🍗 Chicken tabaka
Chicken tabaka (tsitsila tabaka) is a whole young chicken split open, flattened and pan-fried under a heavy weight until the skin is deeply golden and crisp. It is seasoned with garlic, chilli and fenugreek and finished with fresh coriander. It is traditionally served with tkemali, a tart Georgian plum sauce.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small chicken (about 900 g)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp ground blue fenugreek (utskho suneli)
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, salt
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- Tkemali plum sauce to serve
Method
- Cut the chicken along the backbone, open it out and flatten it with a mallet.
- Rub with salt, chilli and fenugreek.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pan, lay the chicken skin side down and press it with a weight.
- Fry for 15–20 minutes per side over medium heat until crisp and cooked through.
- Mix the garlic with a little salt and water, spoon over the hot chicken and sprinkle with coriander. Serve with tkemali.
How to make it lighter
- Remove the skin before eating to cut fat considerably.
- Use a non-stick pan and 1 tbsp of oil instead of more.
- Pair with fresh tomato and cucumber salad rather than fried potatoes.
History
The dish is named after the tapa, a heavy Georgian frying pan with a weighted lid used to press the bird flat. Chicken tabaka is a classic of Georgian cooking and became widely known across the former Soviet Union.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →