2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14
Who was in the Caucasus, he returned home in love with Georgian cuisine. I so want to reproduce chakhokhbili, lobio, satsivi in my kitchen … Fortunately, we can get plenty of books with recipes for Caucasian cuisine. But where without the famous Georgian spices? And if you can still get suneli hops - in the markets and even in supermarkets, then what can we say about others? Are they interchangeable? What can be done to compensate for their absence? Here we will talk about the seasoning utskho-suneli, which is often found in recipes for meat, fish and vegetable dishes. What it is, what its composition is, and what a quality product should look like if you stumble upon it on the market - read in this article.
Etymology of the name
The first step is to clarify the meaning of the second term in this phrase. "Suneli" in translation from Georgian is a pleasantly smelling dried spice. That is, all aromatic herbs that season food claim this name. Among the long row, one can recall at least kondari-suneli. This is simply dried and ground coriander. The first term - "ucho" - means literally"stranger". How so? Such a primordially Georgian seasoning, utskho-suneli, is translated as “foreign spice”? This phenomenon has its own explanation. The fact is that the seeds of the utsho plant smell very inexpressively when fresh. Only after light roasting and drying, the aroma is fully revealed. The plant seems to take on a strange smell.
Utskho-suneli seasoning: ingredients
If we say that under this exotic term is hidden a nondescript fenugreek plant, then we will not clarify the heads of novice cooks. The fact is that there are several types of these legumes, some of them grow outside of subtropical Georgia - in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus.
But if a plant has the Latin name Trigonella, this does not guarantee that it will make a real utsho-suneli seasoning. The composition of this spice is special - dried and crushed pods with blue fenugreek seeds. The Latin name for the herb is Trigonella caerulea. It should be said that another type of fenugreek is used in Caucasian cuisine - hay (Trigonella foenum-graecum). In Georgia, the spice is called shamballa, and in Europe, where it is often used for confectionery, it is called fenugreek or Greek fenugreek.
Where uchi-suneli is used
The use of this spice is due to its delicate nutty flavor. That is, it well emphasizes the aroma of fish, young lamb. It also gives a special piquancy to the chicken. It is known that Georgian cuisine makes extensive use of nuts, and utskho goes well with them. Blue fenugreek is simply irreplaceable inreal satsebeli sauce. If the spice is crushed, then the basturma is wrapped with this powder. Also, seasoning is necessary for the preparation of Abkhazian adjika, lobio. In the first courses (meat and fish broths), utskho proves to be excellent: just a pinch, and the dish will be truly Georgian. But hay fenugreek, unlike blue, has a slight bitterness. Fenugreek seeds are used in Georgian cuisine for dough (especially for bread).
Can fenugreek be substituted for suneli hops?
Not strictly speaking. Khmeli-suneli is a complex, balanced mixture of spices. It contains thirteen spices. Among this list is blue fenugreek. But the composition of the hops is thought out in such a way that not a single herb dominates in it, all the aromas sound like a well-coordinated orchestra. Only in some dishes is it allowed to replace utskho-suneli. This spice can be found in specialized stores or in the markets with "persons of Caucasian nationality." In Moscow, it is recommended to look at the Dorogomilovsky market. Russian herbal grandmothers harvest fenugreek when it is in bloom, but sell the dried stems and leaves. And for the spice, you need the pods and grains of this legume plant. In Western Europe, blue fenugreek is also used. Its leaves are tinted with "green" cheeses.
How to choose the "right" utsho spice
High-grade ucho-suneli is made only from fenugreek pods. Inside the seed box, grains ripen, similar to small peas, but very hard. They are subjectedheat treated like coffee and then ground. The color of a good product is greenish, closer to dark. Low-grade and cheap utsho also uses stems, which greatly reduces the intensity of the aroma, since these parts of the plant do not smell. Authentic spice should not be crushed into dust - so it is crushed only so that it enters the composition of suneli hops. The product is worth buying in vacuum packaging.
Don't be put off by the faint smell coming from utsho: in hot dishes, its aroma will truly reveal. And be careful: outside of Georgia, it is easier to find fenugreek (fenugreek hay). Some Indian bitterness in the aroma should not be present!
What goes with ucho
Fenugreek is a characteristic spice. It softens the spicy taste of the cayenne pepper and evens out the sweetness of the paprika. In lobio, it gives a feeling of fatness, enhances the nutty taste of satsivi. If you want to give a "Caucasian touch" to a meat dish, use ucho-suneli in combination with coriander (cilantro seeds), savory, garlic and a small fraction of hot red pepper. Another successful composition of spices is fenugreek with suneli hops, adjika, chopped cilantro. If you are not lucky enough to find an authentic ucho-suneli, look for "svanuri marili" - s alt from Svaneti. In its composition, the main violin is played by blue fenugreek. But then the dish does not need to be s alted. By the way, in Russia fenugreek is also called blue sweet clover, goat trefoil, gunba.
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