Garnet Churchkhela

Churchkhela is a truly Georgian sweetness, which is distinguished by its unusual and refined, like many dishes of Georgian cuisine. Dessert is made from nuts and natural juice. A distinctive feature of churchkhela is the absence of sugar and any preservatives in its composition.

In addition to the main ingredients, you will need: a thread, a thick needle and a thimble for stringing nuts, matches or toothpicks to secure the edge of the thread, a saucepan with high sides so that it is convenient to dip "nut beads".

So, we are preparing churchkhela:

1. Carefully, so as not to prick your fingers, put the nuts on a thread, the edge of which is secured with a match or toothpick.
2. Dilute the flour in pomegranate juice (one and a half cups). Do this carefully so that the mixture is homogeneous, without lumps.
3. Boil the rest of the juice over low heat and gradually add the resulting mixture with flour to it, stirring constantly.
4. Boil the mixture, stirring constantly, until a very thick jelly.
Cool the resulting mass to about 50 degrees Celsius.
5. Take turns dipping the "nut beads" into jelly. The principle of this process is as follows: 1.5 minutes in the juice mixture, then 5 minutes - drying. It is best to do this with each "nut thread" separately. Repeat this process until a 15-20 mm layer of juice "wrapper" forms on the nuts.
6. Hang the churchkhela in a warm place to dry, after taking care that the drops of the juice mass do not stain your floor or furniture.

As a rule, this dessert "stands" for several weeks, but if you want to take a sample, you can do it at any time - even right after cooking.

Bon appetit!