Chashushuli

Ingredients

Meat

• 1 kgveal or beef, in thin strips
• 2 tbspoil or butter

Pot

• 3onions, sliced
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2green chillies, sliced
• 150 mldry white wine

Herbs and spice

• 1large bunch coriander
• 1 bunchparsley
• 1 tspblue fenugreek
• 1 tspdried marigold
• ½ tspground coriander seed
• salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Brown the meat hard in a heavy pan or a clay ketsi, working in batches so that it colours properly rather than steaming in its own liquid.
2. Add the sliced onions and cook for 10 minutes until soft and golden. The name simply means stewed, and the onion is doing as much work here as the meat is.
3. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half.
4. Add the tomatoes, cover, and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the meat is tender.
5. Add no water at any point. Between the onion, the tomato and the wine there is plenty, and the sauce should finish thick and clinging rather than loose.
6. Add the garlic, chillies, blue fenugreek, dried marigold and ground coriander and cook for a further 5 minutes.
7. Stir in a large quantity of chopped coriander and parsley with the pan off the heat, cover, and let them wilt for 5 minutes in the residual warmth.
8. Season, and serve it still bubbling in the ketsi it was cooked in, with bread and a plate of raw herbs alongside.

Technique

• The clay ketsi holds heat far better than metal, and the dish is meant to arrive at the table still sizzling in it.
• It is the everyday tavern braise rather than a special-occasion dish, and every Georgian cook makes it slightly differently.
• Chilli is used more freely in Kakheti than in the west of the country. Adjust to taste.

Substitutions

• A small heavy cast iron pan in place of a ketsi.
• Beef shin instead of veal, given an extra 45 minutes.

Variations

• With mushrooms added along with the tomatoes.
• Made with pork, which is common at home.
• With considerably more chilli, in the Kakhetian manner.

History

Everyday tavern braise whose name means stewed; served bubbling in the clay ketsi it was cooked in.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chashushuli?

Chashushuli is a soup & stew from Georgia: veal or beef braised with tomato, onion, chilli and coriander. Everyday tavern braise whose name means stewed; served bubbling in the clay ketsi it was cooked in.

How long does Chashushuli take to make?

Chashushuli takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chashushuli?

Yes, within limits. A small heavy cast iron pan in place of a ketsi. Beef shin instead of veal, given an extra 45 minutes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chashushuli?

Brown the meat hard in a heavy pan or a clay ketsi, working in batches so that it colours properly rather than steaming in its own liquid.