Chkmeruli in Georgian style

Chkmeruli in Georgian style is a famous Caucasian dish. Essentially, it is tender chicken with a golden crust, completely softened and infused with cream, spices, and seasoning.

To achieve a good result, it is important to use a chicken or a young hen (it is undesirable to use a rooster, as its meat is tougher). In addition, the carcass, which should be cut into 2 parts beforehand, must be beaten with a mallet – this will shorten the cooking time and greatly enhance the flavor of the finished dish.

Yield: 4 servings.

Cooking time: 60 minutes.

Calories: 210 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: Georgian.

Ingredients

• chicken (young) - 1/2 carcass;
• 20% cream - 125 ml;
• milk with arbitrary fat content - 150-200 ml;
• coarse salt - 1 tsp;
• khmeli-suneli - 1 tsp;
• odorless vegetable oil - 2 tbsp;
• garlic - 1 head;
• cilantro (can be replaced with parsley) - large bunch;
• dried mint - 2 tbsp.

If desired, you can place hot pepper, a head of garlic, and aromatic herbs in the baking dish.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for chkmeruli in Georgian style. Regarding the ratio of cream and milk - you can use richer cream by reducing the recommended amount and diluting them in a larger volume of milk than indicated in the recipe. Conversely, for less fatty cream, increase the volume and dilute with a smaller amount of milk. The main thing is that the creamy sauce ends up being about 10% fat, and its volume should cover the chicken almost to 2/3. The preparatory process does not take long, so you can turn on the oven to 200 degrees right away.

2. Cut half of the carcass into 4 parts. Young hens have soft bones, so this will not be difficult to do.

3. Cover the pieces of the carcass with double plastic wrap (to avoid splattering) and beat with a mallet on one side, flattening the protruding parts to a nearly horizontal position.

4. Now the chicken should be salted and peppered, massaging it with hands coated in vegetable oil.

5. Heat an empty cast-iron skillet. Place the chicken pieces in it.

6. Place a weight on top - you can use a pot with water. To avoid dirtying the bottom, it is recommended to place parchment underneath it. Fry each side for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.

7. Prepare the sauce. Chop the parsley. Squeeze all the garlic cloves into a bowl.

8. Combine everything. Add the mint crushed with fingers to this as well.

9. Pour in the cream.

10. Dilute the sauce with milk – do not pour in the entire volume at once; you can add the remainder into the baking dish when you can see how much more liquid is needed.

11. Season the mixture with khmeli-suneli, and don’t forget to salt it.

12. Meanwhile, both sides of the chicken will fry under the weight.

13. Transfer the pieces to a baking dish of suitable size.

14. If desired, add a whole pod of hot pepper, a head of garlic, and a couple of rosemary sprigs.

15. Evenly distribute the creamy sauce. If the dimensions of the dish greatly exceed the area occupied by the chicken, you will need to add a little milk, covering the carcass to 2/3 of its height.

16. Send the preparation into the oven. After about 35 minutes, the young hen will be completely tender and ready.

17. Chkmeruli in Georgian style is ready. The hot dish can be placed directly on the serving table, cut the garlic head in half, remove burnt herb sprigs, replace them with new ones, add fresh greens, and call everyone to the table. Once you try this dish, you won’t be able to resist making it again.