Ingredients
Plums
- 2 kgsour plums: green tkemali in spring, or red later
- or any very sour plum
Aromatics
- 1whole head of garlic
- 1large bunch coriander
- 1large bunch dill
- 2 tbspdried ombalo, pennyroyal, or dried mint
- 2red chillies, or 1 tsp ground
- 1 tbspground coriander seed
- salt
Also
- 200 mlwater
- sugar, only if the plums are not sour enough
Equipment
- a large pot
- a sieve or food mill
- sterilised jars
To serve
- with grilled meat, potatoes, and everything else
Directions
- Use genuinely sour plums, not sweet dessert ones. Wash the plums and put them in a pot with the water. Do not stone the plums beforehand. Bring them to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes until they collapse completely.
- Press the pulp through firmly with a ladle, leaving the skins and stones behind. Work it thoroughly, since a good deal of pulp stays in the skins otherwise. Return the sieved purée to the pot. Simmer it, uncovered, stirring often, until it thickens noticeably.
- Stir it regularly and use a heavy pot, since fruit purée catches and scorches easily, and a burnt note ruins the whole batch. It should reduce to the consistency of a thin ketchup, thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Crush the garlic to a paste with salt. Chop all the fresh herbs very finely. Now add the garlic, herbs, chilli and ground coriander to the pot and cook for only 5 minutes more.
- Add them near the end. Add the dried ombalo or mint at the same time. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. It should be aggressively sour first, then garlicky, then herbal and hot behind.
- Add sugar only if the plums were not sour enough, and only a little. Salt it properly, since salt is what carries the sourness. Now bottle it while it is hot.
- Pour it into sterilised jars, seal them, and turn them upside down until cool. Filling hot into sterilised jars is what lets it keep for a year, which is the point of making it in quantity at harvest. Serve it at room temperature, in a small bowl alongside grilled meat.
Technique
- Green tkemali is made in spring and red later in the season.
- Pennyroyal is traditional as a dried herb and the essential oil is toxic.
- It is bottled in quantity at harvest and kept through the year.
Substitutions
- Any very sour or underripe plum, and greengages for the green version.
- Dried mint in place of ombalo.
Variations
- Green tkemali, made with young sour plums.
- Red tkemali, deeper and slightly sweeter.
- Made hotter, with more chilli.
History
Sour sauce from wild tkemali plums, made green in spring and red later; the standard partner to grilled meat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tkemali?
Tkemali is a sauce & condiment from Georgia: tart wild plum sauce with garlic and dill, poured over everything. Sour sauce from wild tkemali plums, made green in spring and red later; the standard partner to grilled meat.
How long does Tkemali take to make?
Tkemali takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes about 1 litre. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Tkemali?
Yes, within limits. Any very sour or underripe plum, and greengages for the green version. Dried mint in place of ombalo.
What is the most important thing to get right in Tkemali?
Use genuinely sour plums, not sweet dessert ones. Wash the plums and put them in a pot with the water. Do not stone the plums beforehand. Bring them to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes until they collapse completely.
