Khorovats - vegetables on the grill. Adjapsandal - classic recipes Georgian stewed vegetables

Prepare ingredients for Ajapsandali (აჯაფსანდალი).

Wash the eggplants, cut off the ends and cut into circles or semicircles, no more than 1 cm thick.
Place the eggplants in a large bowl or sieve, sprinkling each layer with salt, and leave for 30-40 minutes to release the juices.
Then rinse the eggplants under running water and squeeze out any moisture.
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, place the eggplants so that they cover the bottom of the pan in one layer.
Fry the eggplants on both sides until golden brown and completely cooked, over moderate heat.
Place the finished eggplant mugs on paper towels or place in a colander to remove excess oil.
Transfer the eggplants to a heavy-bottomed saucepan or saucepan.

Wash the bell pepper, remove the core and seeds and cut into strips.
Fry the peppers in a small amount of vegetable oil over moderate heat for about 7-10 minutes. The pepper should become soft.
Transfer the peppers to the pan with the eggplants.

Advice. There is an important nuance in ajapsandali that you definitely need to pay attention to. All vegetables must be brought to full readiness during pre-frying. And the degree of roasting of all vegetables should be the same. Be sure to fry the pepper until soft, because... if it remains crispy and elastic, it will not fit into the overall soft and delicate consistency of the dish. This also applies to eggplants - they must be completely fried.

Peel the onion and cut into rings or half rings.
Wash the carrots, peel and cut into strips or semicircles.
Pour vegetable oil quite generously into the frying pan, add onions, carrots, lightly salt and stir.
Simmer the vegetables for about 20-30 minutes over low heat until soft.

Advice. It is advisable to fry onions and carrots in a large amount of vegetable oil. During this frying process, vegetables are not fried, but simmered in oil and their own juice, and they turn out very soft and tasty. Excess oil can be drained after frying the vegetables.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to reduce the amount of oil when frying and get the same effect. In a small amount of oil (also over high heat), the onion is fried, burns, changes color and changes the taste of the entire finished dish.

Transfer the onions and carrots to the pan with the vegetables.

Wash the parsley and basil, dry and finely chop.
Fry the greens in a preheated frying pan in a small amount of oil, about 3-5 minutes.
Place the lightly sautéed greens into the pan with the vegetables.

Wash the tomatoes and grate them on a coarse grater - the tomato mass will remain in the bowl, and the skin in your hand (discard the skin).
Pour the tomato mixture into the pan with the vegetables.
Add seasonings to ajapsandali: coriander, utskho-suneli and Imeretian saffron.

If you like it spicy, you can add hot pepper cut into thin rings (without seeds).

Advice. Hot peppers should be handled with rubber gloves so as not to accidentally cause severe irritation of the mucous membranes.
The spiciness of the pepper is concentrated in the seeds - they are most often removed (remove the seeds or not - at your discretion).

Prepare cilantro and garlic dressing .
Wash the cilantro, dry with paper towels and finely chop.
Peel the garlic and cut the cloves into 3-5 pieces.
Place the garlic in a mortar, add a large pinch of coarse salt - mash the garlic and salt with a pestle, then pound to form a garlic paste.
Add cilantro little by little and grind together with garlic until smooth.

Tip 1. The garlic is ground together with salt so that it does not darken, and the coarse salt crystals make the grinding process easier.
Do not put too much salt so as not to oversalt the dish. It is better to add at the end of cooking, to taste.

Tip 2. If you don’t have a mortar, you can try mincing the cilantro and garlic through a meat grinder.

Add the dressing to the vegetables and mix gently.

Adjapsandal or Anjapsandali is a Caucasian vegetable dish that has its own unique taste and aroma due to the selection of the right spices and fresh herbs. This is a hot or cold appetizer, which can be served in any way you like. I advise you to pay attention to other or , which will also undoubtedly appeal to you 😉

I decided to prepare the Adjapsandal dish when summer had just begun and delicious vegetables began to appear on market stalls. Today, to be honest, is already the last day of the hottest season, so while eggplants are still tasty, cheap and very accessible, I decided to post a series of recipes with this delicious vegetable at the forefront. It opens with an appetizer or Ajapsandal salad.

