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Georgian

Tkemali

Vegetarian

ტყემალი · t'q'emali

Georgia's tart plum sauce: sour cherry plums cooked and sieved, then simmered with garlic, dill, coriander, mint and chilli into a pourable, herby sauce for grilled meat and potatoes.

Tkemali is a Georgian sauce, ready in about 1 hour and made with plum, coriander leaves and dill. It serves 20 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
40 min
Total
1 h
Serves
20
Level
Intermediate
Calories
26

Ingredients

20 servings of 30 ml

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the plums (opens in a new tab) and water in a saucepan (opens in a new tab), cover and cook until the fruit collapses and the stones come away, about 15 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Push the plums (opens in a new tab) through a sieve, discarding the skins and stones, and return the purée to the pan.

    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Simmer the purée, stirring often, until it thickens to the consistency of single cream.

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Pound the garlic (opens in a new tab) with the salt to a paste. Stir it into the purée with the herbs, ground coriander (opens in a new tab), chilli and sugar (opens in a new tab) if needed, and simmer for 3 more minutes.

    Spices being ground in a mortar and pestle
    How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Ladle while hot into hot sterilised jars and seal, or cool and refrigerate.

    Food safety: Use sterilised jars and lids, and refrigerate once opened.

About this dish

Origin
Georgia · Well documentedMade with green (unripe) or red sour cherry plums; tkemali is also the Georgian name of the plum itself.Also popular in Russia, ArmeniaMore food from Georgia
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Condiments, chutneys & relishes
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
sour, fruity, herby, garlicky
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, Paleo-style, No added sugarWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Batch cooking
Cook more with
Plum · Coriander leaves · Dill · Garlic · Mint · Ground coriander
Techniques
Simmering · Pickling

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

26 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 35 g · recipe makes 20

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 7%
  • Carbohydrate 87%
  • Fat 6%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy26 kcal74 kcal
Protein0.5 g1.5 g
Carbohydrate6.3 g18 g
Net carbohydrate5.4 g15.5 g
Sugars5 g14.3 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.9 g2.5 g
Fat0.2 g0.5 g
Saturated fat0 g0 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium235 mg671 mg
Salt equivalent0.6 g1.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
102 mg
Calcium
10 mg
Iron
0.3 mg
Magnesium
5 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
19 µg
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
6 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: sugar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The sauce thickens as it cools; stop simmering while it is still pourable.

Common mistakes

  • Simmering the herbs for long — add them at the end so they stay green and fragrant.

Serve with

  • With mtsvadi (grilled meat skewers), chicken tabaka, fried potatoes or kebabs.
  • Stirred into kharcho soup.

Food safety

  • This home recipe is not tested for shelf-stable canning; keep it refrigerated.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 1 month in sterilised jars; once opened use within 2 weeks.

Variations

  • Green tkemali: Made in spring from unripe green plums — sharper and greener in colour.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Plum, washed, left whole1000 g
Used in step 1

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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