Fir from fish in Adjarian style. Dishes of Georgian cuisine with photos

In Georgia, everything is connected with food and feasting - it’s almost impossible to return home without gaining a couple of kilograms, because everything is so fresh and tasty!

In this post I will tell you what Georgian cuisine is, and also show you the most popular Georgian dishes. I highly recommend trying all this directly in Georgia itself, because national restaurants are not the same at all. After all, the atmosphere itself is important, and the company, of course! After all, in Georgia, a feast and friendly communication during it are sacred;-)

The most popular Georgian dishes

There is a legend in Georgia that when God distributed lands to people, the Georgians drank wine and ate all this time. This touched God so much that he gave the Georgians the land that he had reserved for himself. And the soil is really fertile and rich in harvests of grapes, apples, peaches, apricots, plums, pomegranates, fresh fragrant herbs- all this is precisely the basis of Georgian cuisine.

1. Khachapuri

Probably everyone knows this flatbread with cheese. Recently, the Georgian authorities issued a patent for khachapuri - that’s how important this flatbread occupies in culture! There are many varieties with different recipes: for example, Adjarian khachapuri is boat-shaped with the addition of an egg, Imeretian khachapuri is round, Mingrelian khachapuri is topped with suluguni cheese, Rachinskie is made with beans and bacon. Another variety of khachapuri is foamani, only yeast-free puff pastry is used for it.

In general, in each region they bake the “most correct” khachapuri, although the dough is mainly made with matsoni, sometimes yeast is used.

Adjarian khachapuri - a calorie factory

2. Khinkali

Pieces of minced meat in dough (mostly beef is used). The correct way to eat them is this: bite the edge, drink the broth and then eat the rest, leaving the top of the dough on the plate uneaten. Georgians are offended when you compare khinkali to dumplings, although many cultures have a similar dish (for example, poses in Buryatia). A distinctive feature of khinkali is the addition of cilantro, onions and garlic to the minced meat.

Source: shankar s./Flickr

3. Wine

Georgian wine is just a song: you will surely try Kindzmarauli, Tsinandali, Saperavi, Khvanchkara and many others during your trip. Most of the famous Georgian wines are produced in the region in the Alazani Valley. Be sure to visit these places! Ideally, if you go to the grape harvest festival in mid-September, fun is guaranteed.

4. Lobio

Translated from Georgian, “lobio” means “beans”. Hence the name of the bean pie - lobiani. There are also several variations of this dish, but they always contain beans, cilantro, various seasonings and tomato puree. In addition, they use hot peppers, adjika, celery leaves.

5. Lobiani

Pie filled with boiled beans with the addition of Svan salt and cilantro. Very satisfying!

6. Chakhokhbili

Chakhokhbili is a chicken stew. The meat is stewed for quite a long time, it should literally melt in your mouth. During the cooking process, tomatoes, adjika, hot peppers, and garlic are added. Decorate the finished dish with fresh herbs.

7. Chikhirtma

Quite easy to prepare thick soup from chicken. The peculiarity is that the chicken and onions are first stewed together - this gives a unique taste to the soup. And at the end they add more egg yolks mixed with wine vinegar. This soup is believed to be a great hangover cure. Armenian cuisine also has a dish that relieves hangover symptoms: it’s called khash.

Source: abugaisky.livejournal.com

8. Pkhali

Almost all previous Georgian dishes contained meat, but pkhali is suitable for vegetarians. Pkhali is a paste-shaped snack made from stewed vegetables, often spinach, green beans, eggplant, beet leaves. Walnuts, garlic and all sorts of greens are added to the vegetables. And the finished dish is decorated with pomegranate seeds.

Source: salvagekat/Flickr

9. Satsivi

Satsivi is peanut sauce, mostly served with pieces of chicken. The nuts are ground and mixed with fresh herbs and spices: cloves, coriander, cinnamon (this adds a special piquancy), and cooked for a long time until a creamy mass is formed. At the end, chicken pieces and onions are added to the sauce.

10. Kharcho

Kharcho is a famous Georgian beef or lamb soup. In addition to meat, rice, garlic, tomatoes, suneli hops and other spices are added to the soup, making it spicy and satisfying.

Source: Lesya Dolyk/Flickr

11. Chanakhi

Chanakhi is a Georgian roast with lamb. In addition to meat, eggplants, onions, carrots, tomatoes, peppers are added, and at the end Bay leaf and fresh herbs. It is believed that it tastes better in pots.

Source: Food and Drink/Flickr

12. Chakapuli

Stewed young meat with the obligatory addition of tkemali, tarragon and vegetables. This dish is mainly eaten in the spring, because it is in the spring that young tkemali berries and plums, which have a sour taste, ripen, which is why chakapuli has a sour taste.

Source: PovarOFF/Flickr

13. Kveri

Megrelian variniki - kveri - only inside they have suluguni cheese. It’s not so easy to get real suluguni here, so try this dish while you’re in Georgia. Served with fermented milk matsoni, and put a piece of butter on top.

14. Adzhapsandali

Another vegetarian dish Georgian cuisine: stewed vegetables. Usually these are eggplants, Bell pepper, carrots, tomatoes. They also add cilantro, dill, parsley, garlic and simmer in a large cauldron.

Source: www.gastronom.ru

15. Kubdari

Traditional Svan pie with meat. Highlanders know a lot about simple and delicious food, the filling is made from lamb, pork or goat meat with the addition of herbs, garlic, and various spices.

Regions of Georgia and their cuisine

Not only Georgians live in Georgia: there are also Kakhetians, Adjarians, Svans, Mingrelians, and everyone cooks something different. In Kakheti, drink wine, in Adjara, try khachapuri boats, in Megrelia, eat satsivi, in Svaneti, stock up on real suluguni.

Snacks

Lunch or dinner in Georgia is a multi-hour event with food, wine and endless toasts. If the feast is just beginning, try the appetizers, but remember that there are still many dishes ahead.

Pkhali - balls of spinach, beets, cabbage with the addition of walnuts and spices.
Ajapsanali - vegetable stew. Eat it with bread (bread is a different story) and wash it down with wine.
Lobio - a pot of beans. Nourishing full meal, and this is just the beginning.

Bread and khachapuri

Bread - business card any country, everywhere it is prepared differently. In Georgia, there may be special bread on the table for certain dishes - for example, mchadi flatbread for chikhirtma, round mrgvili and long dedas-puri for kharcho, satsivi and lobio; ready-made kebab is placed on shoti boats and covered with another flatbread so that the meat does not cool down. There are breads of different nations and, of course, khachapuri.

Russian-Georgian gastronomic dictionary:

Shoti - elongated large flatbread from the tandoor, slightly salted I, it is served with most Georgian dishes.
Mchadi are small dense corn pies, served with soups.

Now let's deal with khachapuri. The dish, known far beyond the borders of Georgia, as I thought before, is small square envelopes with suluguni cheese inside. These are sold in any bakery in Russia. Arriving in Georgia, I realized that the situation was more complicated. By classic recipe, inside the khachapuri there may be not only suluguni, but also other cheeses. And a square cheesecake made from puff pastry is foamani. Khachapuri is different.

Russian-Georgian gastronomic dictionary:

Khachapuri in Megrelian (or affectionately in Georgian: megruli) is a round flatbread with cheese on top.
Khachapuri in Imerti style (imeruli) - round flatbreads with cheese inside.
Khachapuri in Gurian style is a crescent-shaped flatbread.
Khachapuri in Adjarian style (in my opinion, the most delicious) - boats with cheese, egg and butter.

Adjarian khachapuri requires special handling. The bread boat with cheese is cooked in the oven, then taken out, an egg is broken into the cheese center and a piece of butter is added. When the dish is served, it is still very hot, so you can see how the butter melts and the yolk hardens. You need to stir the filling with a fork or knife and eat, tearing off the bread at the edges and dipping it into the filling. Of course, with your hands.

Meat, sauces and spices

The main dish in Georgia is always meat, be it the well-known shish kebab (called “mtsvadi” here) or the unexpected Georgian chicken tapaka (“tapaka” translates as frying pan). But there are dishes that are more authentic. Let's get to know them.

Russian-Georgian gastronomic dictionary:

Chakhokhbili - tomato and poultry stew.
Satsivi - chicken in sauce from walnuts, cinnamon and saffron.
Chashushuli - beef stewed with vegetables.
Chakapuli - lamb stew with tarragon.

Everything is very, very tasty! When you come to Georgia, you want to make your stomach bottomless to try all the national dishes. No matter how you try to cook this yourself, you won’t really succeed. In Georgia, food has a special taste and aroma thanks to spices: hops-suneli, cilantro, tarragon (aka tarragon), basil, Svan salt.

Georgian sauces- a separate topic. They serve stewed and fried meat and poultry. Everyone knows adjika - a spicy mixture of pepper, suneli hops, cilantro and dill, but there is something else.

Russian-Georgian gastronomic dictionary:

Tkemali - sauce made from red or green plums, herbs and garlic.
Satsebeli - sauce made from tomatoes with garlic and spices.
Garo - nut sauce with onion and egg.

