What Are The Ingredients In A Kachava Recipe?
Kachava (or khachapuri) is a Georgian specialty that’s often served for breakfast.
It can be eaten plain, but it’s also used to stuff meatballs, called mkhvashtsvadze, which are then baked until golden brown on top of fluffy eggs.
The filling itself is made up of minced beef, garlic, onion, parsley, egg yolks, salt, pepper, tomato puree, and butter.
You can use either ground beef or sausage if you don’t like raw garlic.
The most important ingredient is definitely the dough—it’s what keeps everything together.
To prepare the dough, you need flour, water, yeast, olive oil, salt, and sugar.
The dough will rise after about an hour, so it needs to be kneaded before using.
Other common ingredients include tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, and carrots.
They all go into the pot at the same time as the other ingredients.
Then they cook slowly overnight in stock made out of the bones left over from butchering your meat.
Once cooked, the mixture is strained, seasoned, and placed back into the oven to bake until golden brown.
While there are many variations of this recipe, this one was chosen because it uses fresh vegetables and doesn’t rely on canned products.
This makes it healthier than some others.
How Do You Make A Kachava Recipe?
Kachava recipes vary depending on what region of the world they came from.
The most common types of meat used to create this Balkan stew include beef, pork, and lamb.
Other flavors like saffron (from Spain) and tomato paste can also be added to give it more depth.
The main ingredient is always onion, which gives it its signature flavor.
Sometimes other spices including cinnamon, bay leaves, paprika, and garlic can be found in different versions.
Some cooks use red wine instead of water in their dishes.
Vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsley root, celery root, green beans, tomatoes, spinach, turnips, and cabbage can all be included in various combinations, according to your preference.
Some people add a little bit of olive oil at the end so that the sauce has a thicker consistency.
You may even want to stir-fry some eggplant if you have any left over from another meal!
Ingredients are very important when making a good kachava recipe because not every cook uses exactly the same ones.
For instance, one person might not use any salt while others will only use about 1/4 teaspoon.
A lot of variation exists within each country’s culture, so there is no “right way” to make a kachava recipe.
What Is The Cooking Time For A Kachava Recipe?
This recipe takes about 3 hours to prepare.
The meat should be cooked until it’s falling apart tender.
You can use any type of meat you want in this recipe, but I prefer using beef because it has great flavor.
I also like to add some red wine vinegar at the end of the cooking process to give it an extra kick.
How Many Servings Does A Kachava Recipe Make?
The number of servings will depend on how you prepare this dish.
If you have leftover meat left over after making your kachavas, it’s best to add them back into the mixture before serving.
You can also use more ingredients if you want to increase the amount of food in each serving.
When you’re using fresh ingredients, you should be able to get 8-12 servings out of one batch.
However, when you’re cooking with frozen ingredients, the number of servings per batch will vary depending on what kind of frozen product you are using.
For instance, some frozen foods like chicken tenders are very small so you’ll need fewer than 12 servings if you cook that way.
Other products may not even fit in a single bowl, which means you’ll need two bowls instead of one just to feed everyone at the table!
What Is The Nutritional Information For A Kachava Recipe?
Most recipes have nutritional information listed on them.
You can find this information by hovering over your food item in the grocery list.
The following ingredients are included in most kachavas:
- Beef or other meat (sliced)
- Potatoes – either mashed or cut into small pieces
- Onions – sliced thinly
- Carrots – diced
- Celery stalks – chopped
- Tomato sauce – optional
- Pepper – black pepper to taste
Optional Ingredients
Kachava recipes also include the following optional ingredients:
- Lemon juice
- Sour cream
- Parsley
- Garlic powder/powder
- Salt
What Are Some Variations Of A Kachava Recipe?
Kachavas have been around since ancient times in Macedonia.
In the past, it was common to eat them on their own but now they are usually served as an accompaniment to other dishes like soups, stews, grilled meats, salads, and even desserts.
They can also be eaten by themselves if you’re not too hungry!
There are many different types of kachava recipes depending on where you live.
