To cook a real chakhokhbili, and not chicken stewed in tomato sauce, you need to know a little more about home Georgian cuisine than international catering companies offer, away from Georgia.
Shish kebab, satsivi, khachapuri and a dozen more dishes that I had to try in restaurant execution only vaguely resemble those dishes that every Georgian woman prepares daily.
Georgia is a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, so the history of its culinary traditions has developed under the influence of Iran, Turkey, and Russia. The nature of Western and Eastern Georgia, with a different topography and climate, has also left its mark on the choice of products and the taste of dishes.
Since we are talking about chakhokhbili - a dish of poultry, now a little acquaintance with the cuisine of Western Georgia will take place, where they prefer to cook exactly poultry dishes, more than in the eastern part.
Georgian Chakhokhbili from chicken - main technological features
Of course, every housewife in cooking is guided, first of 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 is a stew of poultry in vegetable sauce.
The most classic ingredient for chahohbili is pheasant. It’s clear that pheasants aren’t enough for everyone, so the best alternative poultry meat for this dish is fatty chicken, so that you don’t have to add oil when frying it. Chicken can be replaced with turkey, but the meat of geese and ducks in Georgia is not very popular.
The carcass is cut into portions. You can buy ready-made chicken, cut into shins, thighs, wings. Chakhokhbili is also prepared from bird fillet, without bones, but such recipe options are not common. A dish is also prepared from chicken giblets.
The meat is pre-fried, with or without fat, depending on the fat content of the bird. To do this, it is convenient to use bulk dishes with thick walls and a non-stick coating, so that immediately, to the fried meat, add the remaining components of the dish.
Butter gives a special taste to fried meat, and in addition, when frying, it acquires a nutty flavor. To prevent it from burning, use ghee, or add a little vegetable first. But the dish should not be fat!
The main thing is a fresh aroma, and Georgian cuisine is adamant in this matter. At first glance, Georgian dishes seem too spicy, but, in fact, the smell of spicy herbs creates this feeling. Hot pepper is used in Georgian dishes in reasonable quantities, and it is not the main spice, with the exception of some special sauces inherent in the cuisine of western Georgia. Of course, it is immediately impossible to learn how to create the necessary combinations of herbs, so it remains only to strictly follow the recipe of the dish. If you are planning to cook a real chakhokhbili, go to a specialized shop - there they will tell you what seasoning you need to buy. Caucasians share their culinary secrets with great pleasure.
The Georgian cuisine in terms of 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 is usually thickened by boiling natural juices, although the density is loud in comparison with 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 Asian peoples. Pungency, acid, salt and sweetness should be present in the dish equally.
It is impossible not to say about nuts, which are present in many Georgian dishes. First of all, these are walnuts. To prepare sauces, their kernels are crushed to a paste, and the sauce determines the taste of the dishes. It can be served separately or stewed in it meat or vegetables.
In the case of chakhokhbili, vegetables are the sauce for poultry meat, in the juice of which the meat is stewed after preliminary frying in a dry way. Most often, tomatoes are used for this dish, ready-made tomato juice or sauce, tomato paste - depending on the season, but with the addition of spices traditional for the dish: garlic, cilantro, celery, parsley, basil, pepper. If there wasn’t enough natural juice to cover the meat, don’t blaspheme, especially in the presence of culinary traditions: you can add only chicken stock, 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.
It is allowed to use lemon, pomegranate juice, cherry plum, dogwood, plums. 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, salad peppers are often added to the dish, and occasionally potatoes and other vegetables are used.
1. Georgian Chakhokhbili from chicken with green hot pepper
Ingredients:
Homemade chicken 2.2 kg
Onion 700 g
Tomato juice 1,5 l
Fresh cilantro, parsley - 30 g each
Green pepper, hot 1 pc.
Vinegar, grape 180 ml
Ghee or fat, chicken
Bay leaf 4-6 pcs.
4 garlic cloves
Red pepper
Salt
Operating procedure:
Place chopped chicken and bay leaf in the goose bowl.
Pour half a glass of vinegar and water.
Cook, stirring, until water and vinegar evaporate.
Add vinegar and chopped onions.
Stew the onion until golden brown.
Grind the garlic and add it with tomato juice to the meat.
Simmer for 7-8 minutes, with constant stirring.
Before cooking, season with finely chopped parsley, cilantro, green and red peppers, salt.
2. Georgian Chakhokhbili from chicken with peanut sauce
Ingredients:
Cooking Oil 100 g
Hips, chicken 12 pcs.
Onion 800 g
Walnuts (kernels) 1.5 tbsp.
Vinegar, wine 150 ml
Garlic 40 g
Salt
Dried Coriander 20 g
A mixture of peppers, ground
Order of preparation:
Put the chopped meat in a heated pan 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.
Grind the dried coriander into powder, chop the garlic, toasted walnuts and pepper.
Add cooked pasta to chicken meat and mix well. Serve with tomatoes, fresh cilantro and parsley.
