Spicy Chicken and Mushroom Dish with Georgian Ajika Paste

Ajika (Georgian: აჯიკა) is a hot, spicy paste used to flavor meat, fish and vegetable dishes mainly in Samegrelo and Abkhazia.

Ingredients:

400 grams of chicken breasts

300 grams of mushrooms

3 medium sized onions

8 cloves of garlic,

8 tbs of oil

6 tbs of white wine vinegar

3 bay leaves

3 tbs of mayonnaise or sour cream

1 tsp of green ajika (see link at the foot of this article for a recipe)

1 tbs of tomato puree, black pepper and salt (according to taste)

fresh parsley (for garnish) and 600 ml of water.
Preparation (marinade):

Chop the chicken and add to a bowl with 1 tsp of tomato puree, 3 tbs of white vinegar, 3 bay leaves, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Leave in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
When ready to cook, add 3 tbs of oil and 3 tbs of white vinegar to a pan and heat. Add the marinated chicken when the oil is hot and cook on a high heat, stirring often.

After 6-7 minutes, add chopped onions and 5 tbs of oil to the pan and stir.

Continue to cook on a high heat for 5 minutes.

Add sliced mushrooms and reduce the temperature to low. After 5 minutes add 500 ml of water and 1 tsp of tomato puree. Stir and continue to cook on a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add crushed garlic, mayonnaise (or sour cream) and 1 tsp of green ajika to a bowl. Stir and then add 100 ml of water in small amounts, stirring the mixture as you pour.

Pour the mixture into the pan and stir carefully. Leave for 1 minute and then remove the pan from the heat.

Serving: Serve hot. We garnished ours with fresh parsley.