Tkemali is a tangy, herby plum sauce that no Georgian barbecue, fried potatoes or grilled trout is complete without. Almost every family makes it, bottles it for winter and proudly offers it to guests. You can buy tkemali in any supermarket, but homemade is brighter and tastier. Here's how to make the two main kinds — green and red.

What is tkemali

Tkemali is the Georgian name for the sour cherry plum and for the sauce made from it. The sauce comes in several types:

  • green — from unripe green plums, a spring sauce, very tart and fresh;
  • red — from ripe red or yellow cherry plums, a summer sauce, softer and slightly sweet;
  • from sloes or dark plums — darker and thicker.

The secret of the flavour is ombalo, pennyroyal (a wild mint). It gives tkemali its distinctly Georgian aroma. Outside Georgia it's hard to find and is replaced with mint and thyme, but in Georgia dried ombalo is sold at every market.

Ingredients

Red tkemali (about 1 litre)

  • red or yellow cherry plums — 2 kg;
  • garlic — 1 head (8–10 cloves);
  • coriander leaves — 1 large bunch;
  • dill (with flower heads if possible) — 1 bunch;
  • ombalo (pennyroyal) — 1 bunch fresh or 1–2 tbsp dried;
  • ground coriander seed — 1 tbsp;
  • hot red chilli — 1–2 pods or 1 tsp ground;
  • salt — 1–1.5 tbsp;
  • sugar — 1–3 tbsp (to taste, depending on the plums' acidity).

Green tkemali

The same, but:

  • green (unripe) cherry plums — 2 kg;
  • more herbs — coriander and dill;
  • green chilli instead of red;
  • sugar is usually needed because green plums are very sour.

Method

1. Cook the plums

Wash the plums and put them in a pot with a little water — about 200 ml per 2 kg so they don't catch. If you have ombalo and dill heads, add the sprigs to the pot. Cook over medium heat for 10–15 minutes until the skins burst and the flesh comes away from the stones.

2. Sieve

Drain the plums in a colander, keeping the cooking liquid. Push the flesh through a sieve or colander to remove stones and skins. You'll get a thick purée.

3. Prepare herbs and garlic

Finely chop the coriander, dill and fresh ombalo. Crush or grate the garlic. Finely chop the chilli (seeded if you want it milder).

Many cooks blitz the herbs, garlic and chilli in a blender with a little purée for a smoother sauce.

4. Combine and reduce

Return the purée to the pot. If it's too thick, thin it with the reserved liquid. Add salt, sugar, ground coriander and dried ombalo (if not using fresh). Simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring, until it's like thin sour cream.

At the very end, 2–3 minutes before it's done, add the garlic, chilli and fresh herbs. Taste and balance the sourness, salt and sweetness.

5. Bottle

Pour the hot sauce into sterilised bottles or jars and seal. Many Georgian families traditionally pour a little vegetable oil on top to create a protective layer.

Storage

  • Opened tkemali keeps 2–3 weeks in the fridge.
  • Properly sealed in sterile bottles, it keeps up to a year in a cool dark place.

Substitutes for ombalo

If you're cooking outside Georgia:

  • a mix of fresh mint (1/2 bunch) and a pinch of thyme;
  • dried mint (1 tsp) with a little savory;
  • or buy dried ombalo from Georgian grocery shops.

Best of all, bring a packet back from a Tbilisi market with your other spices.

What to eat tkemali with

  • Mtsvadi (barbecue) — the classic.
  • Fried potatoes — the simplest and most beloved pairing.
  • Fried or baked fish, especially trout.
  • Chicken tabaka and other poultry.
  • Meatballs, kebabs, lula.
  • Pasta — yes, Georgians do that too.

Tkemali is also used in kharcho: classic Megrelian kharcho uses dried plum leather (tklapi) or the sauce itself.

Tklapi — plum leather

Tkemali's relative is tklapi, a thin sour plum leather dried in the sun and sold at markets in large sheets. It's dissolved in broth for kharcho or eaten as a sour treat.

Where to buy tkemali in Georgia

  • Markets — especially Dezerter Bazaar in Tbilisi. Homemade tkemali is sold in plastic bottles; ask for a taste.
  • Supermarkets — factory tkemali from various brands, convenient to pack (in glass, well wrapped).
  • Guesthouses — many hosts sell their own sauce.

Tip: try both red and green — they're very different.

In short

Tkemali is sour plums, cooked and sieved, with garlic, coriander, dill, chilli, ground coriander and essential ombalo. Green is tart and fresh; red is softer and sweeter. It takes under an hour, keeps a long time and improves almost any meat or potato dish. Make homemade tkemali once and the shop-bought kind will seem a pale copy.