How to prepare ajapsandali for the winter in jars: the best recipes and storage conditions

Got a ton of eggplants in your garden? Perhaps this is the perfect excuse to prepare the most delicious and filling Caucasian winter preserve—adjapsandali.

Description

Ajapsandali is one of the most popular dishes in Caucasian cuisine, based on eggplant. It can be prepared as a fresh appetizer for a holiday meal or preserved for the winter. Its distinctive features include its unique flavor, spiciness, and superb aroma.

Selecting and preparing ingredients

To prepare this exotic dish you will need:

• Prepare the ripest vegetables: eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Each vegetable should be washed and rinsed with boiling water beforehand.
• To make the dish softer, it is recommended to peel each vegetable.
• Peeling tomatoes can be quite difficult, especially if they've gone soft. It's recommended to soak each vegetable in hot water for about 3 minutes, then quickly transfer them to cold water.
• Peppers must first be seeded.
• Prepare sterilized containers for storing the mixture. Glass jars are typically used for this purpose.

Important: If you want your preparation to have not only a unique flavor but also an interesting appearance, it's recommended to use a variety of colored peppers.

Recipes for making ajapsandal

Ajapsandali is a traditional Caucasian dish. It's equally popular in Russia, especially among eggplant lovers. There are several recipes for this dish.

Classic recipe

To prepare ajapsandali according to the classic recipe, you need a minimum set of products, which include:

• eggplants - 1 kg;
• pepper - 2 pcs.;
• onion - 200 grams;
• tomatoes - 300 grams;
• oil - 300 ml;
• salt - 100 grams;
• dried or fresh herbs to taste.

The cooking recipe consists of several basic steps:

1. Eggplant is a rather bitter vegetable. To avoid ruining the dish, it's important to remove the bitterness first. To do this, chop it into small pieces, then sprinkle with salt and let it sit for at least 3 hours. After this time, rinse the eggplant thoroughly and squeeze out any excess liquid.
2. Carefully place finely chopped tomatoes on the bottom of the pan.
3. The next layer should be fresh onions, cut into rings.
4. After this, the chopped pepper should go into the pan.
5. Lastly, you need to add the squeezed eggplants.

Lightly salt the dish and pour in some oil. Simmer until the vegetables are soft. Add finely chopped herbs about 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking.

With basil and cilantro

Many housewives have fallen in love with this updated recipe for a Caucasian appetizer—one with basil and cilantro. The preparation method is slightly different.

To do this, you need to prepare a number of products:

• peppers - 5 pcs.;
• eggplants - 1 kg;
• onions - 3 pcs.;
• cilantro - 2 pcs.;
• basil - 3 pcs.;
• tomatoes - 3 kg;
• oil - 200 ml;
• salt, herbs and garlic to taste.

Recipe for cooking Caucasian basil preparations and cilantro is quite simple. It requires a few simple steps:

1. The first step is preparing the onion. Peel it and carefully separate it into thin rings.
2. Now the onion needs to be transferred to a saucepan and fried over low heat for 10 minutes.
3. While the onions are frying, prepare the tomatoes: chop them finely until they form a paste-like consistency. Combine the prepared tomatoes with the fried onions.
4. The next ingredient is peppers. These vegetables need to be chopped and then mixed with the other ingredients.
5. Place the vegetables on low heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. After 10 minutes, add garlic and herbs to the main mixture, then continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
7. Salt is added last.

In this recipe, the eggplants are cooked separately from all the other vegetables.

They should be finely chopped, fried in a pan until soft, then combined with the rest of the vegetables and simmered for 5 minutes.

In a multicooker

Every modern housewife has a convenient appliance like a multicooker. It allows you to quickly and easily prepare food for the winter.

The ingredients required are the same as for the classic recipe, but the cooking principle will be slightly different:

1. Soak the sliced ​​eggplants in a weak salt solution to remove any bitterness. After about 20-30 minutes, rinse them with cool water. Fry the vegetables in a pan until soft, then transfer them to the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, oil, salt, and herbs. Cook the dish on the "stewing" setting for 20-30 minutes. If you simmer them longer, they may become overcooked.

For preparing the preparation in a multicooker, it is recommended to use soft, ripe vegetables.

In the oven

It's even easier to make ajapsandali in the oven. To do this:

1. Remove the seeds from all the vegetables and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. The ideal temperature is 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Place hot vegetables in cool salted water for 3 minutes, then peel and dice.
3. Place the chopped vegetables in a frying pan, add spices and fry in butter for 10 minutes.

Additionally, you can add butter to the warm vegetables and mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

In Armenian

If you want ajapsandali to acquire an unusual, “spicy” taste, then you should prepare it according to the Armenian recipe.

In addition to the standard set of vegetables, to prepare it you will also need:

• carrots - half a kilogram;
• hot pepper - 1 pc.;
• fresh cilantro, parsley and basil - 20 grams of each ingredient;
• butter - 150 grams.

It's recommended to add khmeli-suneli spice to the dish to taste. To prepare it, follow these steps:

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan.
2. Add carrots and peppers, cut into strips, and onions, cut into rings, to the frying pan.
3. After another 10 minutes of cooking, add something that will give the dish a spicy and piquant flavor: garlic and hot pepper.
4. Transfer the fried vegetables to a cauldron. Top with a layer of carrots and eggplant, add spices, and a small amount of water. Simmer for 20 minutes.

It's worth noting that this dish is quite spicy. Therefore, those who don't like spicy dishes should choose a different recipe for ajapsandali.

In Georgian

The most filling and calorie-rich dish is the Georgian recipe. To prepare it, you'll need:

• eggplants - 1 kilogram;
• potatoes - 500 grams;
• ground pepper - half a teaspoon;
• tomatoes - 4 pieces;
• dill and cilantro - 1 bunch;
• garlic and salt - to taste.

The recipe for preparing the dish is simple:

1. You need to cut all the vegetables into cubes and fry them until golden brown.
2. Place the main ingredients into a cauldron, add salt and spices, and simmer for 35 minutes.

At the end of cooking, add fresh herbs and mix everything.

Storage of finished product

Ajapsandali can be stored in sealed glass jars in a cool, dry place. This dish tastes delicious both hot and cold.