Chakapuli – Stewed Lamb with Tarragon

Ingredients

• Veal/Lamb – 1 kg
• White wine – 200 ml
• Tarragon – 200 g
• Spring onions – 150 g
• Coriander – 100 g
• Wild plums – 100 g
• Salt - 1 tbsp
• Pepper to taste

Method

Traditionally, key ingredients of this dish are lamb and tarragon, though, after a desperate search of the desired parts of lamb in Telavi Bazaar, my father decided to buy veal for making Chakapuli (literally meaning the meat and greens boiled in its juice without removing the froth). The dish originates from Kakheti (East Georgia), as the lamb is very popular there. It is also a seasonal dish, we usually make it for springtime, apart from the lambs, you can find fresh, natural tarragon and wild plum everywhere. Surprisingly, when we finally arrived in our village, my father asked me to make Chakapuli, so here is what I’ve made and what everyone liked in there. Certainly, you can use any other meat, but, as I mentioned above, traditionally, it is made from lamb. Also, it is worth to mention, when people are fasting in Georgia, they are making Chakapuli with mushroom and tarragon. But, I think in this case, when the ingredients are extremely changed, it should bear another name, like Mushrooms with tarragon. Enjoy your meal!