Khinkali

There is a main dish in Georgia that requires neither bread nor sauce: khinkali, Georgian manti dumplings. It is customary to eat a lot of them - if you order two pieces in a restaurant, the waiter will probably be surprised and ask you again the quantity. Georgia is not the place to restrain your gastronomic desires. Khinkali is cheap, filling and varied. We try meat ones from different regions and those with potatoes, cheese and mushrooms.

Russian-Georgian gastronomic dictionary:

Kalakuri is the most common khinkali: dough, two types of meat, broth, black pepper and fresh herbs.
Mtialuri - the same, but without greenery.
Pasanauruli - minced meat instead of minced meat.
Kakheti - with pork.

Eating khinkali is a special ritual. There should be a lot of them, they should be hot. No sauce needed. You can only sprinkle black pepper on top. Take only with your hands. Hold it by the tail, take a bite, drink the broth, eat the dough and meat, leave the tail. A sign of special skill is not to spill a single drop of broth on the plate.

Soups

If yesterday there was too much wine at dinner (and in Georgia wine flows like a river), then the next day you need to be treated with hot and rich Georgian soup. The most popular are spicy tomato beef kharcho and thick chikhirtma with chicken and egg. Cold chacha or vodka is usually served with hot soup. Yesterday's feast develops into today's and becomes an endless Georgian feast.

Dessert

If after a hearty Georgian lunch there is still room for something sweet, you should fill it with churchkhela and kozinaki. Churchkhela - walnuts or hazelnuts strung on a string in frozen sweet grape jelly. You can buy it in tourist shops, where it hangs in colorful clusters, but the freshest and most delicious ones are sold by grandmothers on city streets or in mountain villages. It is clear that it has just been prepared: soft, bends, as if rubber, without a white coating and with the freshest nuts inside. If you find one, be sure to take it: it will be the most delicious churchkhela of your life.

Wine

The national drink of Georgia is wine: saperavi, mukuzani, kindzamaruli, khvanchkara. There are also rarer wines from local varieties. All winemaking is concentrated in Kakheti, where you can go on an exciting wine tour: in Georgia there is the Georgia Wine Route - a road with views of the vineyards and signs to wineries, cellars and family wineries. The most popular wine here is dry or semi-sweet red wine made from the Saperavi grape variety, but there is also an interesting white wine.

Russian-Georgian wine dictionary:

Red wine:
- Saperavi is a grape variety and the name of a simple dry wine.
- Khvanchkara is a semi-sweet of two local varieties, usually the most expensive on the wine list.
- Kindzmarauli is a semi-sweet product from the region of the same name.
- Pirosmani - semi dry wine from the Saperavi variety, named after the Georgian artist.
- Mukuzani is a dry wine originally from the town of the same name, Saperavi variety.
White wine:
- Rkatsiteli is a grape variety and the name of a simple dry wine.
- Tsinandali is a dry wine from Rkatsiteli and another variety, aged in a barrel.
- Alazani Valley - semi-dry from the Alazani River valley.

Any Georgian wine is excellent. Even if you don’t understand it, try it. From Saperavi, from Rkatsiteli, from little-known varieties, red and white, dry and semi-sweet, famous manufacturers and small wineries.

What if you're not a wine drinker after all? Drink chacha - Georgian grape vodka, which is often infused with fruits and herbs.

Soft drinks

If you don't drink alcohol, there are mineral water, lemonades and juices.

Mineral water- this is not only: Nabekhlavi, Sairme and Bakuriani are less known, but no less useful.

Lemonades Natakhtari, Zadazeni and Lagidze are sold in stores and on the street, which is especially pleasing in the heat. There are classic ones with the taste of tarragon, pear or lemon, and you can find creamy or grape. The most important thing about Georgian lemonade is its naturalness. This is not just soda, but an ecological product: only water, sugar and fruit syrup.

Another popular drink is freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. I have only tried such a rich, tart, concentrated pomegranate here. Benches with juicers are located right on the street.

Top 5 Georgian delicacies

So, what you should definitely try in Georgia:

Khinkali. From different types of meat, with cheese and potatoes, with and without herbs. Learn to eat them with your hands and not spill the broth. Don't forget to leave a tail of dough. Do not ask for cutlery, bread or sauce for khinkali.
Kharcho. Rich, Hot soup, which will save you from a hangover.
Khachapuri. In Megrelian, Imerti, Gurian, and especially Adjarian. Learn to eat cheese boats correctly, order the biggest ones and eat every last drop of salty cheese.
Wine. White and especially red. Semi-sweet and dry. Branded and homemade. Any wine is excellent here, regardless of grape variety, region or price.
Churchkhela. Fresh, made from walnuts in grape juice. Learn to choose the most delicious one by eye. Don't be afraid to buy second hand.

