I could not wait for the new year to share my new idea. I am planning to cook a dish from each country in the face of this world in my kitchen. Yes! you read it right! For more details please read this.
Abkhazia is the first country in an alphabetically arranged list of countries in the world. Their cuisine is largely Georgian and today I am sharing their popular sauce called Ajika/Adjika with some tweaks. The moment I saw the recipe, I knew it will be a hit as it is spicy enough and was surprised that it goes well with Indian bread too. The internet has numerous variations of this sauce/condiment.
Though we can store this just like any other sauce for weeks in the refrigerator, we finished it in just a couple of days - It was that good. I am planning to make some more and stock up. You won't believe this was the first time I ever bought celery stalk with leaves. As this recipe required only one celery stalk, I had to find more recipes to use them up. I added them to dips, Indo-Chinese food, chicken curries etc.
Here is the recipe for the spicy condiment.
Abkhazia - Adjika
INGREDIENTS
15 fresh hot red peppers
8 garlic cloves
1 large celery stalk
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 cups chopped dill leaves
1 and ½ cups chopped cilantro
⅓ cup chopped peanuts (use walnuts instead)
¼ cup vinegar
1 teaspoon salt (or as per your taste)
METHOD
- Add the hot red peppers and chopped celery stalk to a pot of boiling water (enough to cover the contents)
- Boil for 5 to 10 minutes or until softened
- Switch off and add some ice cubes and then drain immediately
- Combine all other ingredients along with the boiled stuff except vinegar and salt in a food processor and pulse until a coarse paste is achieved.
- Mix with vinegar and salt in a bowl, allow to sit for 30 minutes
- Store in a jar
The recipe yielded a cup of Adjika. I wish I get my hands on walnuts, have not been lucky so far with that.
Here is a map for dummies like me who had no idea where this country was located... It was nice to take time and read about places you never knew or would never go to!
Next in line is Afghanistan! that should be easy, isn't it?
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