Name: Tsitsila Isrim-Makvalshi (Young Chicken with Blackberry and Unripe-Grape Sauce)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 1 whole young chicken, about 1.2 kg, giblets removed and flattened; 8 g fine salt; 1 g ground black pepper; 20 g unsalted butter, softened; 300 g food-grade unripe green grapes, rinsed and stemmed; 500 g ripe blackberries, rinsed and drained; 12 g garlic, peeled and crushed; 40 g fresh coriander leaves and tender stems, finely chopped; 10 g fresh dill, finely chopped; 4 g fine salt; 1 g ground black pepper

Wide platter of roast chicken beside dark isrim-makvali sauce, with green grapes and blackberries in the background

Yield6 main-course portions

ServingAbout one sixth of the roasted chicken with sauce

DifficultyModerate; flattening a whole bird and straining the sauce take care

DietContains milk from butter; no gluten-containing ingredients

Jump to recipe ↓

The dish

About Tsitsila Isrim-Makvalshi (Young Chicken with Blackberry and Unripe-Grape Sauce)

Imeretian roast chicken with tart blackberry and green-grape sauce

This Imeretian Georgian dish pairs crisp-skinned young chicken with isrim-makvali, a vivid, tart sauce of unripe green grapes, ripe blackberries, garlic and fresh herbs.

Isrim-makvali combines two fruits at different stages: sharp unripe grapes and ripe blackberries. The sauce is crushed and strained, then mixed with garlic, coriander, dill, salt and pepper. Its tart fruit flavor cuts through the rich roast chicken.

In Imereti, young chicken is traditionally cooked in its own juices on a ketsi, a shallow earthenware pan. This home version uses a flattened bird roasted in a conventional oven. It keeps the defining combination of chicken and raw strained fruit sauce while making the cooking method practical for a standard kitchen.

Serve the sauce alongside or spooned over the carved chicken just before eating. Keeping it separate until serving helps the roasted skin stay crisp. The fruit is handled away from raw poultry, and the chicken is checked with a food thermometer rather than judged by color alone.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Imeretian roast chicken with tart blackberry and green-grape sauce

Chicken

1whole young chicken, about 1.2 kg, giblets removed and flattened
8 gfine salt
1 gground black pepper
20 gunsalted butter, softened

Isrim-makvali sauce

300 gfood-grade unripe green grapes, rinsed and stemmed
500 gripe blackberries, rinsed and drained
12 ggarlic, peeled and crushed
40 gfresh coriander leaves and tender stems, finely chopped
10 gfresh dill, finely chopped
4 gfine salt
1 gground black pepper

Method

Heat the oven and prepare the chicken. Heat a conventional oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan). With poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it. Open the chicken and press the breastbone down so the bird lies flat. Pat dry with paper towel; do not rinse raw poultry. Keep the chicken and its tools separate from the fruit and ready-to-eat foods.
Season and butter. Sprinkle the chicken all over with 8 g salt and 1 g pepper. Set it skin-side up on a rack in a rimmed roasting tray. Rub the skin with 20 g softened butter.
Roast and verify doneness. Roast for about 45 minutes. Check the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh, avoiding bone; continue roasting until both reach at least 74 °C. Loosely cover and rest for 5 minutes. The time and browned skin do not replace the thermometer check.
Make the fruit sauce. While the chicken roasts, rinse the grapes and blackberries under cool running water and drain them. Crush or pulse the fruit briefly, then press it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds and skins. Stir the strained fruit with garlic, coriander, dill, 4 g salt and 1 g pepper. Keep the sauce refrigerated and away from raw-poultry surfaces and utensils.
Carve and plate. Move the cooked chicken to a clean board and cut it into six portions with clean utensils. Spoon some cool sauce over the chicken at the table, or serve it alongside to keep the skin crisp. Keep the remaining sauce separate.
Serve and store. Serve the chicken hot. Refrigerate the chicken and sauce separately within 2 hours; keep them at or below 4 °C. Use cooked chicken leftovers within 3–4 days and reheat leftovers to 74 °C.

Practical guidance

Success points

Press the chicken flat so it roasts evenly; check both the thickest breast and innermost thigh, away from bone, for at least 74 °C.
Strain the crushed fruit through a fine sieve and keep the sauce away from raw-poultry tools and surfaces.

Practical guidance

If a ketsi is unavailable, the oven gives an even, hands-off roast while preserving the dish's pairing of chicken and tart fruit sauce. A young bird around 1.2 kg cooks more evenly when flattened. Roasting time varies with the bird and oven, so use the thermometer endpoint in the method.

Unripe green grapes provide the sauce's sharp edge, while ripe blackberries give it body and color. The mixture should taste distinctly tart and fruity. Straining removes the grape and berry seeds and skins; keep the sauce cool and add it at serving so the chicken skin stays crisp.

Refrigerate leftovers in shallow covered containers within 2 hours. Keep the chicken at or below 4 °C and use it within 3–4 days. Reheat chicken leftovers to 74 °C. Keep the uncooked fruit sauce in a separate clean container and use it promptly; discard sauce or chicken left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Nutrition per serving

Estimated nutrition per serving

Serving size: About 1/6 of the chicken and sauce
Energy: ~400 kcal
Carbohydrate: 18 g
Protein: 28 g
Fat: 24 g
Fibre: 5 g
Sodium: ~950 mg

Approximate estimate for one sixth of the recipe. The whole batch is estimated at about 2,400 kcal, 108 g carbohydrate, 168 g protein, 144 g fat, 30 g fibre and 5,700 mg sodium. The estimate assumes an edible yield from a 1.2 kg bone-in bird and counts all measured salt; bird size, meat-to-bone ratio and salt retention vary.

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk from butter. Keep raw chicken, its board and utensils separate from the grapes, blackberries, sauce and clean serving equipment. Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw poultry. Rinse fruit under running water; do not use soap or detergent. Check the breast and thigh with a clean thermometer to at least 74 °C. Refrigerate within 2 hours at or below 4 °C; use cooked chicken within 3–4 days and reheat leftovers to 74 °C. Avoid milk cross-contact for anyone with a milk allergy.

Serving cues

The chicken should have golden, crisp skin and clear juices; use the thermometer, not appearance, to confirm it is safely cooked.
Serve the deep purple, tart fruit sauce cool beside the hot carved chicken or spooned over it at the table.

About Tsitsila Isrim-Makvalshi (Young Chicken with Blackberry and Unripe-Grape Sauce)

Ingredients

Chicken

Isrim-makvali sauce

Method

Success points

Practical guidance

Estimated nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

Serving cues

More Georgian dishes

Gurian Satsivi (Turkey in Walnut and Vinegar Sauce)

Elarji: Megrelian Stretchy Cornmeal with Sulguni

Jurjani: Megrelian Beef Offal Stew with Pomegranate