“Pkhali” is a very tasty Georgian starter which can be made from different vegetables, normally beetroot, spinach or aubergines. The veggies are cooked and blended into a paste, which gets thickened with walnuts and seasoned with many herbs and spices.
Ingredients:
3 medium sized beetroots (ca. 500 gr)
1 cup of nuts (ca. 100 gr)
1-2 garlic cloves
Some parsley and coriander leaves
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon of each spice: ground coriander, paprika, chili flakes, pepper, salt
Some pomegranate for decoration
Start by cooking the beetroots. Either boil them for around 20-30 minutes until tender, or as I prefer, steam them for nearly the same time. Set aside to let them cool down and then peel them.
Separately, grind together the nuts, spices and rest of the ingredients until getting a thick paste. Blend then together with the beetroot until they are well integrated. Keep in the fridge for at least one hour. This will improve the texture of the mixture for the last step.
Finally, shape with your hands the mixture into small balls. Decorate with a pomegranate seed over each one and some coriander leaves.
Tips and tricks:
- If you prefer a version with less work, just serve the mixture as a spread and enjoy with flat bread.
- Adjust the spices to your preference, adding more or less garlic or chili. If available, you can also add half teaspoon of fenugreek, or even better, blue fenugreek. This spice belong to same family of the first mentioned, but it’s flavor is milder and sweeter.
- In case you want to experiment, some recipes of pkhali include onion and a spoon of vegetable oil as well.
- It’s possible to add more walnuts, in case you prefer to achieve a thicker consistence. Just don’t add too many because the flavor shouldn’t be predominant.
- Beetroot leaves are edible, and it’s possible to use them for pkhali as well.