Chicken Chakhokhbili
Ingredients
4 servings
- Chicken 1
- Onions 0.5 kg
- Ripe tomatoes 0.5 kg
- Garlic 1 head
- Butter 1 tbsp
- Chili pepper 1
- Cilantro 0.5 bunch
- Salt, spices to taste
Step-by-step recipe
Preparation
Get a chicken: a farm chicken or a good-quality store-bought one.
If you have the chance to make chakhokhbili with pheasant, be sure to take it, and I even envy you. Unfortunately, pheasants are a rarity. You can also make chakhokhbili from chicken parts if you like, such as wings, drumsticks or thighs. I’d add that stewed chicken works great with drumsticks: they have lots of meat and just one bone.
Prepare medium onions, the ripest tomatoes, a head of good garlic, a chili pepper (green or red) and half a bunch of fresh cilantro.
Clean the whole chicken and, if necessary, remove any remaining feathers. Chop the chicken into pieces. The size is fairly arbitrary, but for convenience it’s best to cut pieces you can easily pick up with your hand and eat. It’s also worth trimming off excess chicken skin, especially where it’s coming away from the meat.
Browning the chicken and onion
Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan.
The classic chakhokhbili recipe calls for “dry” browning of the chicken. Without some skill, that can be tricky. So it’s still worth using a little butter.
Brown the chopped chicken to a nice golden color. Brown over high heat, uncovered, turning the pieces fairly often.
This initial browning is very important.
Peel the onions and cut them into thick strips. Add the onion to the browned chicken and cook everything together, stirring fairly often, until the onion softens.
Stewing in tomatoes
While the chicken and onion are browning, scald the tomatoes with boiling water and peel them. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes, and blend the flesh or chop it very finely with a knife. As soon as the onion starts to turn golden, add the tomato flesh and a pinch of salt. Stir the chicken and vegetables together.
Once it comes to a boil, cover the pan, turn the heat down and stew for 20 mins.
As I said, you don’t need to add any liquid to chakhokhbili. The onion and tomatoes give off enough moisture for the chicken to stew.
Peel the garlic and chop it finely with a knife. Don’t grate it or use any kind of gadget – you’ll get too much garlic juice. Carefully clean the chili pepper of seeds and the white inner membranes, which give most of the heat. Chop the chili finely with a knife as well. Strip the herbs, mixed or just cilantro, of tough stems and chop them finely. Add the garlic, chili and chopped herbs to the pan. Season with salt to taste and stir.
Stew, covered, for another 10 mins. The vegetable sauce will become quite thick. Take the chakhokhbili off the heat and let it stand for 5–6 mins.
Serving
Divide the chicken chakhokhbili among plates; you can sprinkle it with herbs.
Since the chicken was stewed in a thick sauce, serve it with fresh lavash, which makes it easy to scoop up the sauce, or with fresh white bread.
An amazing chicken dish, incredibly tasty and nourishing. I think a glass of good wine will be not just welcome, but a must.
Calories and macros
715 kcal
Serving ≈ 420 g
- Protein55 g32% of kcal
- Fat46 g59% of kcal
- Carbs16 g9% of kcal
100 g173 kcalProtein 13.4 gFat 11 gCarbs 4 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
How did you like this recipe?
To Get It Right
What to use instead of cilantro
Use parsley, perhaps together with dill and a sprig of basil. The flavor will be less Georgian, but still good.
What readers add
- a pinch of utskho suneli (blue fenugreek) along with the garlic and herbs;
- a splash of red wine or pomegranate juice;
- a lemon wedge on each serving of the finished dish.
If the tomatoes aren’t ripe
Without ripe tomatoes the sauce will be watery and sour. Out of season, you can use canned tomatoes in their own juice – the flesh without skins or seeds.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Questions and answers
What is chakhokhbili and why is it called that?
It’s a Georgian poultry stew: the pieces are browned and then stewed with onion and tomatoes without any liquid. It was originally made with pheasant – the name contains the Georgian word khokhobi, pheasant. Today chakhokhbili is mostly made with chicken, less often with turkey.
Which part of the chicken is used for chakhokhbili?
Usually a whole chicken, chopped into pieces small enough to pick up with your hand. You can also use just wings, drumsticks or thighs – drumsticks have lots of meat and just one bone.
How long to stew chicken chakhokhbili?
After browning the chicken with the onion, stew it with the tomatoes for 20 minutes, covered, over low heat, then another 10 minutes with the garlic, chili and herbs. Then take it off the heat and let it stand for 5–6 minutes.
How do you eat chakhokhbili and what to serve it with?
The chicken pieces are easy to pick up with your hand, and the thick sauce is mopped up with fresh lavash or white bread. Readers also serve chakhokhbili with buckwheat or couscous. And a glass of good wine with it is, in my opinion, a must.
Can you make chakhokhbili with turkey?
Yes, chakhokhbili is also made with turkey, just less often than with chicken. Chop the turkey into pieces the same way and stew until the meat is tender.