In the title of the recipe, I indicated that Adzhapsandali is a Caucasian dish, and for a reason. The fact is that many eastern peoples consider it national, especially the Adjapsandal dish is popular in Georgia and Armenia. But there are so many varieties of this snack that it’s impossible to count them all! Adjapsandali can be cooked in a frying pan by frying or stewing, baked Adjapsandali in the oven, grilled, combine several processes, or leave some ingredients fresh. You can even roll Adjapsandal into jars for the winter!

In addition, Adzhapsandali in Georgian and Adzhapsandali in Armenian do not differ in strict rules or ingredients. They may or may not contain carrots, potatoes, and even (which is extremely rare) meat, which is surprising, since this has been a vegetarian dish for centuries. However, there is a certain set of ingredients and spices that cannot be excluded, and I’ll tell you about them today!

I won’t say that my Adjapsandali is classic, because, as we have already figured out, each nation has its own classics, or attribute it to a specific cuisine, I will simply tell you how to cook Adjapsandali, and you decide for yourself in Georgian or Armenian it will work out.

So, Ajapsandal, a step-by-step recipe with photos.

Ingredients

• - 3 pcs
• - onion - 2 pcs.
• - 1 PC
• - 2 pcs
• - 2 cloves
• - 1 piece (optional)
• - dill, cilantro, parsley, purple basil - all 0.3 bunches
• - 1 tsp

Cooking method

First of all, I suggest you watch the video recipe from my YouTube channel , which contains a lot of other recipes and interesting videos on food and travel topics. Subscribe, it will be cool!

Ajapsandal or Ajapsandali: video recipe

Step-by-step recipe with photos

Now more details. Cooking Georgian or Armenian Adjapsandal is a completely simple process. First of all, as always, we prepare the ingredients: wash the vegetables and herbs, clean the necessary products. If your eggplants are young and fresh, then there will be no bitterness in them and you don’t need to carry out additional manipulations. If now is not the height of the season, then cut the eggplants into medium-sized cubes, put them in a colander and salt them thoroughly. Leave for half an hour, then wash with cold tap water, thoroughly washing off the salt, which has absorbed all the bitterness.

Now place a deep frying pan on medium heat. A wok pan is perfect for preparing this vegetable dish. Pour a little vegetable oil and leave to warm up. At this time, cut the onion into thin half rings, throw it into heated oil, fry, stirring occasionally until light golden brown. After this, add the eggplants, mix and fry the ingredients for 5 minutes.

At this time, remove the seeds and cut the bell pepper into medium-sized pieces. For this case, one life hack is perfect, which I once spotted from Jamie Oliver, and it made my life much easier, after which I wrote a step-by-step guide . I'm sure you'll like it too! Throw the peppers into the pan, stir, leave to fry for 5 minutes, stirring.

Now it's time to peel the tomatoes. I already told you how to do this in the manual. , read there, and I’ll return to the Anjapsandali recipe. Cut the skinned tomatoes into quarters and then into thin slices. Chop the garlic and chili pepper very finely. It is not necessary to add the second ingredient or you can reduce the amount, but I like it spicy.

Throw tomatoes, garlic and chili peppers into the frying pan with Adjapsandal, salt to taste, pepper, add thyme and mix. Let the vegetable stew simmer for 5 minutes. At this time, finely chop all the greens.

After the required time, add all the greens to Ajapsandali, mix and simmer for another 5 minutes.

That's it, the vegetarian dish Adjapsandal is ready! Very summery and fresh!

Place the hot “vegetable stew” Adjapsandal on plates or let it cool and eat as a cold snack. Both options are very tasty!

Let's sum it up!

Adzhapsandal or Adzhapsandali: Caucasian vegetable dish. The recipe is short

1. We prepare the ingredients: wash and peel the vegetables and herbs, eggplants, if they were bought outside the high season and are bitter, cut into medium cubes, put in a colander, add a lot of salt, mix, leave for half an hour, then rinse well with cold running water.
2. Place a frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil on medium heat and leave to heat.
3. Cut the onions into quarters and thin strips, put them in a frying pan and fry, stirring, until lightly browned.
4. Add the eggplants to the onion, stir and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring.
5. At this time, quickly clean and cut the medium-sized bell pepper into pieces stuffed eggplants And long-awaited Greek Moussaka . In order not to miss it, be sure to , it's free! In addition, when you subscribe, you will receive as a gift a whole collection of complete recipes of 20 dishes, prepared very quickly, from 5 to 30 minutes!

