Georgian Chicken Satsivi

Undoubtedly, no major celebration among the locals is without a purely national dish – Georgian chicken satsivi. Although each family uses its own additives and spices, the main principle of preparation has remained since ancient times. Pieces of boiled chicken are placed on a serving dish and covered with nut sauce. After a short while, the liquid sauce thickens and satsivi is served as a cold appetizer.

Yield: 5 servings.

Cooking time: 90 minutes.

Calories: 206 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: Georgian.

Ingredients

For the broth:

• chicken - 1/2 carcass;
• medium-sized white onion - 1 pc;
• salt - 1 tbsp.

For the sauce:

• walnuts (peeled) - 200 g;
• salt - 1 tsp;
• hot chili pepper - 0.5 tsp;
• garlic - 4-5 cloves;
• khmeli-suneli - 1 tsp;
• ground coriander - 1/3 tsp;
• 6% wine vinegar - 1 tsp;
• chicken broth - 350 ml.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for the broth.

2. Gather all the components for the nut sauce. The amount of hot pepper can be slightly increased or decreased, and instead of khmeli-suneli, you can use ucho-suneli. Many traditional recipes use saffron, so a small amount will be appropriate in this sauce. Wine vinegar can be replaced with apple vinegar. A worthy alternative here can be pomegranate juice.

3. Wash the carcass, place it in a pot, and cover with purified water so that it completely covers the bird. Put the pot on the heat.

4. As soon as foam starts to form, it must be removed, and the heat should be reduced to a minimum.

5. Add the peeled onion and salt to the broth. Boil the chicken for a total of 45 minutes, making sure the broth does not boil too vigorously, resulting in a light and transparent broth. Remove the carcass at the end and let it cool.

6. Place the nuts along with the spices and salt in a chopper.

7. Before adding garlic to the mixture, it should be chopped with a knife so that no clove remains whole during grinding.

8. Then the crushed garlic can be transferred to the chopper.

9. Grind the entire mixture into very fine crumbs.

10. Gradually start adding hot broth and mixing the mixture.

11. In the end, a liquid sauce of almost white color should be obtained, which will begin to thicken after a few minutes.

12. Add the vinegar and mix the mixture again.

13. Cut the chicken carcass into serving pieces and place them in a ceramic dish that will be served on the table.

14. Pour the still unthickened nut sauce over the pieces of chicken.

15. The dish should not be stirred. You can simply tap the dish on the table to release air bubbles and allow the sauce to penetrate every corner, enveloping each piece tightly. In about 5-10 minutes, the mixture will become thick. Georgian chicken satsivi is ready.

If satsivi needs to be served at a festive dinner and the dish is already prepared by noon, it should not be put in the refrigerator but left on the table - this way the taste will be more correct. Before serving, satsivi is garnished with herbs and pomegranate seeds. The very unusual and enchanting taste of this dish will surely make you want to experience it again and again, give it a try!