Food prices

Food is inexpensive in Georgia. The portions are large. You can have lunch and be full for 5 USD or 15 GEL (Georgian currency lari, about 300 rubles). The most profitable dish is khinkali, one dumpling costs from 0.2USD or 0.6 GEL (12 rubles), you can eat four or five. Kharcho costs from 1.5 USD or 5 GEL (100 rubles). Churchkhela from 0.3 to 1 USD or 1-3 GEL (20-60 rubles). Wine in a restaurant starts from 3.5USD or 10 GEL (200 rubles), in a supermarket - half the price.

Where to buy groceries

Tbilisi has both large supermarkets and small shops. Near the Vokzalnaya metro station (Station square) there is the largest Desertirsky market, where they sell all kinds of spices, fruits, nuts, cheeses, and churchkhela.

In small towns and villages, it is worth paying attention to local markets, while not avoiding street vendors selling fruits, nuts and spices.

Wine is sold in small shops in the historical center - Old Tbilisi, but it is cheaper to buy in supermarkets, for example, the popular Smart chain. In Kakheti, wine can and should be bought directly in stores at wineries.

Where to go for dinner

There are many places with excellent Georgian cuisine and atmosphere. Here are a few good cafes and restaurants in Tbilisi.

Machakhela

The restaurant is open 24 hours a day and specializes in traditional cuisine. Always crowded, always delicious. I would come back again and again for the local Adjarian-style khachapuri, and there are so many types of khinkali here that it would be impossible to try them in a week.

Restaurant in Mtatsminda Park

When you climb Mount Mtatsminda in Tbilisi, be sure to have lunch at a restaurant deep in the park. It is run by an elderly family couple: they cook and bring food themselves, and treat them to homemade wine and chacha. In summer you can sit outside, in winter - in a small room where the fireplace-stove is heated.

Legvi

Don't look here traditional dishes Georgian cuisine: the menu includes salads and sandwiches, and the bar menu is filled with cocktails. The main reason to come to this trendy loft restaurant lies in the picturesque view of a mountain waterfall among the rocks, which opens from the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. But there are still bottles of chacha in the interior, and the sandwich bread is small khachapuri.

Restaurants on the street near the Peace Bridge

The Glass Bridge is a landmark of Tbilisi that you cannot pass by. Between it and Kote Afkhazi Street is the small but lively tourist street Erekle II. Restaurants with traditional cuisine there is one in literally every home.

Restaurants on Dadiani Street

Dadiani is another tourist street in the old city with many restaurants serving Georgian cuisine. Here the shops sell fruits, churchkhela, cheese and wine.

***

The food and wine in Georgia is undeniably amazing. It seems that it is simply impossible to taste something tasteless here. The restaurant food here is like homemade, and the hospitality and wine are a reason to come back again and again.

There is a belief among Georgians that when God distributed the earth among the peoples, the Georgians were busy and had no intention of participating in the general fuss. They sat and leisurely drank wine and ate barbecue. The Lord was so touched by this that he took and gave them Georgia - the land that he saved for himself.

Everything in Georgia is connected with food, feasts and wine! Take any painting by any Georgian artist, and you will definitely see images of stately Georgian men at a generously laid table, on which there is certainly wine. What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear "Georgia"? Of course, these are lobio, satsivi, khachapuri, suluguni, tkemali... Names that sound like music!

We offer you 10 best recipes Georgian cuisine. You can start cooking at home now, or you can go on a gastronomic tour of Georgia with the popular culinary blogger Anastasia Tretyakova and learn from local residents and chefs!

1. Khachapuri

These flatbreads are from air test with stringy cheese inside they drive you crazy. It's impossible to stop! You pinch off a piece, then another piece and another... Khachapuri comes in several types: in Adjarian - in the shape of a boat, with an egg added on top of the cheese filling, in Imeretian - in the form of a flatbread with cheese filling made from Imeretian cheese, in Mingrelian - in in the form of a flatbread with cheese filling, sprinkled with cheese on top. Try making Imeretian khachapuri.

Ingredients:

Matsoni or kefir 500 ml
Milk 200 ml
Chicken egg 3 pcs.
Melted butter 100 g
Vegetable oil 100 g
Flour 800-1000 g
Dry yeast 10 g
Sugar 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Imereti cheese (or Adyghe cheese, soaked feta cheese) 1 kg
Butter 75 g
Sour cream 1 tbsp. l.
Yolk 1 pc.