   

   Try to cook delicious Armenian or Georgian Adjapsandali, leave comments with ratings and remember that cooking delicious is quite simple, and that you are more talented than you can imagine! Enjoy your meal!

   

   5 stars - based on 2 review(s)

First, let's understand the terminology. Thus, the word “” in Armenian cuisine refers to kebab, naturally meat. But Armenian kebab is traditionally served with a salad of baked vegetables. Thus, “Armenian kebab” or “khorovats” also means a salad of baked vegetables, which will be an ideal complement to your kebab. It is beautiful and bright, very tasty and will be an ideal solution even for those on a diet. Khorovats is equally tasty both warm and cold. NHis recipe is presented below.

With its bright and rich taste, this salad will decorate any outdoor feast. in summer or on May holidays.

It is usually prepared from vegetables that baked until black over an open fire. If you are planning to cook khorovats at home, the vegetables are simply baked on the grill or in the oven. After baking, remove the burnt skin from the vegetables, moisteninghands in cold water to don't get burned.

Ingredients:

• Eggplants - 4 pcs;
• Tomatoes - 8 pcs;
• Onions - 4 pcs;
• Bell pepper - 4 pcs;
• Greens - 100 gr;
• Lemon - 1 piece;
• Salt:
• Pepper;
• Vegetable oil

Cooking method:

1. We prepare the vegetables: wash the peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, peel small onions.
2. Heat up the grill, place vegetables on the grill: multi-colored bell peppers,onions, eggplants and tomatoes.
3. Bake all the vegetables one by one on both sides for about 3-5 minutes.
4. Remove the cooked vegetables from the grill and rinse with cold water. We peel them, cut off the tails from the eggplants, remove the core of the peppers.
5. We cut everything into large pieces, add chopped dill, cilantro, basil or other greens to your taste.
6. Season the salad with salt, black pepper, lemon juice, vegetable oil and mix.

Vegetables for the Khorovats kebab can be baked either at home in the oven, on the grill, or right in the forest on mashpours

The option of cooking directly in nature is practically no different. We string the vegetables onto a skewer, bake them over a fire, and then everything is exactly the same.

Georgian cuisine is famous for its spicy dishes, with bouquets of herbs and hot spices perfectly selected in recipes. But everyone is accustomed to the fact that Georgian cuisine, first of all, is meat in all its forms. However, there is a recipe for a dish that can change all ideas and patterns - ajapsandal.

What is "ajapsandal"

This dish has many names (pictured) - ajapsandali, ajabsandal or simply sandalwood. A vegetarian dish that is easy to prepare, made from stewed vegetables, spices and herbs. This is a very tasty dish, with a simple recipe, which combines the main flavors of Georgian cuisine. It combines the charm of juicy summer vegetables and the pleasant, almost real mushroom flavor of eggplant.

You can even call it traditional ajapsandal - this is a Georgian vegetable sauté, stew, stewed vegetables. Only all the vegetables are cut into larger pieces, baked with spices and herbs.

There is a legend that the real ajapsandali - a Georgian dish - was invented by shepherds high in the mountains - they first scorched paprika and eggplants over a fire. And then these vegetables were mashed into a puree, mixed with herbs and hot spices. This paste or ajap puree was stored for quite a long time and the shepherds could dine on the go, while moving with their herds.

Perhaps this is true, or maybe just a beautiful legend. But in the end, almost all Caucasian peoples have been using this recipe for many years, hundreds of years. Each family has its own recipe, passed on from the elders to the younger. Recipes also vary from region to region. But one thing remains fundamental - every recipe must include baked eggplants and paprika (bell pepper).

In Georgia they rarely put meat in ajapsandal, but in Armenia meat is a must. There are recipes where vegetables and meat need to be boiled. But let's look at the classic Georgian recipe. Vegetarian, very healthy due to the peculiarities of food processing, in which vegetables do not lose their beneficial qualities. Because stewed vegetables are processed over fire for a minimum amount of time. Thanks to this, vitamins are practically not lost.

