Georgian · main

Ojakhuri (Pork and Potatoes in the Ketsi)

Ojakhuri (Pork and Potatoes in the Ketsi) reads allium 4.3, richness 3.8 and salinity 3.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Georgian main, about 44 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.2 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.3 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.9 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.2 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.9 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Allium 4.3 · Richness 3.8 · Salinity 3.8 · Herbaceous 3.5 · Sourness 3.2 · Umami 2.5 · Citrus 2.1 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Sweetness 1.9 · Nutty 1.6 · Fruity 1.6 · Funk & Ferment 1.5 · Floral 1.5 · Earthy 1.1 · Bitterness 0.7

What's in it (12)

• pork neck — 800 g
• potatoes — 700 g
• sunflower oil — 55 g
• onions — 300 g
• garlic — 12 g
• ajika — 15 g
• coriander seed — 10 g
• blue fenugreek — 1 g
• salt — 12 g
• red wine vinaigrette — 15 g
• cilantro — 20 g
• red onion — 120 g

Time & effort: about 44 min (43 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 31.2 kcal, 1.2 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 6.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

1. Heat half the oil in a wide heavy pan, ideally a Georgian clay ketsi or a cast-iron skillet, and fry the potato wedges over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, turning them a few times, until golden and crusted at the edges but not cooked through.
2. Lift the potatoes out onto a plate and set them aside.
3. Add the rest of the oil and sear the pork hard over high heat for 12 minutes without moving it much, so the pieces take a deep crust on at least two sides.
4. Keep going another 5 minutes at medium-high while the fat renders out and the pan gets loud. Ojakhuri means family food and it is a dry dish, crisp and fatty, with no sauce at all. If liquid gathers, raise the heat until it goes.
5. Add the sliced onions and cook 8 minutes, until they are limp and browned at the tips in the pork fat.
6. Stir in the garlic, ajika, coriander and blue fenugreek and let them cook 1 minute in the fat.
7. Return the potatoes, season with the salt and toss everything together over the heat for 2 minutes so the potatoes pick up the fat and the spice.
8. Splash in the vinegar, let it hiss away for a minute, and take the pan off the heat.
9. Scatter over the chopped coriander and the raw red onion and take the pan to the table. The raw onion on top is not decoration; the sharpness is what balances the fat.
10. Substitutions: shoulder can stand in for the pork neck; 1 tsp ground red pepper can stand in for the ajika.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Sour Soup Fish (Suan Tang Yu) — Chinese · Guizhou
• Brudet (Adriatic Fish Stew with Polenta) — Croatian
• Chimichurri — Argentine
• Soupe au Pistou — French · Provence
• Salsa Criolla — Argentine

Keep reading: what allium, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.