One should “have the happiness of being able to” skilfully cut ingredients for the forshmak, as they say here in Odessa. If you don’t want to take risks, please, don’t use a blender, it will turn a wonderful product into a grey paste. It would be better to coarsely grind well-chilled ingredients in a meat mincer. By the way, if you like to experiment a little, add half a red chili to the forshmak. If you want it to spice up the forshmak, cut the chili peppers whole. If you want it to be sweet and not hot, cut flat slices from the pod along the fibres, so the knife does not touch the white membranes inside or the seeds. This is the hottest part of the chilli, and knowing this little trick, you can leave it out.