Tkemali takes its name from the wild sour plum that grows across the Georgian countryside, and making it each summer is a national ritual, with jars put up to last the year. It is the ketchup of Georgia, spooned over grilled meats, potatoes, and bread, and a defining sour note of the whole cuisine.
A spoonful is electric: sharp, mouth-puckering sourness from the plums hits first, then garlic heat and the cool, faintly medicinal lift of pennyroyal. It is thick, savory, and addictive, cutting through any fatty grilled meat like a knife.
The plums' high malic acid and pectin give the sauce both its bracing sourness and its natural thickening, while raw garlic's allicin and the herbs' volatile oils layer pungency on top of the fruit's tartness.
Variations
Green (unripe plum) vs red (ripe plum); blackthorn or sloe in some regions; tarragon added in Kakheti.
On the Palate
Where Tkemali sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12
How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 120 min
Wash sour plums and simmer in a little water until soft and split.
Watch outSimmer just until the plums slump and their skins split — that's when the flesh gives up its sour, pectin-rich pulp.
- 210 min
Pass the cooked plums through a sieve to remove skins and pits, keeping the puree.
- 38 min
Return the puree to the pot and simmer to thicken slightly.
Watch outReduce the puree until a spoon drawn through leaves a brief trail — too thin and the sauce won't cling.
- 45 min
Pound garlic with coriander seed, fresh coriander, and dill into a paste.
- 52 min
Stir the herb paste into the simmering plum puree.
Watch outStir the garlic-herb paste in off a hard boil so the raw pungency and green aroma stay sharp, not cooked flat.
- 62 min
Season with salt, dried pennyroyal mint, and a little chili.
- 74 min
Simmer a few more minutes until glossy and spoonable.
- 85 min
Cool and store in jars; serve at room temperature.
