Chakapuli: recipe with step by step description, features and reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Chakapuli is one of the most popular dishes of Georgian national cuisine. It usually requires four main ingredients to make it: meat, herbs, wine, and green plums. All these products are in abundance, as a rule, in late spring or early summer. This period coincides with many religious holidays, when the famous chakapuli is served at the table in any Georgian family. Each housewife has her own recipe for its preparation. From the whole variety, several of the most interesting options can be distinguished.

Beef Chakapuli

Chakapuli is made using different types of meat (beef or lamb). There are no strict restrictions here. According to reviews, the main thing is that all other ingredients are available. For example, consider the most common chakapuli recipe. For him you will need: 700 grams of beef, 200 milliliters of white wine, 150 grams of green plums and fresh coriander, 30 grams of garlic, 200 grams of tarragon and green onions, a little s alt, a liter of water and 2 green peppers.

Cooking a dish starts with food processing:

1. The meat should be cut into large cubes and put into a deep pan.
2. Pour it with wine, put it on the stove and cook for 20 minutes until all the liquid boils away. Periodically stir the meat.
3. At this time, you can do greenery. It is necessary to tear off the leaves from the tarragon branches and rinse them thoroughly. You won't need the stems to work, so you can just throw them away.
4. Chop the coriander, tarragon, onion and pepper randomly, and chop or crush the garlic.
5. Add prepared products with plums to boiling meat, pour water over them and cook under the lid for 60 minutes.
6. At the very end of the dish you need to s alt to taste.

This is the simplest and most popular recipe for chakapuli, which even a novice hostess can master. The dish is usually served hot at the table along with fresh fragrant lavash. According to experts, this method of cooking beef can be considered one of the best. The meat boils well and is very tender.

Chakapuli with mushrooms

For those who do not eat meat at all, we can advise you to try the original lean chakapuli recipe. Believers use it during religious fasts, when fast food is prohibited by the rules. In this case, you will need: 300 grams of fresh champignons, 100 grams of green onions, 60 grams of cilantro, 10 grams of chili and garlic, s alt, 30 grams of green tarragon, 3 plums, 50 milliliters of wine (white), vegetable oiland 80 grams of spinach.

Preparing a dish in several steps:

1. First, all the greens must be randomly chopped, collected in one container and mixed well.
2. Cut the mushrooms into slices (or pieces), and then lightly fry them in oil.
3. Put the hot champignons into a saucepan, sprinkle with herbs, add s alt, pepper, plums and garlic.
4. Pour food with wine.
5. Simmer for an hour over low heat, covering the pan with a lid or wrapping its surface with foil.

Decorate the finished dish in a plate with the remains of chopped greens. This unusual chakapuli is very popular with vegetarians. With it, they can easily enjoy all the delights of Georgian cuisine.

Veal Chakapuli

There are a few important things to consider in order to make real Georgian chakapuli. The recipe remains essentially the same. True, it is customary to take calf meat on the ribs as the main ingredient. In eastern Georgia, the following ingredients are used for such a dish: one and a half kilograms of veal, 4 onions, 1 hot red pepper, 300 grams of green cherry plum, a head of garlic, 100 grams of cilantro, celery stalk and parsley, 40 grams of butter, s alt, 30 grams tarragon (tarragon), 150 grams of leek, half a liter of water, a tablespoon of Uzbek spices, ground pepper and a few sprigs of mint or thyme.

In this case, the cooking time is much longer. To work, you need a cauldron. Next you need:

1. Cut the meat into large pieces and put half of the total on the bottom of the cauldron.
2. Sprinkle half-ringed onion on top.
3. Randomly crumble all the greens. Put some of it on top of the meat with onions.
4. Pepper and add some s alt.
5. Spread the rest of the meat evenly over the surface.
6. Throw plum.
7. Pepper and s alt again.
8. Cover everything with the rest of the greenery.
9. Place spices and sliced peppers on top.
10. Pour food with water.
11. Add minced garlic and celery.
12. Put the cauldron on the stove and bring its contents to a boil.
13. Place a piece of butter on top. This will make the meat much softer.
14. Make the fire smaller and simmer covered for at least three hours.

Chakapuli are served in portions. The hostess should distribute the dish so that in addition to meat, all other components are present in each plate. The already tender veal in such an original neighborhood turns out to be even softer and more fragrant. Any professional will agree with this opinion.

Quick and tasty

Some still prefer to cook lamb chakapuli. Any recipe can be used. But there is one option when the dish is not only prepared quickly, but also requires a minimum set of products. You only need: 1 kilogram of fresh lamb, s alt, 100 grams of dry white wine, 2 kilograms of herbs (cilantro, green plums, parsley and tarragon), ground pepper and tkemali sauce.

Everything is done very simply:

1. Cut the lamb into small pieces.
2. Put them in a pot.
3. Simmer the meat for about 10-15 minutes without adding water. Due to the large amount of its own fat, the meat will not burn.
4. Add wine and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
5. Chop the herbs finely and add them to the pot along with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Stir well and simmer for 25 minutes.

As a result, the meat is soft, tender and very tasty. True, reviews recommend that you eat such a dish very carefully so as not to break your teeth on small plum stones. In this way, beef is often cooked in many Georgian restaurants. As a rule, it is in great demand among visitors. Many of them believe that it is with the help of this dish that one can appreciate the beauty of the Georgian national cuisine.

National soup

How else can you cook Georgian lamb chakapuli? The recipe for this dish essentially resembles a thick soup. At home, it can be made from the following products: 1 kilogram of lamb ham and the same amount of plums, a bottle of dry wine, a head of garlic, 3 pods of hot pepper, water, 200 grams of tarragon, s alt, mint, 1 bunch of green onions, cilantro and basil.

The process goes through several stages:

1. Cut the lamb into medium pieces.
2. Put them in a saucepan, add water and bring to a boil.
3. Add wine, s alt and simmer over low heat. Whereinthe meat must always be under a layer of liquid.
4. At this time, rinse the plums, put them in a saucepan, add water and cook a little over low heat.
5. Pure the resulting puree through a sieve.
6. Chop greens.
7. Chop pepper and garlic finely.
8. Add them along with greens to almost ready meat. Cook food in this composition for about 30 minutes.
9. Introduce mashed plums and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Now the finished soup will only need to be poured into deep bowls and enjoy its amazing taste and aroma. This dish is cooked at least once a year in almost every Georgian family. So the locals pay tribute to the ancient traditions of their ancestors. And some believe that chakapuli is the best use for lamb meat.

Lamb Chakapuli

Traditionally in Georgia, lamb meat is used to make chakapuli. The classic recipe provides for the following mandatory components: 1 kilogram of lamb, 300-400 milliliters of white wine, half a green hot pepper, 2 bunches of tarragon, 500 grams of green onions, a teaspoon of hop-suneli seasoning, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 cups of plums, s alt, a bunch of cilantro and ground pepper.

The cooking method is similar to the previous options:

1. Cut the meat into pieces with a knife and put them in a saucepan.
2. Randomly chop the onion, garlic and herbs and divide into two parts. One of them immediately add to the meat.
3. Pour it all over with wine.
4. Put in a saucepanhalf a drain and put it on fire.
5. As soon as the mass boils, make the flame smaller and simmer for about 45-50 minutes.
6. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer covered for 15 minutes.

After that, the finished dish should stand for another quarter of an hour. Only then can it be put on plates and served on the table. The old people say that this is how a real Georgian chakapuli should look like. This is a tender meat with an original flavor that almost crumbles in the hands, seasoned with lots of herbs.