Cooking method

Add a pinch of sugar and yeast to warm (not hot!) milk, pour a little sunflower oil(2 tablespoons), sprinkle with flour and place in a warm place for 15 minutes.
Add matsoni (kefir), one egg and half of the pre-sifted flour to the yeast mixture. Stir, gradually adding cooled melted butter, salt and remaining flour. From time to time, pour a few drops of vegetable oil into your palm so that the dough does not stick to your hands.
Form the dough into a ball, sprinkle with flour and let it rise for 1 hour. Stir and leave to rise again for another 1 hour.
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, add the egg and stir in the softened butter.
Divide the dough and filling into 5-6 parts. Roll each part of the dough into a flat cake 1 centimeter thick, lay out the filling, leaving 3-4 centimeters from the edge. We connect the edges, turn them over with the tucks down and carefully roll them out to a thickness of 1 centimeter. Grease the khachapuri with a mixture of yolk and sour cream and prick it several times with a fork. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180-200 degrees. Lubricate butter, let cool slightly and serve.

2. Pkhali

Truly, Georgian dishes can please vegetarians too! Pkhali is an appetizer in the form of a pate of boiled (stewed) vegetables with nut dressing. Pkhali can be made from young cabbage, green beans, eggplant, beets or beet tops, from spinach. Pinch off a piece of fresh lavash, spread it on the pkhali, put it in your mouth and close your eyes with pleasure!

Ingredients:

Spinach leaves 500 g
Shelled walnuts 75-100 g
Large onion 1 PC.
Garlic 2-3 pcs.
Cilantro 1 bunch
Pomegranate 1 pc.
Utskho-suneli or hops-suneli 1 tsp.
1 tbsp. l.
taste
Walnut oil optional

Cooking method

Wash the spinach thoroughly and place it in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes, set aside and let drain. We squeeze it out.
Walnuts, garlic, onion, grind the greens in a meat grinder or blender. Add spices, salt and pepper. Knead. We also pass the squeezed spinach through a meat grinder. If the mass turns out to be liquid, squeeze it again.
Mix spinach with nut dressing. Add a little wine vinegar. Place the resulting mass in the form of balls, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and lightly sprinkle with walnut oil.

3. Lobio

Lobio translated from Georgian means “beans”. There are many variations of lobio, differing from each other in the types of beans used, additional ingredients and seasonings. But the lobio recipe necessarily uses onions, vegetable oil and wine vinegar. In addition to these basic ingredients, you can use walnuts, Imeretian cheese, tomatoes, tklapi, seasoning it all with cilantro, celery, basil, leeks, mint, thyme, black or red pepper, Imeretian saffron, cinnamon, cloves, hop-suneli mixture and garlic.

Ingredients:

Beans 500 g
Large bulbs 2 pcs.
Cilantro 1 large bunch
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Salt, adjika, suneli hops, ground coriander taste

Cooking method

Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Chop 1 onion fairly large, add to the beans and cook with the lid closed until the beans are ready. During this time, the onion will practically dissolve and give off all its flavor. The beans should be completely soft and mash into a paste with a spoon.
Chop the cilantro and chop the garlic. Cut the second onion into thin half rings. Mash the beans so that some of the beans remain intact. Stirring constantly, add adjika, coriander, suneli hops, and salt.
Then turn off the stove and immediately add chopped herbs, onions and garlic. Stir, cover with a lid and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Serve lobio with roast pork or gomi (corn porridge).

4. Satsivi with chicken

These are chicken pieces soaked delicate sauce with a tart nutty aroma. The fresher the nuts, the more delicate the taste and aroma. Cinnamon, cloves, and Imeretian saffron give this dish a truly Georgian flavor. Not a single Christmas table is complete without satsivi.

Ingredients:

Chicken 1 pc.
Shelled walnuts 500 g
Onion 4-5 pcs.
Garlic 1/2 head
Cilantro 1 large bunch
White wine vinegar or pomegranate juice 1 tbsp. l.
Ground coriander 1 tbsp. l.
Ground Imeretian saffron 1 tbsp. l.
Ground cinnamon on the tip of a knife
Salt, pepper to taste
Butter for greasing

Cooking method

Boil the chicken. Strain the broth and cool. Finely chop the onion and fry until transparent for about 10 minutes. Finely chop the cilantro.
Grind the nuts by passing them through a meat grinder or using a food processor. Mix them with spices and chopped cilantro. Crush the clove buds and add to the nut mixture along with cinnamon. Dissolve the nuts with a ladle of cooled broth to a paste. Grind the garlic with salt, add to the nuts and mix.
Place the remaining broth (1.2-1.5 liters) back on the fire. When the broth boils, reduce the heat and, stirring constantly, gradually add the nut mass. Then bring the sauce to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Add sautéed onions and pieces of boiled chicken fillet, let the dish boil again, add vinegar. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
Turn off, cover with a lid and let it brew. Satsivi can be served hot or cold with fresh shoti bread, cooked in a special tone oven, or with gomi (corn porridge).

