AI-generated image
Chanakhi
Chanakhi: lamb baked in clay pots with aubergine, potato, tomato and herbs
In Tbilisi homes and restaurants chanakhi arrives in its own small clay pot, the lid lifted at the table to release a cloud of steam smelling of lamb, tomato, basil and garlic. Lamb, potato, aubergine, onion and tomato are layered raw with herbs and left to cook slowly in their own juices, so the vegetables soak up the lamb fat and the meat goes spoon-soft. A common mistake is adding too much water; the vegetables release plenty, and a watery pot tastes flat. Chef's tip: put a tomato slice on top of each pot as a lid of its own, which bastes everything below as it melts.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pots
- 1 ½ lb lamb shoulderboneless, cut into 4 cm pieces
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ⅛ lb waxy potatoespeeled, cut into chunks
- 2 auberginescut into 3 cm cubes
- 2 onionssliced into rings
- 5 ripe tomatoesthickly sliced
- 1 green peppersliced
- 6 cloves garlicsliced
- ½ oz purple basilchopped
- ⅔ oz fresh corianderchopped
- ½ oz flat-leaf parsleychopped
- ½ cup water
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (9)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (fan 325°F). Season 1 ½ lb lamb shoulder with half of ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
Step 2: Mix ½ oz purple basil, ⅔ oz fresh coriander, ½ oz flat-leaf parsley and 6 cloves garlic. Toss 2 aubergines with the rest of ¾ tsp salt and leave for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 3: In 4 clay pots or one large casserole, layer the lamb, 2 onions, 1 ⅛ lb waxy potatoes, the aubergine, 1 green pepper and the herb mix, finishing with 5 ripe tomatoes.
Step 4: Pour ½ cup water into the pots. Common mistake: adding more; the vegetables make their own juice.
Step 5: Cover tightly and bake for 2 hours, until the lamb is tender enough to pull apart with a fork and the vegetables are soft and juicy.
120 minStep 6: Rest for 10 minutes and serve in the pots with bread.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chanakhi take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of waxy potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese