Georgian · sauce/condiment

Svanuri Marili (Svan Salt)

Svanuri Marili (Svan Salt) reads allium 4.4, salinity 3.6 and heat 3.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Georgian sauce/condiment, about 24 hr 33 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 1.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.1 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 0.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 5.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Allium 4.4 · Salinity 3.6 · Heat 3.1 · Herbaceous 3.0 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Citrus 2.2 · Earthy 1.9 · Floral 1.6 · Umami 1.6 · Sweetness 1.3 · Fruity 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Nutty 0.6 · Richness 0.6 · Sourness 0.6

What's in it (9)

• salt — 200 g
• garlic — 120 g
• coriander seed — 30 g
• blue fenugreek — 20 g
• dried marigold petals — 15 g
• caraway seed — 10 g
• dill seed — 10 g
• dried ombalo — 10 g
• ground red pepper — 15 g

Time & effort: about 24 hr 33 min (33 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 79.5 kcal, 3.6 g protein, 2.3 g fat, 14.8 g carbs

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

How it's cooked (6 steps)

1. Pound the garlic with about a third of the salt in a stone mortar for 15 minutes, until you have a wet grey-white paste with no visible pieces. The garlic has to be broken down completely or the salt will not dry evenly.
2. Crush the coriander, caraway and dill seeds and the blue fenugreek, marigold and ombalo together, coarsely rather than to a powder. Ombalo is Georgian pennyroyal and it is savoury and slightly medicinal; if you cannot get it, leave it out rather than reaching for mint, which is sweet and will pull the blend in the wrong direction.
3. Mix the garlic paste, the crushed spices, the ground red pepper and the remaining salt together thoroughly with your hands for 3 minutes, until the colour is uniform brick pink.
4. Spread it on a tray and dry it in a barely warm oven at 50C, or in an airy room, for about 24 hours, breaking up the lumps with your fingers every few hours.
5. Crush it once more to an even damp crumb. It should never be a fine powder: Svan salt is coarse and slightly moist, and it clumps when you pinch it.
6. Store in a sealed jar away from light. This is the household seasoning of Svaneti, in the kubdari filling, on grilled meat, on tomatoes, and it is used in place of plain salt at the table.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Potato and Cauliflower Curry (Aloo Gobi) — Indian
• Kedjenou (Sealed-Pot Chicken) — Ivorian
• Taameya (Egyptian Falafel) — Egyptian
• Boiled Peanuts — Southern
• Smoky Roasted Eggplant Curry (Baingan Bharta) — Indian

Keep reading: what allium, salinity, heat 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.