Chumachi in Georgian style

A spicy and colorful dish, chumachi in Georgian style is made from chicken offal, which may include either one by-product or several (gizzards, hearts, liver). The offal is first boiled until cooked, and then mixed with ground nuts, fried onions, garlic, fresh herbs, aromatic spices, and must be dressed with juicy pomegranate seeds.

Yield: 3 servings.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Caloric content: 176 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: Georgian.

Ingredients

• chicken gizzards – 600 g;
• peeled walnuts – 150 g;
• fresh parsley or cilantro – a bunch;
• khmeli-suneli – 1 tsp;
• hot red pepper – 0.5 tsp;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves;
• white onion – 300 g;
• pomegranate – 1 pc;
• chicken broth – 50 ml;
• bay leaf – 2 pcs;
• allspice – 4-5 berries;
• rock salt – 0.5 tbsp;
• lemon juice – 1-2 tsp;
• odorless vegetable oil for frying – 50 ml.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for making chumachi in Georgian style. Lemon juice can be replaced with pomegranate juice if desired, and you will need 50 milliliters of it.

2. Rinse the gizzards well, cut off any remaining bile, place in a pot and cover with water.

3. Bring the broth to a boil (do not cover with a lid). A turbulent release of foam will begin. Let the gizzards boil for about 5 minutes. Then drain the water, rinse the offal, and cover with clean water.

4. Place the pot back on the heat, add 50 grams of onion (cut a piece without chopping it), bay leaf, and allspice.

5. After boiling begins, salt the mixture and cook covered on low heat for about two hours (the longer the gizzards are cooked, the softer and tastier they will become).

6. While waiting, prepare the onion by chopping it into small cubes.

7. Fry the chopped onion in vegetable oil until the first signs of browning appear.

8. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate.

9. Finely chop the parsley (or cilantro).

10. Crush the nuts into crumbs by passing them through a meat grinder or chopper.

11. Add the fried onion to the nut mixture.

12. Add spices here and press garlic through a press.

13. When the offal is cooked, remove it from the broth and cool it, then chop it finely.

14. Next, add them to the bowl with the prepared mixture.

15. Mix everything well.

16. Now the mixture needs to be moistened – it should not be liquid, but should only become pliable. For this, slowly start adding chicken broth, thoroughly incorporating it into the nut-meat mixture.

17. In the end, add the chopped greens and pomegranate seeds.

18. Mix the appetizer again.

19. Then it needs to be slightly acidified – either with lemon or pomegranate juice. Taste the mixture and adjust if necessary.

When serving, sprinkle the top of the chumachi in Georgian style with a handful of pomegranate seeds. This is a version of a cold appetizer, but the same dish can also be served hot. In that case, the boiled and chopped gizzards should be fried in a pan, then add the nut crumbs, and only then mix with the herbs and pomegranate. Both versions are very colorful and tasty – they are worth trying.