Kuchmachi

Ingredients

• 10½ ozchicken gizzardsclean, remove membranes, dice small; needs the longest cooking
• 10½ ozchicken heartstrim fat, halve lengthwise or dice
• 10½ ozchicken liverremove membranes, cut bite-size, cook last
• 14⅛ ozbeef tripebeef-offal version: soak well and simmer about 2 hours until tender
• 8¾ ozbeef lungbeef-offal version: pre-boil and dice
• 8¾ ozbeef heartbeef-offal version: remove veins, pre-boil, dice
• 7 ozbeef liveronly in some beef versions (optional)
• 10½ ozporkcooked along with the beef offal as the meat portion (optional)
• 7 ozOnionfinely dice or slice into half-rings, fry golden
• 3 clovesgarlicfinely chop, add near the end
• 1 bunchcilantroroughly chop, part stirred in, part for sprinkling
• 1pomegranateseeds removed, scattered over before serving
• 3 tbspvegetable oilfor frying the offal and onions
• ½ cupBrothcooking liquid or water for braising, reduce almost completely
• 1 tspKhmeli suneliGeorgian spice blend
• 1 tspblue fenugreektypical of the beef version
• 1 tspCorianderadded with the other dry spices
• 1 tspSavoryknown as kondari
• Chili pepperas a pod or ground, to taste
• black pepperfreshly ground
• saltseason in stages
• 2bay leaffor the beef offal cooking liquid (optional)
• 4allspicewhole berries in the cooking liquid (optional)
• 1 tspdried basilextra dry seasoning (optional)
• ⅔ oztomato pastefried with the onions, adds colour (optional)
• 1 tspvinegaradded at the end to sharpen (optional)
• 2⅛ ozbuttercold, whisked into the sauce (optional)
• 1⅓ ozTarragonfresh, chopped, in addition to the cilantro (optional)
• 2 tspAdjikahot seasoning paste for the sauce (optional)
• 1red onioninstead of the yellow onion (optional)

Method

1. Soak the offal well and clean it carefully: pull the membranes off the chicken gizzards, trim the fat from the chicken hearts, and peel the fine membranes from the chicken liver. For the beef version, soak the tripe, lung and heart too, removing veins and any traces of blood.
2. For the beef version, pre-boil the tripe, lung, heart and liver (if using) in salted water with bay leaf and allspice — the tripe needs about 2 hours, the heart, lung and liver around 1 hour. Let everything cool, then strain the cooking liquid: lift out the bay leaves and allspice berries and discard them, keeping only the clear strained broth. Chicken gizzards and hearts need just 10 to 15 minutes in the pot.
3. Cut all the offal into even bite-size dice, the liver included — it goes into the pan last.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a wide pan until very hot and sear the offal in batches, one kind at a time, salting and peppering each batch. The liver goes in last and needs only a few minutes, or it will turn dry.
5. Finely dice the onions or slice them into half-rings and fry them in oil until golden. If you like, toast the tomato paste with them now until it darkens and smells sweet.
6. Return all the seared offal, liver included, to the pan with the onions, pour in the reserved cooking liquid — about 100 ml — or broth instead, and let it braise uncovered until the liquid has almost completely evaporated.
7. Scatter in either 1 tsp khmeli suneli or 1 tsp each utskho suneli and dried savory, plus the ground coriander and chili. Add the chopped garlic and fry everything together for another two to three minutes. Season with salt, pepper and, if you like, a splash of vinegar.
8. Stir in most of the chopped cilantro and keep the rest back. Serve the kuchmachi hot, showered with pomegranate seeds and the remaining cilantro, straight away.

Tips and variations

Kuchmachi works just as well with chicken offal — gizzards, hearts and liver — as it does in the heartier version with beef tripe, lung and heart, which some kitchens round out with beef liver or pork. The pork is pre-boiled in the salted water together with the beef offal, then diced the same way and seared along with the rest. For a quicker route, dice the cleaned offal raw and braise it in the pan without pre-boiling. Dried basil goes nicely alongside whichever spice blend you have chosen. For a juicier result, stir together a short sauce from broth and adjika and whisk in cold butter; freshly chopped tarragon next to the cilantro adds another layer of aroma. Red onion can stand in for the yellow. Serve it straight from the pan, hot and generously scattered with pomegranate seeds.