5. Chakhokhbili

Chakhokhbili - hot aromatic stew made from chicken, moderately spicy, with bright and rich taste, since it is prepared in own juice with minimal addition of liquid. The name of this dish comes from the Georgian word “khokhobi”, which means “pheasant”. But don’t be upset if you don’t have a carcass of freshly shot game in your refrigerator. Feel free to use chicken.

Ingredients:

Chicken 1.5-2 kg
Onion 3-4 pcs.
Large tomatoes 4 things.
Tomato paste 2 tbsp. l.
Fresh hot pepper 1 PC.
Garlic 4-5 cloves
Adjika 1 tsp.
Cilantro 1 bunch
Utskho-suneli and coriander 3/4 tsp each
Vegetable oil approximately

Cooking method

We carve the chicken and cut it into pieces. Finely chop the onion and sauté in a separate bowl until transparent. Place the chicken in a pan with thick walls (preferably cast iron), add vegetable oil, salt and simmer over low heat under the lid for 20-30 minutes in its own juice. Add onion to chicken.
Cut the tomatoes into cubes and simmer for 3-4 minutes, then add them tomato paste and simmer for a few more minutes. Add tomato dressing to the chicken. If there is not enough liquid in the pan, you can add a little water.
Chop half of the cilantro. Add adjika, cilantro, peeled and chopped hot pepper to chakhokhbili. Simmer the chicken for another 30-40 minutes. The chicken should literally fall apart into fibers. Now add utskho-suneli, coriander and chopped garlic. Salt, add the remaining half a bunch of cilantro, mix, cover with a lid and turn off. Let stand for 15 minutes and serve.

6. Kharcho

Kharcho translated means " beef soup". Thick, scalding, hot, rich, aromatic, spicy beef soup with nuts, tkemali plums, herbs and garlic. Initially, the recipe uses beef, but you can make kharcho from both lamb and chicken.

Cooking method

Beef brisket 1 kg
Walnuts 200 g
Rice 1 cup
Onion 4-5 pcs.
Cilantro 1 large bunch
Parsley 1 large bunch
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Hot pepper 1 pc.
Khmeli-suneli, bay leaf taste
Salt, freshly ground black and allspice taste
Tklapi 2 pieces (10x10

Cooking method

Slice the brisket, add water, bring to a boil, skim off the foam and cook for 1.5 hours. At this time, soak the tklapi in water in a small bowl.
Chop the onion coarsely and sauté until transparent. Place the rice in the broth, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. At this time, chop the garlic and chop the hot pepper. Chop the nuts with a knife or pass through a meat grinder.
Mix pepper, nuts, garlic. Stir in a small amount of broth. Place the spicy nut mixture into the pan with the broth. Add chopped greens there. Then add tklapi (or 5-6 tablespoons of tkemali, or 1 can (450 grams) of pureed tomatoes), salt, pepper, bay leaf, let simmer for 10-15 minutes and turn off.

7. Khinkali

"Bags" made of elastic thin dough with spicy and juicy meat filling. Don’t offend Georgians by comparing them to our dumplings. And God forbid you use a fork and knife! Khinkali is eaten only with your hands! We tilt the khinkali a little, bite the dough, sip the hot broth, making characteristic sounds, then use a spoon to add the plain garlic Sause(finely chopped garlic with water) or satsebeli and already enjoy the filling... Leave the tail on the plate. The weakest eater is determined by the number of such tails. Don't lose face!

