Ajapsandali: A Classic Recipe For A Georgian Dish

2025 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 12:41

Ajapsandali in Georgian: the perfect summer treat

Ajapsandali (or ajapsandal) in Georgian is an incredibly aromatic vegetable dish with spices and herbs. It can be eaten as a hot stew, or it can be served as a spicy cold appetizer.

Ajapsandali products

The basis of the dish is vegetables: eggplants, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and bell peppers.

Vegetables should be ripe and juicy, as their condition directly affects the taste of the dish

In addition to the vegetable component, greens are used - basil, parsley and cilantro.

Greens must certainly be fresh, dried will not give the desired aroma and taste

And of course, as in all Georgian dishes, spices play the first violin in the symphony of taste. Their set varies depending on the region of the country, but the classic recipe includes black pepper, saffron, coriander and utskho-suneli.

Saffron is the most expensive spice, it is also called "red gold", but it is he who gives Georgian dishes a unique aroma and taste

The result is a bright and delicious dish served with fresh bread or lavash.

Fresh bread is served with a dish in order to collect a delicious sauce with its crumb

Classic recipe from Tinatin Mzhavanadze

Ingredients:

• 4 tomatoes;
• 3 onions;
• 4 sweet peppers;
• 3 carrots;
• 4 eggplants;
• 6 cloves of garlic;
• 50 g of basil, cilantro and parsley;
• 1 tsp sea salt;
• 1/3 tsp black pepper;
• 1/3 tsp utsho-suneli;
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander;
• a pinch of saffron;
• 5 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Step by step recipe:

1. Cut the eggplants into slices.

   

   Cut the blue into circles 1-1.5 cm thick

2. Sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and leave in a bowl for 30-40 minutes to remove the bitter taste.

   

   Salt will draw out bitterness from vegetables and make them tender

3. Then fry the eggplants on both sides in a skillet with hot oil.

   

   Eggplant must be fried until golden brown

4. Peel the bell peppers and cut into semicircles.

   

   Choose a juicy and fresh pepper, the saturation of the sauce depends on it

5. Peel the onion and chop.

   

   Do not cut the onion too finely, it should be noticeable in the finished dish

6. Peel the carrots and cut into thin strips.

   

   A sharp knife is required for thinly slicing carrots.

7. Now you need to fry the carrots with onions until golden brown.

   

   Avoid sticking vegetables, otherwise ajapsandali will have an unpleasant aftertaste

8. Chop the herbs.

   

   Try not to chop the greens too finely

9. Make cruciform cuts on the tomatoes and scald them with boiling water.

   

   Cut tomatoes are easier to peel off

10. Cool the scalded tomatoes a little and peel them off.

    

    Boiling water does not harm the taste of tomatoes

11. Then chop the tomatoes and place them in the blender bowl. Grind until puree.

    

    You can cut tomatoes arbitrarily, without forgetting to remove the hard core

12. Put all vegetables in a saucepan, pour over tomato puree, add spices and herbs. Bring ajapsandali to a boil over low heat, stirring all the time.

    

    It is very convenient to stir vegetables with a wide wooden spatula

13. Peel the garlic.

    

    It is better to take fresh garlic, this will give the dish a sharp, tantalizing aroma

14. The cloves of garlic must be ground in a mortar with a pinch of salt until they become gruel. Then add to a saucepan with ajapsandali, cover, turn off the heat and let stand for 5-7 minutes.

    

    Rubbing in a mortar together with salt releases all aroma and taste from the cloves of garlic

15. Put the finished dish into deep bowls and serve with herbs and fresh bread.

    

    When serving ajapsandali on plates, try to distribute equally in each sauce and vegetables

Video: ajapsandal with potatoes

This year, a record amount of sweet peppers and eggplants has grown in our country house. So I wondered what to cook from them. Winter preservation, peppers stuffed in various ways, eggplant caviar - I tried all the recipes, and the vegetables sang and sang everything. Then I remembered about ajapsandali. A spicy, fragrant dish with a Georgian flavor was to everyone's taste. I served it with homemade bread and fresh vegetable salad. The most amazing thing is that we ate this dish at least three times a week, but no one complained about the monotony. Indeed, by varying the amount and composition of spices, you can add new flavors every time.

Georgian vegetable dishes can surprise you with their rich taste. The thing is that spices give the usual products a bright aroma. At the same time, it is important that in summer and autumn ajapsandali is a very affordable dish, because it does not contain expensive ingredients.