by this word. Jam, slightly spicy, (or a salad - call it what you want) from tomatoes, sweet peppers, apples and carrots, prepared in large quantities for the winter, of course, is very tasty, but has nothing to do with the seasoning called Caucasian adzhika. The recipe for its preparation is not too complicated, but it includes garlic, herbs and salt, and also - burning hot pepper in such quantity that it just does not work so with spoons. Let's try and prepare it according to the rules of the Caucasian cuisine.

A bit of history

According to one of the main versions of the etymology of origin, the very word originated from the Abkhazian "salt". And the history of the appearance of the seasoning of the Caucasian adzhika (the recipe with the photo will be given below) is quite trivial. Shepherds grazing cattle in the mountains, it was necessary to give salt for animals, which would cause the sheep's thirst, forcing them to drink and to work hard, nagulivaya weight and fat. And in those days, salt as a product was a rather expensive treat. It was not valuable that it was worth its weight in gold, but not everyone could afford it. To the shepherds did not steal salt, and used it for animals, so to say to the destination, the owners began to mix the pepper spicy and burning with salt. But the shepherds here also behaved quite cleverly and began to use pepper salt as a seasoning, to soften it adding also mountain herbs. So the Caucasian Adzhika appeared according to tradition. The recipe at that time was limited to a dry option as a powder for many dishes from meat and vegetables. From the fragrant herbs, coriander and parsley, hops- and uccio-suneli, fennel and coriander, garlic and other spices traditional for the Caucasus were added. The composition could vary depending on the region of preparation and on the personal preferences of the alpine cook. In Abkhazia, the mixture obtained in this way was called "pepper salt" or "adzhiktsatsa" - salt, ground with herbs. Later there were also so-called wet variants, successfully used as a seasoning and to this day.

Adjika is Caucasian. Recipe

Raw adzhika in the Caucasus is used with meat and vegetable, fruit dishes, even with melon! It should be noted that it is also used as a basis for some Abkhaz sauces. But this is not sauce or ketchup. The correct adzhika has a pasty consistency, it can be stored for a long time without compromising taste and quality. Observance of the proportion during manufacture is of paramount importance: the pepper of the burning should be from one third to one half by volume.

Ingredients

We will need: a kilogram of burning fire pepper, a little podvyahlennogo, two heads of garlic, two tablespoons of seeds of coriander, 100 grams of large rock salt. Seasonings: hops-suneli, fenugreek, saffron imeretinsky - on a large spoon. A little wine vinegar is also accepted to add, as is a small amount of crushed walnut kernels (but the last two ingredients are introduced, rather, if desired, than mandatory).

Preparatory work

And now we proceed directly to the preparation of such a seasoning as Adzhika caucasian. Recipe, as usual, begins with preparatory work. Highlanders used to rub the paste between two flat-shaped stones. Of course, we will not follow their example: although in some kitchens such ancient devices can be found as accessories or jewelry. It is best to use a mortar - ceramic or stone. And if it's completely modern, it's a blender. A red pepper, which is notable for its burning and sharpness, must be laid out for a few days on a dish or baking sheet and placed in a warm or sunny side, so that it is a bit puffed up. So, at least, mistresses arrive in the Abkhazian villages.

Step-by-step cooking

1. It is quite easy to prepare adzhika Caucasian stinging. The recipe for cooking begins with the cleansing of peppers from the stem and seeds. In this case, if you want to get a particularly sharp product, then the seeds can be left.
2. Grind the peppers together with the cleared garlic cloves (for example, in a blender) until the state of a homogeneous paste.
3. Then we add the spices and herbs chosen for the preparation of the product, so that the Adjika Caucasian stinging (this recipe - from the sunny Abkhazia) was as homogeneous as possible. You can do the same procedure in a mortar, just then it will take a longer time.
4. We put the mass in a prepared ceramic or glass container of the corresponding volume. Enter the stone salt (not small!) And mix everything thoroughly. You can optionally add a little wine vinegar or pomegranate juice (a couple of spoons), a spoon of pounded walnuts.
5. Once again, knead to a pasty thick state. So, the delicious and sharp Adjika Caucasian is ready.

Helpful Tips

• You can prepare this popular Caucasian seasoning not only from red, but also from green bitter pepper.
• A more liquid version of Adzhika is prepared with tomatoes, although they are not included in the main classical recipe. By the way, most of the shop and bazaar are prepared in this way.
• If you want, on the contrary, to reduce the severity, sweet red Bulgarian pepper is added to the ingredients to shade the taste, and crushed walnuts.
• To produce adzhika best not with bare hands, and putting on gloves, as the pepper's acuity will long be washed off unprotected fingers.

Conservation

In fact, crude adzhika itself is stored well. It is enough to spread out in jars and tightly cork - it can even stay in the bottom of the refrigerator until spring, where the temperature is slightly above zero. Do you want to preserve the Caucasian Adzhika even longer? The recipe for winter is slightly different. The ingredients remain the same (except that you can add a pound of tomatoes to the acid and reduce the amount of salt). Mass, cooked as in the original recipe, put in a pan, after boiling, cook on the lowest heat (it should gurgle, not bubble) and constantly stir with a wooden spatula, otherwise it will burn! The process lasts no more than 10 minutes, after which we spread it into small glass jars, sterilize and roll them up. Caucasian adzhika (a recipe for winter) is ready for longer storage, for example in a kitchen cupboard.