Ajapsandali with pomegranate seeds
3 servings
30 minutes
Ajapsandali with pomegranate seeds is the essence of Georgian cuisine, infused with the sun and aromas of the Caucasus. This dish combines tender eggplants, sweet tomatoes, and spicy seasonings. It has its roots in Georgian family traditions where vegetables are prepared with care and love. Pomegranate seeds add freshness and a slight tanginess, turning ajapsandali into a true gastronomic masterpiece. The dish is perfect as a cold appetizer, revealing its flavor the next day when the ingredients soak up each other's aromas. It is served with crispy bread or lavash, perfectly complementing the taste with light herbs and spices. Ajapsandali is not just food; it reflects Caucasian hospitality and the richness of culinary traditions.
1
Peel the eggplants. Then cut them lengthwise into strips 5-7 mm thick.
- Eggplant: 1 kg
2
Place the eggplant slices on a perforated tray or any other item with enough holes for the liquid to drain, generously sprinkle with coarse salt, and refrigerate for 1.5–2 hours. This is necessary to remove the bitterness contained in the eggplant.
- Salt: to taste
3
After the specified time, you need to literally squeeze the eggplants. The drier they are, the better.
- Eggplant: 1 kg
4
Fry the eggplants in vegetable oil at medium heat until a golden crust forms, but with a slightly raw inside. To remove excess oil after frying, place them on a perforated tray for 15-20 minutes.
- Eggplant: 1 kg
- Vegetable oil: 75 ml
5
At this time, we blanch all the tomatoes. Then we remove the skin and cut them into cubes, about one centimeter by one centimeter.
- Beefsteak tomatoes: 120 g
- Baku tomatoes: 150 g
6
Chop the onion into small cubes and fry in vegetable oil over medium heat. When the onion starts to turn golden, add butter and cook until fully done. Then strain it through a sieve or colander to remove excess oil and cool it down.
- Onion: 150 g
- Vegetable oil: 75 ml
- Butter: 50 g
7
Finely chop garlic and hot pepper, and grind them with coarse rock salt in a mortar to a paste. Heat a pot with a wide and thick bottom over medium heat. Add butter and sauté the chopped tomatoes for 2-3 minutes. Then add the fried eggplants and onions, along with the garlic mixed with pepper. Stir to evenly distribute the vegetables. Simmer the uniform vegetable mixture over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then season with salt and pepper, and add previously diluted ucho-suneli and ground coriander in a small amount of water, then cool.
- Garlic: 20 g
- Red chili pepper: 10 g
- Salt: to taste
- Butter: 50 g
- Beefsteak tomatoes: 120 g
- Baku tomatoes: 150 g
- Eggplant: 1 kg
- Onion: 150 g
- Ground black pepper: to taste
- Ground coriander: to taste
- Blue fenugreek (utskho-suneli): to taste
8
When the vegetable mix cools down, add chopped fresh red basil and cilantro, as well as pomegranate seeds. Now it can confidently be said: 'adjapsandali' is ready!
- Purple basil: 50 g
- Cilantro (coriander leaves): 100 g
- Pomegranate seeds (arils): 60 g