To try the national dish of any cuisine of the world, it is not necessary to go to one or another country. Today, this can be done by visiting a restaurant or by ordering a ready-made meal at home. The prices, however, for such delicacies will be too high, and the overpayment for the delivery will not be too happy. To avoid unnecessary expenses and save the family budget, while not losing the opportunity to try dishes of various national cuisines, you can prepare meals at home with your own hands. Today we offer to take advantage of the step-by-step recipe of Georgian cuisine and to please our home with the most delicious shkmeruli. This dish is a fried poultry in milk sauce. You can serve shkmeruli as an independent dish or with any side dish.
History reference. The name of the dish was in honor of the village Shkmeri, which is located high in the mountains. The recipe for the dish was invented by chance when one of the peasants decided to cook the chicken, and there was nothing more than the poultry carcass and the milk with garlic. The food turned out so tasty and fragrant that the recipe immediately came to taste not only the family of the peasant but also the whole district.
For the preparation of shkmeruli, absolutely simple and accessible ingredients will be needed: a chicken carcass or parts of it, milk, garlic, spices (to taste) and some vegetable oil for frying. In Georgian cuisine, it is customary to serve with a meat dish a lot of different vegetables and herbs, and above all, ripe tomatoes and cilantro.
Today there are many variations of cooking shkmeruli. All of them differ only in the method of processing meat and adding spices and seasonings. We offer to get acquainted with some of the recipes and choose the most suitable for you.
Secrets of national cuisine
To prepare the restaurant version of Shkmeruli, you will need the following set of products:
- whole chicken carcass (chicken);
- 400 ml of milk;
- 1-2 tablespoons sour cream;
- medium head of garlic;
- a set of spices: red and black pepper, dry cilantro, hops-suneli;
- coarse salt;
- 100 g butter;
- Fresh cilantro and pomegranate grains.
Step by step description of the cooking process of Georgian shkmeruli
- We take the carcass of a medium-sized chicken, wash it and cut it along the breast line. Remove excess moisture with a paper towel and place on a flat, level surface.
- Put the flattened carcass in the bag (wrapped in cling film) and repel it. The greatest attention should be paid to the legs and thighs.
- We take out the beaten off meat from cellophane and rub it with spices and pepper. Sprinkle with salt on top and leave in a deep bowl for half an hour.
- While the meat is marinated, you should prepare the sauce. Peel the garlic and squeeze it through the garlic. In a pan melt half of the butter and add the squeezed garlic. Fry it for a few minutes and pour in milk. After the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and add salt. Then, when the sauce boils, simmer it for 1-2 minutes.
- On a flat pan, melt the remaining butter and spread the marinated meat with the skin up. From above we install a press (for example, a saucepan with water) and fry on medium heat for 20-25 minutes. Then turn over the carcass and continue to fry it the same way on the other side.
- We spread the finished chicken on a paper towel to absorb excess fat.
- Slightly cooled meat is cut into portions and put into baking dish. Pour meat with garlic-dairy sauce on top and set in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes.
- A few minutes before being ready, add 1-2 tablespoons of thick cream to the sauce and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Sour cream and pomegranate will add spicy acidity to the dish.
You can serve shkmeruli in Georgian in portions as well as in the container in which it was cooked, sprinkling the food with chopped greens and herbs. Guests will not be able to forget the amazing taste of chicken, and you will certainly hear compliments to your address!
A homemade chicken recipe in Georgian
This recipe is a little simplified and adapted for cooking at home. But despite this, the dish is guaranteed to have an unusually rich taste and aroma.
It will take the following:
- chicken parts (you can take a chicken leg, thighs, legs, wings) – 1 kg;
- Drinking cream – 70 ml or milk – 100 ml.
- garlic cloves – 5-6 pieces;
- ground black pepper, salt, fresh parsley (cilantro);
- A few tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Action algorithm
- Wash and dry the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Put them in a greased baking dish and put in a preheated 200-degree oven for half an hour.
- While the meat is roasting, prepare the sauce. To do this, grate the garlic cloves on a fine grater (chop in a garlic dish) and place in a saucepan.
- Pour the chopped garlic cream, diluted with water (milk) and bring to a boil. Garlic and creamy sauce cannot be salted since the chicken is already sufficiently salted.
- Remove the cooked meat from the oven and cover with hot sauce.
- Place the container in the oven for a few more minutes so that the meat can absorb the garlic flavor and creamy taste.
It is best to serve shkmeruli with vegetables, greens, fresh bread or Georgian pita bread. If you still decide to offer a side dish, then the best to combine with chicken is boiled rice.
Too long to call home for the table you do not have to. The aroma of a cooked dish will wake up everyone’s appetite!