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Sirkaya qoyulmush sarimsaq – Pickled garlic

Sirkaya qoyulmush sarimsaq - Pickled garlic
Pickles are popular in Azerbaijan as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a starter, and are often served as one of a selection of appetizers.

Pickled garlic (sirkəyə qoyulmuş sarımsaq) is a tasty accompaniment to kebabs and makes a healthy alternative to potato crisps or other nibbles. News.Az is grateful to Gullu Cahangir for permission to use her pickled garlic recipe from her informative website Azerifood.com.

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 4-5 weeks
Serves: 6-7

Ingredients

  • 1kg/2.2 lbs garlic
  • 50 g/2 oz salt
  • 400 g/14 fl. oz grape vinegar
  • 10 whole black peppercorns
  • 5 cloves
  • 4 bay leaves

Preparation

  • There are two ways of pickling garlic, depending on whether you pickle whole heads of garlic or individual cloves.
  • Garlic cloves
  • Separate the garlic into cloves but don’t peel them.
  • Rinse out glass jars with boiling water. Put the peppercorns, bayleaf, cloves and salt into the jars. Add the garlic cloves. Pour on the vinegar to cover the garlic. Seal with lids that have been sterilized in boiling water. Carefully turn each jar up and down several times to ensure that the spices are evenly distributed.
  • Put the jars in a cool place and leave for at least 1 month.
  • Whole garlic heads
  • If you are pickling garlic heads, remove the outer peel from the garlic, leaving the inner peel intact.
  • Dissolve 25 g/1 oz of salt in a bowl containing 1 litre of water. Add the garlic heads to the salt water and cover, ensuring that they remain fully submerged in the water. This will make the garlic heavy and it will sink to the bottom by itself. Keep the garlic in the water for 6 to 7 days.
  • Rinse out glass jars with boiling water. Put the peppercorns, bayleaf, cloves and salt into the jars. Remove the garlic cloves from the salt water and put in the jars. Pour on the vinegar to cover the garlic. Seal with lids that have been sterilized in boiling water. Carefully turn each jar up and down several times to ensure that the spices are evenly distributed.
  • Put the jars in a cool place and leave for at least 1 month.

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