Sides & Sauces

Side dishes and salads in Eurasia are diverse and distinctive. Slavic salads are known for heaviness, often containing boiled tubers and dressed with mayonnaise or sunflower oil. Caucasian side dishes can also be quite filling, with heavy use of beans, cheese, and nuts. Central Asian sides tend to be light, focusing on bread and perhaps basic salads of cucumber and tomato or the spicy soy or carrot salads of the Koryo Saram. During celebratory feasts, side dishes often come to the fore, with the emphasis not on a central dish, but on supplying feasters with a wide array of dishes.

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See also: Food Traditions

Many of these foods may have various regional or national names and/or variations. We have tried to reflect that in the articles as well.

Tkemali: Georgian Sour Plum Sauce

Dr. Michael Denner (notes from the American Test Kitchen): Georgians jokingly refer to tkemali (more accurately written t’q’emali) as “Georgian ketchup.” It gets poured on practically everything. I don’t know of another sauce like it: sour, fruity, salty, with a serious herbal punch and a bit of lingering heat. Maybe it looks like Mexican salsa […]

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