Most countries that have a fairly bland cuisine usually embrace the spicy with open arms; in the UK, Indian food is the go-to if you're wanting something to excite the taste buds, in France you've got the North African influence, and in the US it's got to be Mexican. For the former Eastern Bloc countries the spice fix comes via Georgia (and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan) and despite the break up of the USSR it's still possible to find Georgian restaurants in many places.
And I have to say, it's rare that you taste something so different, so exciting that your first response (had you not been sitting surrounded by scary looking blokes) would be to jump up yelling "Holy shit, what is this?!" Yep... that good.
I spent a large part of the evening trying to figure out what was making it taste just so damn good, my Georgian being non existent, and my Russian and Ukrainian not up to the level required to interrogate a cook. I'd ordered ajapsandali, a vegetable stew not unlike ratatouille. Tomato based (though I later learned that some cooks omit the tomato and use potatoes), with aubergine and sweet peppers. The fresh herbiness of coriander was evident, as was the citrus notes of ground coriander seed, and the earthy tones of fenugreek. All cuisines have their preferred spice blends, with Georgian food the ubiquitous mixture is known as khmeli suneli (which apparently means dried spices), the exact mixture can vary, as do proportions, but the main ingredients that give Georgian food the 'wow' factor are ground coriander seed, fenugreek, fennel, dill, cinnamon and marigold petals.
The recipe below for ajapsandali is my attempt to recreate the meal I ate. I did search online for a recipe, but none that I could find sounded quite right. It could be that it's Georgian food as suited to the tastes of Ukrainians or Poles (I've also eaten it in Georgian restaurants in Poland a number of times) in the manner that Indian or Chinese food is adapted from country to country, but whatever its providence, it's damn tasty and if you're after something a little more exciting than your usual ratatouille, then it fits the bill.
1 large aubergine
2 red peppers
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
2 tsp khmeli suneli
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp oregano
Saffron (couple of threads - optional)
1 large bunch of coriander
1 good handful of flat leaf parsley
a few sprigs of dill
Salt to taste
500 g carton of passata
1. Fry the chopped onion and crushed garlic in olive oil until softened. While the onions are frying, heat the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and grind them. As an aside, I'm not normally a 'grind your own' spices snob, for the most part ready ground spices are perfectly acceptible if you get them from a reputable source and they haven't spend the last 5 years languishing on the back of a shelf, than if you grind them yourself. Coriander seed is the exception to the rule, there's nothing quite like the flavour of toasted and freshly ground coriander seed. If you don't have a pestle and mortar then put them in a plastic baggie and beat the hell out of it with a hammer, rolling pin, or bottle. You don't need a fine powder, just enough to crack the shells and release the aroma.
2. Slice the aubergine and peppers into large chunks and add them to the pan.
3. At this point I also chop up the stems of the coriander and parsley and add them to the pot for extra flavour. Reserve the leaves for later on.
4. Stir in the passata and simmer on a low heat for around 1 hour (or until the aubergine is softened)
5. Once the aubergine is cooked through, stir in some finely chopped coriander and parsley and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
6. Add salt to taste
7. Eat! It's delicious with rice or with flat bread.
No comments:
Post a Comment