The most popular type of kachava recipe is called “soup.” In this version, the ingredients are cooked together until tender then strained and put into a soup pot and simmered over low heat with water or stock until thickened to desired consistency.
Kachava is often added at the end when serving so that it doesn’t get mushy from cooking.
Another variation of kachava is called “stew” which is similar to soup except there isn’t any liquid added during cooking time.
Stewed kachava has more meat than soup because it cooks longer without adding water or broth.
Some people prefer using fresh herbs instead of dried ones, while others use only dried spices.
Some add olives while others may include tomatoes.
There are no right or wrong ways to make kachava and each person is free to choose how they want to prepare it.
Here’s what one website says about making kachava:
“The base of a good kachva is a well-seasoned mixture of ground or chopped meat (usually pork), fatback (or lard) and rice flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
The mixture is mixed thoroughly and allowed to stand overnight.
On the next day, it is kneaded and shaped into small balls.
These are deep fried and served hot, garnished with parsley.”
You’ll find plenty of delicious kachava recipes online but here’s another great recipe we found at Food Network.
What Are Some Tips For Making A Kachava Recipe?
Here’s a list of ingredients that go into most kachavas.
- Beef (or lamb), cut in cubes
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Tomato sauce
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Spices like paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, etc.
- Lemon juice
Step 1 – Browning your meat
Brown all sides of your beef cubes on medium-high heat until they get nice and browned.
Once browned, add one tablespoon of oil to a large skillet and place over high heat.
Add in half of your beef cubes, along with any other seasonings you would like to use, and sautee them until well cooked through.
Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
Step 2 – Sauteing your veggies
Next, we will start cooking our veggies.
In this step, we need to cook down our onion so it has more flavor.
To this end, slice up an onion and add it to your pan with the remaining oil.
Cook for about 5 minutes at medium heat, stirring regularly.
Then, add in the rest of your veggies (potatoes, carrots) and stir everything around to combine.
Cook for another 15 minutes, then remove the veggies and mix them back together with the meat.
You can also make sure to drain off excess liquid before adding everything back together.
Step 3 – Adding tomato sauce
In this last step, we are going to add in our tomato sauce.
We only want enough to coat the bottom of the pan, but not so much that it runs out.
Add in enough sauce to cover the bottom of your pan.
Once covered, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on.
How Do You Know When A Kachava Recipe Is Done?
Kachavas are usually served at room temperature, so if you’re cooking this recipe in an oven or on the stovetop, it’s important to watch your pot carefully.
The meat will begin to brown after about 20 minutes of simmering, but that doesn’t mean it’s ready yet! The key sign that it’s time to turn off the heat is that the meat releases liquid into the pan.
If there isn’t any liquid in the pan by the end of this process, then the kachava has overcooked.
You can also tell if the meat is cooked enough by cutting into it.
If the meat looks like it was cut straight through, it’s probably not fully cooked.
Cut into it again to check for doneness a few more times until the meat is tender throughout.
If you want to serve the kachava hot out of the oven or on the stovetop, set up a table outside where everyone can help themselves.
You’ll have plenty of leftovers to take home.
What Are Some Common Mistakes People Make When Making A Kachava Recipe?
When it comes to cooking, there’s no doubt that every cook has their own style of how they like things prepared.
Some recipes may take more time than others, while other dishes may be easier but still tasty (or not).
People also have different preferences for what ingredients go well together in a particular dish—some prefer sweet spices and sour flavors, while others want savory spice combinations.
So, if you’re interested in learning about a new food, then it makes sense to start by researching its origins and learn about any special techniques used to prepare it.
But there can be even more factors involved when deciding whether a certain dish will work out or not.
For example, did you know that most countries around the world don’t use metric measurements?
Instead, many rely on units based on volume, weight, or area instead of measuring cups and spoons.
In fact, this affects how recipes are written down because they need to include these alternative measurement terms along with standard ones.
For instance, if you wanted to create your own version of kachava, which is a popular Balkan dish, you would likely find yourself having to convert several different measurements into American equivalents.
