Ajapsandali, Georgian stewed vegetables

Name: Ajapsandali, Georgian stewed vegetables
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Georgian,Signature Cuisine
Ingredients: Aubergine/Eggplant: 1 kg of; Paprika red: 500 kg of; Onion: 250 g of; Tomato: 500 g of; Carrot: 200 g of; Garlic: 4 cloves of; Extra Virgin olive oil: 3 tbsp. of; Vegetable oil: for frying; Coriander leaves: 1 bunch of; Basil leaves: 1 bunch of; Utskho-suneli: 1 tsp. of; Ground coriander: 1 tsp. of; Cayenne pepper: to taste; Imereti saffron: 1 tsp. of; Salt: to taste; Grounded black pepper: to taste; Bay leaf: 2

Features:

Cuisine:

Serves 8
Medium

Ingredients

Vegetables:
1 kg of Aubergine/Eggplant
500 kg of Paprika red
250 g of Onion
500 g of Tomato
200 g of Carrot
4 cloves of Garlic
Or more
3 tbsp. of Extra Virgin olive oil
for frying Vegetable oil
refined oil
Herbs & Spices:
1 bunch of Coriander leaves
1 bunch of Basil leaves
1 tsp. of Utskho-suneli
1 tsp. of Ground coriander
to taste Cayenne pepper
Or, fresh chili peppers
1 tsp. of Imereti saffron
to taste Salt
to taste Grounded black pepper
2 Bay leaf

Directions

Ajapsandali (Georgian stewed vegetables) is the most beautiful and flavorful dish of summer Georgian cuisine. The photo does not convey that, but it represents a good breakfast set:). Ajapsandali is often cooked from the ripest vegetables, usually grilled, then stewed with garlic and spices, adding fresh herbs. Mmmm, yummy! It’s generally eaten cold since it is summer, but you can also eat it warm if you like it that way.

As with any stewed vegetables and from any cuisine, the proportions are pretty loose. They vary depending on the availability of the vegetables. I will give you an approximate combination, which you can then change.

But! For it to turn out exactly like Ajapsandali, i.e. a Georgian dish and not just stewed vegetables, you need to have very important and must-have ingredients. Eggplants are the base of this dish, along with tomatoes and sweet peppers. Blue fenugreek (uccho-suneli) plays a critical role among spices. Plus, this dish includes a lot of fresh basil and coriander. Also, this dish is made spicy, but here I would not force it. Make a comfortable spice as you like.

If it’s grilling season, the vegetables can be grilled on it and then stewed. I will give you the home cooking option.

Bon Appétit!

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Steps

1 Done	Dice the eggplants into large cubes of 2 to 3 cm. Then place them in a colander, sprinkle with coarse salt and let them rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Moreover, if previously, this procedure was explained by the need to get rid of eggplant bitterness, now the eggplant varieties are no longer bitter. However, for our dish, we will fry eggplants in oil so we need to get rid of excess moisture.
2 Done	Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Bake red bell peppers for about 10 to 15 minutes on each side. The peppers should become soft, with the skin blackened and peeled off in some places. Put the cooked bell peppers in a bowl or saucepan, cover them with a lid and let cool slightly. Then remove the transparent skin, remove the seeds and cut the pepper lengthwise into 1 cm thick strips.
3 Done	When the eggplants have drained, dry them with a paper towel while slightly squeezing out the remaining moisture. Pour a 4 to 5 cm layer of vegetable oil into a small saucepan or pan with a thick bottom and walls. Although I don't usually use refined oil in cooking, that's the exact situation where refined olive oil would be the best option. When the oil is well heated, fry the eggplants in portions until golden brown, then put them in a colander to drain the excess oil. Set the cooked eggplants aside for now.
4 Done	Slice the onion and carrot into thin half rings and chop the greens with a medium chop. Grate the tomatoes on a coarse grater until the skins remain in your hand and the pulp is ground. Discard the skins. Chop the garlic finely. Or you can squeeze it through the press (in this case, it will come later into the dish).
5 Done	Preheat the olive oil in a cauldron or saucepan with a thick bottom, and sauté the onions and carrots over medium heat until soft and golden for about 15 minutes. Add all the spices except for the herbs and garlic. Then add the tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants. Stir them together, season with salt to taste and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and stew all vegetables together for 15 minutes. When the dish is done, add the herbs and garlic, stir, put the lid on and let it cool. Then, put it into the fridge to store. Serve it cold or hot to taste. It keeps well in the fridge for about a week. Bon Appetit!