Adjika from plums: history of dishes and recipes

Blanks from plums are not only compote, jam and jam. In the East of them cook adjika - spicy spicy sauce.More than 20 variants of this dish are known: from blue plums, from cherry plum, with the addition of pepper, walnut kernels, quince and ginger.

The word adjika comes from the Abkhaz language, but this dish has long been prepared in Georgia. Originally called so thick hot sauces of pepper, salt and herbs. The basis of the Abkhaz recipes was a mixture of garlic, walnuts, hot peppers and spices. At the heart of Georgian - a combination of sweet and hot peppers. And there were no tomatoes in any of them. In Russia, on the contrary, the variant of this snack from tomatoes, apples, sweet pepper and carrots is more known.

Mistress transmit variations of these recipes from generation to generation. It is believed that Georgians came up with cooking adjika from plums. Snack, prepared according to their recipes, it turns out dark brown and brackish in taste. The unusual flavor and aroma is added to the traditional spices for this cuisine - hops-suneli, garlic and coriander, as well as greens - basil and cilantro, parsley and dill. Spices were ground together with smoked pods of hot pepper.

Plum adjika complements fish and meat dishes, bread. When used moderately, this appetizer is very useful:

• improves digestion, metabolic rate;
• slightly reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood;
• increases blood flow to the genitals, increases the potency;
• strengthens the immune system and supports the body in the season of viral diseases.

At the same time, there is a category of people who cannot be added to food with this sauce, when the harm caused to their health turns out to be more beneficial. It is better to refuse adzhika in case of diseases of the liver and kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system, with high blood pressure. In addition, the snack can not be eaten by women during pregnancy and lactation, as well as children under 12 years of age.

A sharp snack can be prepared from plums of any kind, ripe, without rotten barrels. Well, if the stone is easily separated from the pulp, it will greatly speed up the process. The skin is usually not removed from the fruit, it makes the taste of adzhika brighter, adds a pleasant sourness. To grind the plums to the consistency of mashed potatoes, you need a meat grinder or blender. In the first case, the skin will be felt, the blender will turn the fruit into a homogeneous mass. When the stone is separated with difficulty, the plums can be steamed and rubbed through a sieve, but the plum flavor will become less pronounced.

Other important ingredients of the plum adjika are Bulgarian and hot peppers, spices and garlic. The recipes indicate the approximate amount that can be changed to your liking. Vinegar - an optional component adzhika, plums already make it sour, especially in combination with tomatoes. The seasoning prepared for the winter is sealed in sterilized jars.

Before you lay out the finished sauce, the dishes must be processed in one of several ways. You can put it in the oven, preheated to 150 degrees for 15 minutes. Pour into jars of 50 ml of water and incubate for 3 minutes in the microwave. Or you can leave the containers empty, but place a glass of water next to it. Heat over steam, turning it upside down until condensate begins to drain from the walls. For one-liter cans, you will need to wait about 10 minutes, for three-liter jars - 15 minutes.

A small amount of sauce canned optional. In a glass container and in the refrigerator, it is stored for several weeks. The rolled up jar should be turned upside down, covered with a blanket and left to cool. The billet is not spoiled even without vinegar, although some recipes still advise adding it.

The maximum shelf life of the plum adjika is one year. But it is likely that she will enjoy the household and guests, and therefore will end much faster.

There are recipes adjika of cherry plum, and even red and blue plums. The taste of these blanks is somewhat different, there are more sharp and softer options.It may be worth trying to make several different sauces and choose the most suitable recipe.

The first version of adjika with plums is closest to the traditional hot sauce. It is necessary:

• 700 g plums;
• Bulgarian pepper - 1 kg;
• garlic - 2 heads;
• 2 chilli peppers;
• parsley;
• dill;
• coriander;
• hops suneli;
• salt.

First, it is necessary to prepare the components: cut the plums in half and remove the bones, clean the two types of pepper from the stalks, seeds, and then cut into small pieces. Working with pepper, it is better to wear gloves. Put the fruit in a saucepan and add a glass of water. After the base adzhika boil, cook it on a gentle fire until the pepper is soft. Remove the mixture from the stove, allow to cool slightly and add finely chopped garlic. Grind the blender with spices and herbs, add salt to taste. Boil down need another five minutes, and then pour into jars.

To soften the sharpness of the pepper helps tomatoes. They are found in almost every recipe for plum adzhika. Choose vegetables that are not too ripe, otherwise the sauce will come out sweet. It is better if the plums are also sour like cherry plum. Sometimes fresh tomatoes are replaced with tomato juice or pasta.

Here is another recipe for plum adjika with tomatoes. It is necessary:

• plums - 0.5 kg;
• 2 onions;
• 2 heads of garlic;
• basil and dill;
• tomatoes - 1 kg;
• salt - a tablespoon (without a hill);
• sugar - 50 g;
• ground paprika;
• chili pepper - 1 pod;
• celery - 1 petiole.

Plums cut in half and remove the bones. Pepper finely chopped. Peel the garlic and onions. Twist in a meat grinder plums along with herbs, onions and tomatoes. Put it in a saucepan, let it boil over high heat. After boiling, add salt, sweeten and stir. Boil over low heat for an hour and a half, occasionally removing the foam. Twenty minutes before the end, add garlic and dill. Ten minutes later, add a teaspoon of paprika and chilli, minced. Put in the processed dishes and roll up.

For the sauce according to the following recipe more suitable plums sweet varieties. The sharpness of the dish depends on the amount of red pepper. If desired, it can be reduced or removed altogether, but for amateurs, on the contrary, it can enhance the taste with ground black pepper. Prepare the following foods:

• plums - 1 kg;
• garlic - 100 g;
• 1-2 chillies;
• salt - 1 tablespoon;
• tomato paste;
• sugar - 100 g;
• cilantro and parsley - 50 g;
• dried mint;
• Paprika and hop-suneli - 1-2 teaspoons.

