Chicken Kharcho with Elarji

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1.2 kg chicken or chicken parts
• 1 liter chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 200 g walnuts
• 1 tbsp marigolds (calendula petals), fresh or dried
• 1 tsp, leveled coriander powder
• 1 tsp, heaped allspice powder
• 3 tsp, heaped fenugreek, ground
• 1 large onion(s)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper
• 185 g polenta, white
• 5 pinches of salt
• 65g mozzarella
• 100 g feta cheese
• e.g. cream

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

Georgian soup with white polenta

Wash and cut the chicken into pieces, then simmer in a large pot with chicken stock, just covered, for 20 minutes. To make the spice paste, blend the marigold blossoms with about 50 ml of water using a hand blender. Roughly chop the walnuts. Gradually add the walnuts and another 350 ml of water and blend until smooth. Finely chop the onion, add it to the spice paste, and blend until finely chopped. Then add the fenugreek, coriander, allspice, garlic powder, sugar, and tomato paste to the spice paste and continue blending vigorously. After 20 minutes of cooking, add the spice paste to the chicken in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Prepare the polenta according to the package instructions. Cut the mozzarella and feta cheese into very small cubes and stir them into the hot polenta in two or three batches over low heat until the cheese is completely melted and forms a smooth mixture with the polenta. If desired, you can thicken the sauce with a little cream at the end. Note: As an alternative to chicken, kharcho can also be made with turkey, beef, or lamb.