Gurian Cabbage: The Right Recipe With Photos And Videos

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

Gurian cabbage: recipes for an amazingly tasty snack

Some call this dish cabbage in Georgian, others in Caucasian, and still others - mzhave kombosto, which roughly means "sauerkraut or pickled cabbage". However, most often, a juicy appetizer of bright raspberry color with a pleasant sweet-sour taste, sharpness and "crunchiness" is called cabbage in Gurian style in honor of the region in western Georgia, where, according to legend, this recipe was born.

How to cook gurian cabbage

The essential ingredients of Gurian cabbage are:

• the white cabbage itself is strong and ripe;
• beets, which will provide the snack with a bright color and soft sweetish notes;
• bitter pepper (what kind of Georgian food is it without the proper spice?);
• garlic - for airiness;
• salt.

But vinegar and sugar are not included in the classic recipe. However, if you are afraid for the safety of the blanks, you can add them.

Traditional recipe

To prepare an appetizer that is as close as possible to the classic Guria recipe, you will need:

• 3 kg of white cabbage;
• 1.5 kg of beets;
• 200 g of celery;
• a bunch of dill;
• 3 hot pepper pods;
• 2 heads of garlic;
• 2 liters of water;
• 100 g salt + 1 tbsp. l.

Cooking.

1. Cut the cabbage into pieces of medium size - these are the ones that will have time to properly marinate and color. On average, a head of cabbage is divided into 7-10 parts.

   

   The cabbage is cut together with the stalk

2. Peel the beets and cut into slices.

   

   You need thin slices

3. Remove the stalks from the pepper and, if you do not want extra pungency, the seeds. At the same time, cut the pods lengthwise.

   

   The seeds add a spice to the snack

4. Divide the heads of garlic into cloves and free from tough skins.

   

   There is no need to chop garlic

5. Chop celery and dill coarsely and remember a little in your hands to make the snack more fragrant.

   

   Celery should be young and fresh

6. Put the vegetables in an enamel or glass container (and ideally a wooden barrel) in layers: cabbage, beets, a mixture of herbs with garlic and celery, again cabbage and beets.

   

   The last layer should be beets

7. Prepare the brine by boiling water and adding 100 g of salt to it.

   

   If desired, you can add bay leaves, allspice peas and 100 ml of vinegar to the water if you want to ensure the best preservation of the snack

8. Pour the brine over the vegetables, cover with a flat plate and place under oppression.

   

   The role of oppression will be taken on by a can of water placed on the bottom of the plate

9. Soak the cabbage for 2-3 days at room temperature, add another 1 tbsp to the brine. l. salt and leave the snack to rise for a couple of days in the cold. After that, you can eat cabbage, but if you wait a week or two, the snack will become even tastier and more aromatic.

   

   The more time passes, the brighter and tastier the cabbage will become.

With carrots

Modern versions of the classic recipe suggest replacing celery with other vegetables or herbs, for example, carrots or kohlrabi cabbage. We suggest you try one of these recipes.

For him you will need:

• 1 head of medium sized cabbage;
• 1 large beet;
• 1 chili pepper;
• 2 sweet carrots;
• 3-5 cloves of garlic;
• 500 ml of water;
• black and red peppers to taste;
• 2-3 tbsp. l. salt.

You can use spices to taste - for example,

1. Divide the cabbage head together with the cabbage into 5-7 pieces.

   

   The number of pieces depends on the size of the head

2. Peel and cut the beets and carrots into slices.

   

   With carrots, the taste of cabbage will become healthier, brighter and softer

3. Cut the chili pepper lengthwise and remove the stalk. Whether to get rid of the seeds, decide for yourself.

   

   If you are not planning to extract the seeds, cut the peppers into rings

4. Peel the garlic.

   

   Very large cloves can be cut in half or crushed with a knife, medium and small cloves can be left intact

5. Put cabbage, beets, carrots and other ingredients in layers in a prepared container.

   

   Remember to tamp the vegetables lightly

6. Boil water, add salt and both types of pepper to it, stir and pour the brine over the vegetables.

   

   Bring the water to a boil, add salt and spices and immediately pour the brine over the cabbage

7. Place the weight on top and leave the cabbage to be salted at room temperature for 3 days, then gently mix the contents of the container and put it in the cold.

   

   The first 3-5 days the cabbage is fermented in the warmth

8. After 2-3 days, you can taste the cabbage.

   

   Cabbage goes well both with meat and potatoes, and by itself

In my opinion, this recipe lacks greens, so the celery from the previous recipe or some other herb will be more than appropriate in it. As an example: when I was preparing a snack, there was no celery in the store and 2 large bunches of parsley had to play its role. It turned out both bright and fragrant.

Video: Gurian cabbage with vinegar

Gurian cabbage can be cooked a week before the expected feast, and for long winter storage. It retains vitamins for a long time, remains crispy and tasty, pleases the eye with a bright beetroot shade. What you need for a winter table.