Chef Lesia
Adzhyka po-Ukrainsky (аджика, tomato-pepper relish)
The tomatoes go from garden-red to brick-red while the peppers slump and the garlic waits. By the end, the spoon leaves a path and the whole south fits in one jar.
Culinary Explorer
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Khrinovina (хріновина, raw horseradish-tomato relish)
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The color looks sweet first: tomato-red, glossy, almost innocent. Then the horseradish catches your nose, your eyes water, and every cold slice of pork wakes up.
Sauces & Condiments
Ukrainian
Make Ahead
Batch Cooking
Comfort Food
25 min
Active Time
0 min cook•25 min total
YieldAbout 1.2 litres
The color looks sweet first: tomato-red, glossy, almost innocent. Then the horseradish catches your nose, your eyes water, and every cold slice of pork wakes up. This is khrinovina, from хрін, horseradish: raw tomato, raw garlic, raw root, ground together until it sounds wet and rough in the machine, then salted enough to hold its edge.
It belongs to the end of tomato season, when the garden gives you more than manners can handle. In the litnya kuhnia, the summer kitchen, there would be bowls of split tomatoes, a root of horseradish scrubbed like a dirty secret, garlic skins stuck to everyone's fingers. Aunt Nadia wrote only "хрін до сили", horseradish to strength, which is both useless and completely correct.
The one thing that decides the dish is this: don't cook it. Heat would tame the root and turn the tomatoes flat. Grind it raw, let it stand cold overnight, and the sharpness settles into the juice without disappearing. Serve it with salo, boiled beef, roast pork, buckwheat cutlets, or just black bread when nobody is watching.
Raw horseradish relishes sit across Ukrainian home tables beside kholodets, salo, boiled meats, and autumn preserves, especially where late tomato harvests meet dug horseradish root. In the south, tomato-based versions became practical seasonal food from the same summer-kitchen habit that filled jars with fermented tomatoes, aubergines, and watermelon, but khrinovina is not a shelf ferment: it is a fresh cold relish for the fridge.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
1.2 kg
cored and roughly chopped
fresh horseradish root
Quantity
120g
peeled and roughly chopped
garlic
Quantity
8 large cloves
peeled
fine sea salt
Quantity
18g, plus more to taste
sugar (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
apple cider vinegar or fermented tomato brine (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe tomatoescored and roughly chopped | 1.2 kg |
| fresh horseradish rootpeeled and roughly chopped | 120g |
| garlicpeeled | 8 large cloves |
| fine sea salt | 18g, plus more to taste |
| sugar (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| apple cider vinegar or fermented tomato brine (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Food processor or meat grinder
- •Two or three clean glass jars
- •Gloves for handling horseradish
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the jars
Wash two or three glass jars and lids in very hot soapy water, rinse well, and let them dry completely. This relish is raw and kept cold, so cleanliness matters, but don't panic over it. We are making fridge food, not a sealed pantry preserve.
- 2
Wake the root
Peel the horseradish and cut it into small chunks. Open a window before you grind it, because the fumes come up fast and honest. If your eyes water, good. The root is doing its work.
A food processor is easiest. If you grate by hand, wear gloves and keep your face back from the bowl unless you want a very direct conversation with the horseradish. - 3
Grind it raw
Pulse the horseradish and garlic first until finely chopped, then add the tomatoes in batches and process until the relish is loose, pulpy, and still a little textured. It should sound wet and rough, not smooth like soup. Those small pieces are where the bite lives.
- 4
Salt and balance
Stir in the salt, then taste after a few minutes, when the tomatoes have started to give up their juice. Add sugar only if the tomatoes are harsh, and a spoon of vinegar or fermented tomato brine only if the whole bowl tastes sleepy. The finish should be tomato first, then garlic, then horseradish climbing into your nose.
- 5
Jar and chill
Spoon the khrinovina into the clean jars, leaving a little space at the top, close the lids, and refrigerate. It tastes fierce at once, but overnight it becomes one relish instead of three ingredients shouting across the room. Keep it cold and use clean spoons.
Chef Tips
- •Use ripe meaty tomatoes if you can. Watery tomatoes still work, but drain off a little juice after chopping so the relish doesn't run all over the plate.
- •Fresh horseradish is the step that won't forgive you. Jarred horseradish makes a softer, more modern version, useful in January, but it won't have that sharp lift into the nose.
- •This is not safe for pantry storage or water-bath canning as written. Keep it in the fridge and eat within 2 weeks.
- •Serve it cold with salo, kholodets, boiled beef, roast pork, fried potatoes, or buckwheat cutlets. Enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian.
Advance Preparation
- •Best made 12 to 24 hours before serving, so the horseradish settles into the tomato juice.
- •Keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Use a clean spoon every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 30g)
Calories
10 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
175 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
0 g
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