Georgian Recipes

Pkhali or Fkhali (Georgian: ფხალი) is a popular dish that can be made with many different types of leaves, including spinach, nettles, cabbage and beetroot. It can also be made with vegetables and nuts. In this recipe we show how to make Pkhali with spinach.

Ingredients: 1.5 kilos of spinach, 400 grams of walnuts, 2 white onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 50 grams of fresh coriander, 50 grams of fresh parsley, 6-8 tbs white wine vinegar, 1 heaped tbs of red pepper, 1 heaped tsp of dried marigold, 1 heaped tsp of blue fenugreek, pomegranate seeds (for garnish) and salt (amount dependent upon personal preference).

Preparation: Cut the ends of the spinach and wash thoroughly.

Half fill a deep pot with water, add 1 tbs of salt and gradually add the spinach, pressing it down with a wooden spoon. Boil for 5 minutes, turning the leaves halfway through to ensure they all cook.

Drain the water from the boiled spinach using a sieve. Allow to cool and then use your hands to firmly squeeze the leaves to remove as much liquid as possible.

Grind the walnuts and garlic.

Add salt, red pepper, blue fenugreek, marigold and 6-8 tbs white wine vinegar. Mix using your hands.

Chop the onions, fresh parsley and fresh coriander and add to the mixing bowl. Mix using your hands.

Grind the boiled spinach. We used a meat grinder.

The spinach will look like the picture below.

Mix using your hands. Leave the mixture for 2 hours.

Serving: Shape the mixture by hand. Serve cold. We garnished ours with pomegranate seeds.

Enjoy your Spinach Pkhali!

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