In what cases and how is sandalwood served?

The dish is served as a side dish for meat, something like a stew. And there is a separate dish, prepared for the winter, like vegetable caviar. But most often it is a very thick vegetable soup. The dish is self-sufficient and light at the same time. The ajapsandali recipe is easy and simple to learn how to prepare the dish even on the go.

Any housewife who knows how to cook can take a simple recipe as a basis. There are no special features or difficulties in it. Moreover, the whole recipe is very easy to make small changes in composition, without compromising the taste. So it’s not difficult to prepare the most common dish of Georgian cuisine.

It is enough to prepare the step-by-step recipe once and then constantly pamper your loved ones with an exquisite national dish of Georgian cuisine.

Classic Georgian ajapsandal recipe

Ingredients required:

• Eggplants - 2 pcs. average;
• Bell pepper - 4 pcs. (preferably different colors);
• Tomatoes - 3-4 pcs. average;
• Onions - 2 pcs (medium);
• Green cilantro - 1 bunch;
• Garlic - 4 cloves;
• Hot pepper - 1 pc.;
• Salt - 1 s. l.;
• Ground coriander - 1 tsp;
• Khmeli-suneli - 1 tsp. ;
• Vegetable oil - 2/3 cup (about 180-190 grams).

Cooking sequence

It is important to follow all stages of cooking. But with experience, you can add some of your own ingredients or something else. This dish is flexible - it cannot be spoiled.

1. You need to prepare the vegetables. Wash the eggplants thoroughly, then cut them lengthwise into strips about 1cm thick. Cut along with the skin. Mix the chopped eggplants with salt in a deep bowl and let sit for 10-25 minutes. During this time, the eggplants will release their juice along with their bitterness.
2. While the eggplants are standing, prepare other ingredients - peel the vegetables. Cut the onion into half rings.
3. Peel the bell pepper from seeds, membranes of the stalk and cut into thin, long strips.
4. After this, it’s time to return to the eggplants - they need to be rinsed under water to remove salt and squeezed, not too much, otherwise they will become too soft and wadded. Then straighten them and put them aside again for a while - let them dry a little.
5. It's time to prepare the roast. Pour 3 tbsp into the pan. spoons of vegetable oil, heat it well. Fry the eggplants until golden brown on each side. Don't overcook! Just brown it slightly.
6. Place the fried eggplants in a colander to drain off excess oil.
7. Peel the garlic and cut into thin slices.
8. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan with a thick bottom and heat to maximum temperature. Add chopped onions and fry until golden brown.
9. Add the bell pepper and lower the heat under the pan until halfway through and fry for about 5 minutes.
10. During this time, pour boiling water over the tomatoes and peel them. Then mash the pulp to a puree. You can grind it in a mixer or simply mash it with a fork or masher. Also finely chop the cilantro.
11. Add spices to the fried onions and bell peppers - ground coriander, suneli hops.
12. Place tomato puree in a frying pan with onions and bell peppers. Add chopped garlic slices and chopped cilantro on top.
13. Remove the pan from the heat and begin harvesting the ajapsandalwood. Place a layer of fried eggplants in an enamel, ceramic or glass deep dish. On it is a layer of overcooked vegetables with tomatoes and spices. Layer the eggplants again and, also alternating layers, lay everything out to the end. The top layer must be made from overcooked vegetables and spices with tomatoes.
14. Sprinkle thickly finely chopped herbs on top - cilantro or whatever you like. Let it brew for 30 minutes and then serve.

The photo shows what a beautiful, appetizing dish it turned out to be - classic ajapsandali.

You can cook it according to another recipe - denser, with potatoes or beef or lamb. Simply then add potatoes to the dish, cut into pieces, which must be fried until half cooked.

In each layer after the eggplants, place the potatoes, and also lay the eggplants and frying in layers. Then bake until done in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. This will take approximately 15 minutes. The result is a potato dish made from vegetables with spices, a casserole.