Clean all ingredients from seeds and seeds. Mince slices of pepper and plum through the meat grinder along with garlic. Puree a tablespoon of tomato paste, sugar, and salt. Let the mixture boil for twenty minutes, stir it from time to time. Ten minutes before the end of cooking, pour the spices, chopped parsley and cilantro, a pinch of mint in a meat grinder. Pour the prepared sauce into clean containers.

The taste of plum sauce can be enriched not only by tomatoes and sweet peppers. Try experimenting with carrots and onions, zucchini and apples. The resulting snack will be softer, may appeal to those who do not like spicy. We suggest trying this recipe:

• apples - 0.5 kg;
• plums of any kind - 0.5 kg;
• sweet pepper - 0.5 kg;
• carrots - 0.5 kg;
• tomatoes - 1 kg;
• onions - 0.5 kg;
• garlic - 2-3 heads;
• sugar - 75 g;
• hot pepper - 100 g;
• salt - 1 tablespoon;
• sunflower oil - 1 cup;
• a bunch of dill and parsley;
• 9% vinegar - 50 ml.

Peel all the fruits, remove the bones from the apples and plums, prepare the peppers. Crush all fruits except garlic. For convenience, you can grate grated carrots. Mix the base thoroughly and start cooking. If there is not enough liquid, add a glass of water. Continue cooking on low heat for another hour. Twist garlic with herbs through a meat grinder, mix with a mixture of vegetables and fruits. It remains to salt, add vinegar, oil and sweeten. Boil, stirring every now and then, for twenty minutes. The sauce can be rolled up for the winter.

Slightly more exotic version of the sauce with fruit - a snack with plums and quince. Tart quince taste is not felt when you boil the fruit. In addition, the recipe provides for beets - it will change the hue of the snack to a noble burgundy. It is necessary:

• quince - 0.5 kg;
• plums - 1 kg;
• beets - 1 pc .;
• 5 chilli pods;
• garlic - 300 g;
• some sugar and salt.

As in previous recipes, rinse and prepare chilli and plums. Cut the core and seeds out of the quince, finely chop the remaining parts. Peel the beets and garlic. Chop all components and mix, just leave the garlic "for later." Boil the sauce for forty minutes, then add the garlic, salt and sweeten, cook for another five minutes. After that, the adjika from plums and quinces can be removed from the heat and laid out on the banks.

Thanks to garlic, traditional Caucasian sauce is a good antiviral and warming agent. And according to the following recipe, ginger is used instead. As a result, the dish remains as useful, and even acquires a unique flavor. It is necessary:

• plums - 1 kg;
• sugar - 50 g;
• ginger root - 50g;
• hot pepper - 100 g;
• tomato paste - 250 g;
• vinegar - 1-2 teaspoons;
• some salt.

Cut the peppers and plums, start cooking on low heat. Twenty-five minutes, mix with ginger root, add tomato paste. Grind ginger can be grinder or grater. Mix well, sweeten and salted. After 10 minutes, add vinegar, stir again. Remove from the stove, pour into containers and preserve.

Here is another unusual version of the plum adjika, similar in spirit to the Abkhazian cuisine. It is not boiled from cherry plum with tomatoes and hot peppers, but from prunes with walnuts. The remaining ingredients remain unchanged. Prunes cooked longer than other varieties, so preparing the sauce may take longer. It is necessary:

• prunes - 1.5 kg;
• walnut kernels - 150 g;
• sweet pepper - 0.5 kg;
• sugar - 50 g;
• garlic - 2 small heads;
• salt - your choice.

Prepare prunes, garlic and both types of pepper, as described earlier, chop with a meat grinder or in a blender. Boil the mixture over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Fry the nuts a little, then the snack will have a more intense flavor. Then chop the nuts until smooth. Crush the garlic. Mix the processed nuts with the base dish, along with salt and sugar, pepper and garlic. Boil for five minutes. Turn off the heat and pour the adjika into containers.

There are variations of this recipe with basil and black pepper. Cooking technology remains the same, only the greens are better to turn through a meat grinder with fruits. And you can also cook homemade adjika, diversifying its finished, but without plums. To do this, you will need 2 kg of any plums, 300 g of Georgian adjika, half a liter of tomato juice and salt. Pulp fleshed plums pour half a glass of water and steam over a quiet fire.

When the fruits are softer, chop them as you prefer. Add ready adjika and juice, add salt. When the mixture boils, boil it over low heat for five minutes. Transfer the cooked snack to sterile containers and preserve.

Plum adjika - a good addition to chops, kebabs, sausages from any meat. Many housewives replace marinade with it or bake meat with it in the oven.The chicken is especially tasty: it gets crisp and smells very appetizing. Special preparation is not necessary: ​​grease the whole carcass with sauce and bake in the oven.

Here are some useful tips to help housewives cook delicious adjika from plums.

• Red chili in the recipes can be replaced by green. It is less burning, so its amount should be increased approximately twice.
• Pepper seeds give extra spice to the appetizer, it is not necessary to remove them.
• The more sour the plum, the more sour the adjika will be, and vice versa.
• Too sour taste can be corrected with an additional amount of sugar, and it is not worth cooking from over-ripe fruits.
• If you are not going to harvest adjika for a long time, it is enough to close the jar with a nylon cap.
• Experienced housewives often deviate from the recipe, improvising with the composition and quantity of spices. But if among the ingredients there is a walnut, other spices should be added more carefully, as the nutty flavor may disappear.
• If you chop the fruit with a meat grinder, the consistency of the sauce will be closer to the original.

To learn how to cook adjika from plums, see the next video.