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Grilled Skewers (Mtsvadi)

Name: Grilled Skewers (Mtsvadi)
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 2 lbs pork shoulder, cut in chunks; 2 medium onions, sliced; 1/2 cup pomegranate juice; salt to taste; 1 tsp black pepper; 3 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds; tkemali (sour plum sauce) for serving

Grilled Skewers (Mtsvadi) reads fruity 6.3, umami 6.3 and richness 5.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Georgian main, about 1 hr. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 7.8 / 10
Sour & Bright — 4.8 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.0 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Fruity 6.3 · Umami 6.3 · Richness 5.5 · Sweetness 4.9 · Sourness 4.6 · Allium 3.6 · Salinity 3.5 · Floral 3.2 · Herbaceous 2.0 · Warm Spice 1.9 · Heat 1.0 · Bitterness 0.9 · Citrus 0.8 · Earthy 0.6

What's in it (7)

2 lbs pork shoulder, cut in chunks
2 medium onions, sliced
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds
tkemali (sour plum sauce) for serving

Time & effort: about 1 hr (40 min active) · effort: easy

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 214.9 kcal, 12.6 g protein, 16.6 g fat, 3.1 g carbs

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

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Marinate pork chunks with sliced onion, pomegranate juice, salt, and pepper for several hours or overnight.
Thread onto flat metal skewers and grill over a wood or charcoal fire, turning regularly, for about 20 minutes until charred outside and juicy within.
Serve immediately with raw onion, fresh pomegranate seeds, and tkemali sauce on the side.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Grilled Pork Chops with Peach-Bourbon Glaze — American
Japanese Chicken Curry — Japanese
Tafelspitz mit Apfelkren (Simmered Beef Rump Cap with Apple Horseradish) — Austrian
Ash-e Anar (Pomegranate Soup) — Persian
Lechon (Whole Roasted Pig) — Filipino

Keep reading: what fruity, umami, richness 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.