Adjaran battered anchovies are the region's signature coastal fish preparation, reflecting Adjara's Black Sea location. Black Sea anchovies (khamsa) are mixed with finely chopped beet leaves, parsley, coriander, boiled rice and corn flour, soaked in barberry water, then baked on a heated griddle. The beet-leaf, barberry, cornmeal and rice breading is a distinctively Adjaran-Ottoman (Laz) Black Sea take, different from the plainer fried anchovies of other Georgian coastal regions.
Crisp-edged, herb-flecked patties of anchovy, rice and cornmeal, the beet greens giving colour and an earthy note, the barberry a faint tartness, the fish salty and rich underneath. Eaten with lemon, it is savoury, herby and briny.
The anchovies are deboned and chopped, then bound with cooked rice and corn flour, which gives the patties body without wheat. Beet greens and herbs are folded in for flavour and the barberry water, drawn from a local sour berry, adds tartness and helps the coating set. The patties are shaped and baked on a heated griddle with a little oil, so they crisp on both surfaces while staying moist inside.
Variations
A coastal variant swaps beet greens for spinach. Some cooks skip the rice for a denser patty.
On the Palate
Where Adjaran Battered Anchovies sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 18 min
Clean 500g Black Sea anchovies: remove heads and pull out backbones, leaving the fillets in pairs; chop roughly.
- 26 min
Soak the chopped anchovies in 100ml barberry water (or dilute barberry concentrate) for 15 minutes; drain.
- 38 min
In a bowl, mix the anchovies with 150g cooked rice, 100g corn flour, 100g finely chopped beet greens, a handful each of chopped parsley and coriander, 1 tsp salt and black pepper.
Watch outBind with just enough cooked rice and corn flour that the mix holds a patty — too wet and they slump on the griddle; the rice and corn are what give body without wheat.
- 45 min
Shape the mixture into flat patties about 8cm across.
- 512 min
Heat a griddle with a little oil and bake the patties 5 minutes per side until crisp and golden.
Watch outBake five minutes a side until crisp and golden but still moist inside — flip only once so the patties don't break apart.
- 63 min
Serve hot with lemon wedges and ajika.
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