Georgian Recipes

Ajika (Georgian: აჯიკა) is a hot, spicy paste used as a condiment and also to flavor meat and fish dishes. It is made with hot peppers, garlic, herbs and spices. There are several types of ajika. In this recipe we show how to make green ajika. Made with hot green peppers, this type of ajika is very spicy and very hot!

Ingredients: 1 kilo of hot green peppers (for a less hot ajika use half a kilo of sweet green peppers and half a kilo of hot green peppers), 250 grams of garlic, 70 grams of fresh parsley, 100 grams of fresh green coriander, 40 grams of fresh celery leaves, 2 heaped tbs of dried coriander, 2 heaped tbs of Blue Fenugreek, 1 tbs of dried Dill and salt (dependent upon personal preference – NOTE: Ajika can be stored for several months but requires a significant amount of salt in its preparation).

Preparation: Put the peppers and herbs onto newspaper and leave overnight to thoroughly dry.

When ready to make the ajika, remove all of the seeds from the hot green peppers. CAUTION: Wear gloves to do this or your fingers and hands will burn from the capsaicin (heat producing chemical) contained in the peppers. Save the seeds – dry them and use them in other recipes.

Remove the skins from the garlic.

Crush the green peppers. We used a meat grinder to do this.

Crush the garlic.

Crush the fresh parsley, fresh green coriander and fresh celery leaves.

The crushed ingredients should look like the picture below.

Add the spices and salt.

Use your hands to thoroughly mix the ajika. CAUTION: Wear gloves to do this or your fingers and hands will burn from the capsaicin (heat producing chemical) contained in the peppers.

When mixed, the ajika will look like the picture below.

Serving: Serve as a condiment with meat and fish dishes. It is also used in cooking.

Enjoy your green ajika!

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