Liver pounded soft (never minced) with inner fat, onion, garlic and red pepper, stuffed into a casing and boiled.
Themshigunibe (Circassian Liver Sausage)
Ingredients
Method
- Pound the liver with a mallet until soft as dough: do not mince it (mincing makes it tough); remove any rough fibres and skin.
- Mix in the finely chopped fat and onion.
- Add the pounded garlic, red pepper and salt; mix thoroughly.
- Stuff the cleaned intestine, sewing or pinning one end shut; fill so the girth is no more than double the casing.
- Lower into salted boiling water and cook 1–1.5 hours.
- As it boils, prick it in 2–3 places so steam does not burst the casing.
- Slice and serve hot with garlic sauce (shchips) and paste.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Kitchen words in Circassian
The words for what is in this dish, in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), with audio from the Circassian app’s lessons and audio course.
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| meat | лыly | лыlə |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchəghu |
| food | шхынshkhyn | шхыныshkhənə |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу'eshIu |
| This is delicious! | Мыр IэфIщ!Myr 'ef'shch! | Мыр IэшIу!Myr 'esh'u! |
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Themshigunibe: questions
How long does it take to make Themshigunibe?
About 120 minutes, according to the recipe in the Circassian app.
How many people does this Themshigunibe recipe serve?
It serves 6. The servings control above the ingredients recalculates every quantity for 1 to 40 people.
What is Themshigunibe made of?
The ingredients are: 500 g liver (sheep preferred, or beef); 150 g inner fat, finely chopped; 2 onions, chopped; 4 garlic cloves, pounded; 1 tsp red pepper; salt; 1 large cleaned intestine (casing).
Is Themshigunibe an everyday or a festive dish?
The Circassian app files it as a festive dish (Meat & Cured).
Where does this Themshigunibe recipe come from?
From the Recipes section of the Circassian app. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section, recipe “Themshigunibe (Circassian Liver Sausage)” (recipe data last changed July 2026). The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Circassian app: audio course, Kabardian and Adyghe (the kitchen words: cheese, meat, milk, bread, tea, water, food, delicious), and the lessons’ vocabulary (chicken, salt, butter, honey).
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