Ingredients:

Wheat flour 500 g
Water 300 ml
Mixed minced meat (fat pork + beef) 500 g
Onion 2 large
Garlic 2-3 cloves
Cilantro 1 bunch
Salt to taste

Cooking method

First we prepare the minced meat. Add chopped onion and garlic to the meat. Then gradually add water into the minced meat: as much as the minced meat can take. For 500 grams of minced meat we need approximately 100-150 milliliters of water. After this, add finely chopped cilantro.
Knead the dough from flour, salt and 150 grams of flour. Roll out the dough. Place 1 heaped tablespoon of minced meat in the middle of each sheet of dough (knead the minced meat again before laying it out).
We gather the edges of the dough with an accordion as tightly as possible. The more folds you get, the better. Ideally there should be 19 of them.
Tear off the excess dough on top and place the khinkali on a cutting board lightly sprinkled with flour. Place the khinkali in boiling water (broth) and wait for them to float up. Cook for literally another 2-3 minutes and remove. Place on a plate and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

8. Adzhapsandali

Purple glossy eggplants, pot-bellied red sweet peppers, juicy carrots, sugar tomatoes, onions, garlic, aromatic herbs and spices - all these colors and flavors are intertwined in one dish called ajapsandali. Vegetables for ajapsandali are stewed in a large cast iron cauldron without adding water, and it is especially tasty the next day.

Ingredients:

Eggplants 1 kg
Tomatoes 500 g
Sweet pepper 500 g
Onion 250 g
Carrots 250 g
Hot green pepper 1 pod
Garlic 1 head
Cilantro, parsley, basil 1 bunch each
Utskho-suneli (khmeli-suneli) 2 tsp.
Imereti saffron 1/2 tsp.
Salt, freshly ground black pepper taste
Vegetable oil approximately

In addition to one or another, each country is famous for its special, a cuisine unlike any other, which he is proud of, appreciates, loves and would not trade for anything in the world. So, Georgian cuisine is a symbiosis of goodies: successfully combined meat and vegetables, seasoned with a huge amount variety of spices.

Which ones are here? appetizing and satisfying flour products and sweets, and sauces, and cheeses! In general, we won’t torment you for long and will try not only to unite, but also to describe everything the most delicious national dishes Georgian cuisine.

Dishes of Georgian cuisine

Easy to Georgia it's impossible not to fall in love. Everyone who comes here once strives to visit this place at least once more. hospitable and “tasty” country. Men will be delighted with meat dishes, and women and children will appreciate the rich selection Georgian sweets. And even if you are inveterate vegetarian, dishes made from various vegetables will undoubtedly make you fall in love rich taste and unusual presentation.

“Here you can safely forget about your diet and just enjoy delicious food,” this is how our new colorful friend O. succinctly put it. It’s hard to imagine a better statement about the cuisine of this country. After all, almost all tourists cannot refuse such delicious food and gain a few extra pounds.

Snacks

Snacks in Georgia are presented wide choice of dishes. This includes various vegetable salads or plants with seasonings, both raw, stewed, boiled, fried and baked, and salted and even pickled. By choosing a specific sauce for them, you can try to create your unique snack right on the spot (if you prefer to cook and eat at home).

Most Popular The following dishes are used:

Badrijani(fried eggplants with nuts) - in Georgia, many delicacies are prepared with eggplants. They can be pre-fried and then rolled into a roll, stuffed with walnuts; prepare a stew in combination with other vegetables or serve fried and stewed. Blueberry lovers will definitely enjoy any of the listed dish options.
Frankly speaking, we didn’t like the fried eggplants. Maybe they weren't cooked well, or maybe we expected too much from this dish.
Lobio(beans) is a fairly popular product in Georgia. Various variations of dishes are possible from all types of beans that grow in the country. But the most popular dish is the one of the same name - lobio, cooked in a small clay pot. The composition of this dish, in addition to beans, necessarily includes dry red pepper and herbs.
Pkhali- essentially this is an appetizer of boiled vegetables, spices and herbs, decorated with pomegranate seeds. Most often it is made with spinach or eggplant.
Kaimagi- a prototype of the sour cream we are used to, but with its own bright taste and consistency close to heavy cream. It is made from dairy products and is not only tasty, but also healthy. Georgians themselves eat kaimagi with corn flour tortillas and cheese.
Pickles- decoration of any Georgian table. They are prepared from almost any available vegetables and even from plant inflorescences (for johnjolie They use the buds of Colchis klekacha, a small tree that grows only in the Caucasus, collected in the spring). Pickles made from beans, green peppers and tomatoes are especially popular.
Mushrooms on ketsi- champignons fried in a special clay pan and seasoned with pepper. The dish is brought in the same vessel in which it is prepared. In addition to mushrooms, the menu usually also includes suluguni cheese on ketsi.
Kuchmachi- a tasty, although quite spicy, offal dish. Most often chicken hearts and livers are used, but sometimes veal ones are also used. Pomegranate seeds and fried onions are used as decoration.