But why bother doing so?
The best way to ensure success when creating your own versions of classic dishes is to familiarize yourself with the language behind them first.
If you understand what each term means and how it should be interpreted, then you’ll be able to translate those words into actual instructions for how to make the foods you love.
Here’s our guide to helping you decipher all the measurement terms used throughout this article!
Volume
In the United States, we tend to measure volume using fluid ounces and teaspoons.
Fluid ounces refer to liquid volumes measured in cubic inches, while teaspoons represent solid volumes measured in milliliters.
To help you get started, let’s look at an easy conversion trick you can use to easily calculate the amount of liquid you need for a specific recipe.
If you’d like to make 2 quarts (4 liters) of soup, simply multiply 1 ounce of water (by volume) times 4.
That equals 16 tablespoons (0.5 liter), which is equivalent to 32 ounces (1 liter) of liquid.
Likewise, if you’d like to make 8 cups (32 ounces) of sauce, follow the same formula as above, except divide the number of cups by 0.25 instead of multiplying by four.
Now, if you still aren’t sure, try converting 1 tablespoon (15 mL) into fluid ounces.
Simply subtract 0.5 from 15 (you’ll end up with 14), then add 3.
Now divide by 24, and you’ve got exactly one fluid ounce.
Weight
While Americans often use volume measures, the rest of the world relies on weights.
In the U.S., we typically weigh items using grams and pounds.
However, in order to convert between those two systems, you must first know how much something weighs in relation to the kilogram.
A gram is equal to 0.001 kilogram, so to figure out how much something weighs in kilograms, just divide the item’s weight by 10,000.
Similarly, a pound is equal to 0.45359237 kilograms, so to figure out how much something weighs in pounds, divide its mass by 2.20462262.
Once you know how much something weighs in either system, you can easily convert it into the other using simple math equations.
For example, if you’d like to convert 3 kilograms of salt into grams, simply divide the number by 10,000.
Then, multiply the result by 100 to arrive at 300 grams of salt.
Area
In the U.S., we generally measure areas in square feet and yards.
So, if you’re looking for a quick way to convert between those two units, here’s the equation you need to memorize:
Square footage = length × width
Length = Square footage / 5280
Width = Length × 12
You might notice that the numbers I gave you are fractions: 5280 divided by 5280 gives us 1, while 12 multiplied by 5280 results in 720.
This is because the “foot” unit actually represents both meters and centimeters, depending on where you live.
To solve this issue, remember that 5280 refers to the total number of square inches in a foot.
So, if you were to ask someone to give you the exact amount of space needed to fit a car, they could tell you how long the car was, and then simply divide that number by 5280 to determine the approximate space required.
What
Ingredients:
1 large onion sliced into thin wedges (about 1 cup)
3-4 cloves garlic minced/pressed
6-7 medium red bell peppers chopped
5-6 stalks celery chopped in small pieces (about 2 cups)
1 pound ground meat of your choice (beef, pork, or lamb) — I used lamb for this meal.
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3-4 bay leaves
1 ½ teaspoons paprika
2 pounds cubed potatoes*
8 ounces baby carrots cut up in half lengthwise
1 pound fresh spinach leaves chopped fine
Directions:
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, add vegetable oil, then sauté onions until translucent about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and cook another minute then remove from stovetop to cool down.
Once cooled, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
Return the puree back to the pot and stir in all other ingredients except spinach. Cook at low simmer for an hour stirring occasionally.
After one hour has passed, start adding the prepared spinach in batches so that it can wilt before being added to the rest of the contents.
Cook an additional 30 minutes or until thickened.
Ingredients
- 2 Heaping scoops Chocolate Ka’Chava
- 12-14 Ounces water
- 1 Frozen banana
- 1 Heaping spoon peanut butter
Instructions
- Blender ingredients of water and frozen banana thoroughly.
- Blend again after adding 2 generous scoops of chocolate Ka’Chava and peanut butter.
- Enjoy & Serve!
Video
Nutrition
My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.