3. Georgian chicken chakhokhbili with tomatoes, basil and wine
Ingredients:
Chicken meat 1.2 kg
Leek 350 g
Garlic 50 g
Fresh meaty tomatoes 600 g
Dry white wine 50 ml
Butter
Coriander 30 g
Bay leaf 1 pc.
Basil, red and green - 20 g each
Salt and red pepper to taste
Cooking Technology:
Rinse and cut the young poultry into eight or ten pieces. Finely chop the onion and herbs. Strain the leek in the butter and add the pieces of chicken. Stew for a few minutes.
Pour in white wine, twice, for about five minutes.
Put crushed tomatoes without skin: to do this, put them in hot water, and wait until the skin begins to crack.
Then quickly transfer the tomatoes to cold water and peel.
The skin is very easy to remove.
Choose meaty varieties of tomatoes with few seeds. It’s better to remove them altogether so that the dish looks more presentable.
Once the chicken is ready, add grated garlic, bay leaf, chopped herbs, salt, and red pepper. Cook for another three minutes and serve immediately.
4. Chakhokhbili from chicken in Georgian with creamy taste
Products:
Chicken carcass 1.9-2.1 kg
Fresh tomatoes 1.3 kg
Leek (large stems) 3 pcs.
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Bunch of coriander and parsley
Butter - for frying
Dried Coriander 15 g
Cooking:
Start by cutting the peeled carcass: 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.
Fry the chicken pieces in oil, when the meat is fried, put onions to it and continue to fry.
Add the tomatoes when the meat reaches the half-ready stage and reduce the heat.
Mix salt with pepper, ground garlic, spices.
While serving, sprinkle with herbs.
5. Georgian chicken 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 25 g
Dill 100 g
Garlic 30 g
Dried coriander
Salt
Hot peppers
Cooking:
Combine tomato puree with tomatoes, having previously peeled them and finely chopped into cubes. Peel the peppers by rubbing the flesh on a grater.
For dishes, of course, it is better to use homemade chickens.
Slice the chicken and fry. Add onion first and then tomato sauce.
Reduce the quenching temperature to a minimum.
Moisture should evaporate in half.
Season the dish with salt, pepper and chopped cilantro.
Pour in the wine and serve it in a couple of minutes.
6. Chakhokhbili from chicken in Georgian with vegetables
The composition of the products (2-3 servings):
Hips, lower legs, wings 900 g
Bell pepper 300 g (net)
Leek 250 g
Vegetable oil 120 ml
Carrot 250 g
Tomato juice 400 ml
Coriander, parsley - 40 g each
Pepper
Salt
Order of preparation:
Heat a cast-iron pot over medium heat, pouring a little olive or peanut butter, and fry the meat for three minutes.
Add chopped onions, carrots and peppers, stew for another 4-5 minutes.
Stir occasionally. Then add the tomatoes.
Stir well again and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Arrange the prepared components in pots and pour the sauce.
The meat should be coated with a liquid. If the juice is not enough, add boiled hot water to completely cover the mass, but not more than 100 ml.
In such cases, it is preferable to add chicken stock.
Add chopped greens, salt and pepper, and simmer until tender in the oven, at 180 ° C.
7. Chakhokhbili from chicken in Georgian (from chicken giblets)
Ingredients:
Offal, chicken (stomachs, liver) 0.8 kg
Leek 200 g (net)
Butter sweet butter 80 g
Garlic 50 g
Fruit vinegar (lemon juice) 100 ml
Salt
Cilantro, mint, basil, parsley 120 g
Black pepper
Cooking Technology:
Put off the giblets in a heat-resistant dish, add oil, and put it to simmer on low heat.
Stew the chopped leek separately and combine with the giblets. Stew further together until tender.
At the end, add 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 pots - Tbilisi Cuisine
Products for one serving:
Chicken thighs 300 g
Onion - shallot 100 g
Sweet salad pepper 70 g
Ground pepper
Ghee 50 g
Garlic
Tomatoes, fleshy 300 g
Leek, parsley 100 g
Salt
Cooking Technology:
At the bottom of the ceramic pot, put butter, chicken pieces, chopped onions, chopped garlic, sweet pepper, sliced thinly, julienne, tomatoes (medium-sized slices).
Salt everything, season with spices, sprinkle with herbs, cover and put in the oven for an hour and a half.
Serve with this yogurt matzoni, combined with chopped greens.
Georgian Chakhokhbili from chicken - useful tips
- Don't like the smell of cilantro? Try to combine it with garlic, just a little bit. The combination of these spices forms a pleasant aroma, since cilantro and garlic, complementing each other, form a completely new aroma. In sour sauce, these spices “sound” even better, their smell becomes less pronounced and pleasant.
- It is not customary to sweeten tomato-based sauces in Georgian cuisine, but tomatoes in Georgia ripen so that they have enough sugar. Therefore, if you prepare Georgian sauce for poultry or another dish, then a small error in the recipe is acceptable, due to the lack of the desired tomato variety.