In the oven, the classic recipe will become rich and soft. It will be saturated with the aroma of all herbs and spices. For a recipe with meat, you need to fry lamb or young veal cut into small pieces. Then simmer the meat separately and assemble further as described above. In some recipes, the meat can be boiled. There is also an option to bake the meat and potato tubers in the oven, then mix in layers with eggplant and spices as indicated above.

It is impossible not to love the taste of ajapsandal - this food, even prepared later, in winter, far from Georgia, can once again remind you of the hot summer and sunny country. All the aroma of Georgian herbs, the variety of flavors, the sunshine and lightness of the mountain air are all in this simple, rich dish.

Georgia is a country of bright sunshine, vibrant landscapes and vibrant tastes in national cuisine. A trip to the country of high mountains and sonorous songs should not be left without memorable souvenirs and simple, tasty, healthy recipes. Adjapsandal meets all the requirements - it is beautiful and original in its simplicity. It is not difficult to prepare; it contains common products that are not uncommon in Russia even in the autumn-winter period.

But how much wit and memories the hostess has who learns to cook this dish in Georgia and continues to pamper her family in her homeland!

Adzhapsandali- one of the most famous dishes of Caucasian cuisine, which is nothing more than stewed vegetables. Cooking it in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Interestingly, in each country the dish is called slightly differently. For example, in Uzbekistan - ajapsanda, in Azerbaijan - ajapsandal, in Georgia - ajapsandali. Each of these countries has its own characteristics of preparation and recipes for ajapsandali.

Classic ajapsandali is made from eggplants, bell peppers, onions, carrots and tomatoes. There are also recipes for ajapsandali, which include meat and potatoes. With these ingredients, of course, the dish will become more satisfying and nutritious.

This kind of dish is present in Bulgarian and Turkish cuisine and is called imambayaldi. Despite its wide distribution area and large number of recipes, ajapsandali is considered a dish of Georgian cuisine. Many will say that ajapsandali is a simple vegetable saute and they will be right to some extent. But unlike it, ajapsandali, like any other dish of Georgian cuisine, is prepared with a lot of herbs and spices.

Vegetables, unlike sauté, are cut larger, especially eggplants. The pieces (circles) must be visible in the dish. Like sauté, you can also prepare ajapsandali for the winter. As a rule, it is canned for the winter, like other vegetable salads, using sterilization.

Ingredients:

• Eggplants – 3 pcs.,
• Tomatoes – 4-5 pcs.,
• Onions – 2 pcs.,
• Carrots – 2 pcs.,
• Bell pepper – 3 pcs.,
• Basil - a small bunch
• Garlic – 3-4 cloves,
• Salt - to taste
• Sunflower oil (preferably refined)

Adjapsandali in Georgian - recipe

Wash everything except the onion and garlic. Peel the onions, garlic and carrots. Cut the eggplants into 1 cm thick slices. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Leave the eggplants for 15 minutes. Thanks to salt, eggplants will empty their juice and release excess bitterness.

While they are steeping, prepare other vegetables. cut into thin strips.

Cut the onions into half rings. Finely chop the garlic with a knife.

Grate the carrots on a coarse grater.

Pass through a meat grinder or puree with a blender.

Wash and finely chop the basil.

Rinse the salt off the eggplants. Dry with napkins. In a hot frying pan with sunflower oil, fry the eggplants on both sides until golden brown.

Place the fried eggplants in a saucepan in which you will cook the ajapsandali.

Rinse the pan. Pour sunflower oil into it and heat it. Place onions and carrots in it.

Fry the onions and carrots until golden brown for 10 minutes.

Then add the bell pepper strips.

Simmer the vegetables for another 10 minutes until the bell pepper is soft.

Place the stewed carrots with onions and bell peppers in a saucepan with the fried eggplants.

Pour fresh tomato puree over the vegetables.

Add salt and spices to taste. If you want the ajapsandali to be more spicy and fiery, add a small amount of finely chopped

Stir the vegetables and simmer Georgian-style ajapsandali for another 15 minutes. The finished delicious vegetable dish with oriental notes should be served sprinkled with fresh herbs, along with flatbread or freshly baked pita bread. I wonder what they serve? ajapsandali in Georgian, step-by-step recipe which we examined, not only hot, but also cooled, like a cold appetizer. Enjoy your meal.

Adzhapsandali in Georgian. Photo