Satsivi: Georgia's Cold Chicken in Walnut Sauce

Satsivi is the dish that separates people who've eaten Georgian food from people who understand it. While the world obsesses over khachapuri and khinkali — fair enough, they're both brilliant — satsivi is the one that Georgian grandmothers argue about. It's poached chicken or turkey submerged in a thick, cold walnut sauce spiked with garlic, blue fenugreek, cinnamon, and a hit of vinegar. The name literally comes from "tsivi" (ცივი), meaning cold. You make it. You let it sit overnight. You eat it cold the next day. That's not a suggestion — that's the whole point.

Why This Dish Matters

Every Georgian family has a satsivi recipe. Not a recipe they follow — a recipe they defend. The arguments are endless. Chicken or turkey? How much garlic? Do you use egg yolks to thicken the sauce or is that cheating? Should it be set like a soft custard or pourable like a thick gravy? There is no resolution to these debates and there never will be.

Satsivi is New Year's food the way turkey is Thanksgiving food, except Georgians take their holiday table far more seriously. On December 31st and January 7th (Georgian Christmas, following the Orthodox calendar), the satsivi has been chilling in the fridge since the day before. It sits on the supra table next to gozinaki (honey-fried dough), churchkhela, and enough food for twenty people even when there are six. The walnut sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but loose enough to pool around the chicken. Getting that right is what separates a good satsivi from one that people talk about years later.

Outside of the holidays, satsivi appears in restaurants year-round. It's a fixture of any decent Georgian menu. But restaurant satsivi and homemade satsivi are different animals. Restaurant versions tend to be warm and sauce-heavy. Homemade satsivi — the real thing — is cold, dense with walnuts, and complex in a way that reveals new flavors the longer you eat it. The garlic mellows overnight. The fenugreek deepens. The cinnamon, which seemed too subtle when you tasted the sauce fresh, suddenly makes sense.

Ingredients

Serves 6–8. This recipe uses a whole chicken, which is the most traditional approach. You can substitute 1 kg bone-in, skin-on thighs — they're more forgiving and arguably tastier. Boneless breasts work but tend to dry out and lack the body that bones give the broth.

Equipment

Step-by-Step Recipe

Step 1: Poach the Chicken

Place the whole chicken in a large pot. Add cold water to cover by about 3 cm (1 inch). Add 1 tablespoon of salt, a bay leaf, and a few black peppercorns. Bring to a boil over medium heat, uncovered. The moment it starts boiling, reduce to a bare simmer — you want lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil.

Skim any foam and impurities that rise to the surface in the first 10 minutes. This is the difference between a clean, golden broth and a cloudy, dull one.

Simmer for 40–50 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (internal temp 74°C/165°F at the thickest part of the thigh). If using bone-in thighs, 25–30 minutes is enough. Remove the chicken and set it aside to cool. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer and reserve — you'll need about 500 ml (2 cups) for the sauce.

Step 2: Make the Walnut Base

While the chicken poaches, grind the walnuts. Pulse in a food processor until you have a texture like coarse, damp sand. You want some fine particles for body and some larger bits for texture. If you go too far and it starts clumping into walnut butter, add a splash of the chicken broth to loosen it.

In a mortar and pestle (or the food processor), combine the ground walnuts with the grated garlic, blue fenugreek, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and khmeli suneli. Mix until the spices are evenly distributed. Set aside.

Step 3: Cook the Onion and Build the Sauce

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook until completely soft and translucent — about 7–8 minutes. Don't let them brown at all. You want them to melt into the sauce, not add any caramelized flavor.

Add the walnut-spice mixture to the softened onions and stir for about a minute, just until the spices become fragrant. This brief toasting wakes up the coriander and fenugreek.

Gradually stream in 500 ml (2 cups) of the strained chicken broth, stirring continuously. The sauce should come together into a thick, smooth consistency — thicker than gravy but thinner than hummus. If it's too thick, add more broth 50 ml at a time. If it's too thin, let it simmer for a few minutes to reduce.

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will darken slightly and the flavors will meld.

Step 4: Add the Vinegar (and Optional Egg Yolks)

Remove the sauce from heat. Stir in the white wine vinegar — this is the brightness that cuts through all that richness. Taste and adjust: you might want more salt, more garlic, a touch more vinegar. The sauce should taste slightly more intense than you'd expect because the flavors will mellow significantly once cold.

If you're using egg yolks (traditional, not mandatory): whisk them in a small bowl. Temper them by whisking in a few spoonfuls of the warm sauce, then add the tempered yolks back to the pot, stirring constantly. This gives the sauce a silkier body and a subtle richness. Don't add the yolks to sauce that's too hot or they'll scramble.

Step 5: Combine, Chill, and Serve

Shred or cut the cooled chicken into large pieces — thigh-sized chunks work well. Remove the skin if you prefer (most Georgian cooks keep it on for turkey satsivi, split on chicken). Place the chicken pieces in a deep clay or ceramic dish. Pour the walnut sauce over the chicken, making sure every piece is submerged.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better. The sauce will thicken as it chills and the walnut oils set — this is exactly what you want. The flavors deepen enormously during this rest.

Serve cold or at room temperature, straight from the dish. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and chopped fresh cilantro if you like. Eat with shotis puri (Georgian bread) or mchadi (cornbread). The bread is for scooping up the sauce — and you will want to scoop up every last bit.

Tips for Perfect Satsivi

Common Mistakes

Variations

When to Eat Satsivi

Satsivi is inseparable from the Georgian New Year. On December 31st, the table is a monument to excess — satsivi is the cold centerpiece alongside warm dishes like kupati (sausages) and roast pork. It stays on the table for days, because in Georgian tradition, the supra table stays laid for visiting guests well into January.

But satsivi isn't only holiday food. It's a perfect summer dish — rich but served cold, which makes it ideal for hot weather when you don't want to eat anything steaming. It's also a practical cook-ahead meal: make it on a Saturday, eat it all week. The flavor actually improves over the first 2–3 days.

What to Serve with Satsivi

Where to Eat Satsivi in Tbilisi

Nutrition

Satsivi is calorie-dense — walnuts are fat-rich and the sauce is generous. But it's the good kind of fat: mostly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Walnuts are also an excellent source of omega-3s, manganese, and copper. The fact that you're eating it cold means you tend to eat slowly and savor it rather than wolfing it down.

Storage

Frequently Asked Questions