First meal

The choice of first courses in Georgia for travelers will be, although small, but very delicious varied. Even though in each region the soup is prepared and served a little differently, we are sure that everyone will choose the most worthy option for themselves.

By the way, in the first courses It is not customary to add vegetables, so you don’t have to look for the usual potatoes or carrots. The soup still works thick, but by adding eggs or flour-based sauces to it. The first course must be served hot.

Chikhirtma— hearty soup, usually prepared from chicken meat, corn flour, eggs, herbs and spices. Eggs in a dish dissolve completely without curdling due to their oxidation a small amount citric acid.
Kharcho- thick beef soup with the addition of rice, seasonings, herbs, garlic and tkemali (dried plums). Sometimes kharcho is made from pork or lamb, but beef is still considered traditional meat. The soup is often served very spicy.
Hashi - rich soup, the consistency of which resembles diluted jellied meat. It takes quite a long time to cook (about 8 hours) from beef leg and offal. Hashi is served with garlic and herbs. Favorite hangover cure.

Second courses (main)

Since Georgia is mainly "meat country", fish dishes are not often found in restaurants and cannot be classified as national cuisine.

Let's list main or second dishes, familiar to Georgians:

Ojakhuri- potatoes cooked and served in a ketsi (frying pan) with meat, herbs and seasonings. Very beautiful, tasty and hearty dish.
Khinkali- the most famous dish in the world. In appearance and taste they resemble huge dumplings with a tail, sprinkled with black pepper. The filling can be very varied: from meat to vegetable. They eat khinkali with their hands, holding it by the tail. First, they take a bite and drink the juice, and then immediately begin the meal.
Borano- a very high-calorie dish consisting of Adjarian cheese, butter, corn flour and eggs. It has an unusual taste.
Mtsvadi(kebab) - prepared from various types of meat. Usually the tenderloin is not pre-soaked.
Satsivi- chicken stew in tandem with walnuts, sauce and seasonings.
Chicken tabaka- chicken cooked under pressure (tapaka). Served with garlic and spices.
Chakhokhbili- stewed meat stew. Most often it is prepared from pieces of chicken with garlic, herbs and seasonings.
Ostry or chashushuli - a dish made from veal or beef. Prepared with tomatoes, herbs and garlic. Often very spicy.
Kupaty- delicious sausages, essentially reminiscent of the ones we are used to homemade sausage. First they are boiled (literally 1 minute), and then fried in a frying pan or coals.
Chanakhi- a hearty dish consisting of stewed meat with vegetables. It is prepared in a clay pot.
Chakapuli- young meat stewed in spices and herbs. Lamb is usually used.
Chkmeruli - tender chicken under creamy garlic sauce, cooked on ketsi.
Gomi- delicious corn porridge of uniform consistency with melted suluguni cheese.
Fried trout in pomegranate sauce- the sourness of the sauce gives a spicy taste to this dish.

Sauces

Sauces in Georgia are very tasty and interesting. They like to add them in many dishes for saturation. And many tourists, having tried and fallen in love with a certain sauce, even go home with a bottle of the newly created delicacy.

Basic of them:

Bazhe- the king of all sauces. That's what they serve on festive tables Georgians, bringing it to the consistency of sour cream. The sauce is prepared from a mixture of walnuts, spices and garlic. Ideal for meat and fish dishes.
Adjika- Very spicy sauce, which uses red pepper, seasonings and garlic. Real Georgian adjika never included tomatoes.
Tkemali- a hot and sour sauce that goes with almost everything. It is prepared from the same name plums tkemali (cherry plum), various seasonings, herbs and garlic.
Satsebeli- a delicious sweet and sour sauce, reminiscent of the familiar ketchup. It contains: tomatoes, sweet peppers and spices. Suitable for almost all dishes, especially meat and fish.

Flour dishes (baked goods)

Many tourists Georgia is associated with shashlik, spicy seasonings, various sauces, wine. And only when you get here, you understand - a real queen country is rightfully bakery. Delicious and aromatic khachapuri, hearty bread, pies with the most with different fillings...It all becomes integral part Georgia, winning the worldwide love of travelers.

As one Georgian told us, a family of 4 people can eat 5 or even 6 of these shotis puri (bread) in a day.

Most Popular flour dishes:

Shotis puri(bread) - very tasty, eaten quickly and unnoticed. Sold as a long flat cake with a round “pancake” in the center. It is baked in special large floor ovens - tone. Most appetizing when warm with the addition of cheese.
Mchadi- small ones made from corn flour unleavened cakes. Locals like to eat them with cheese.
Imeritinsky khachapuri- a round pancake with cheese inside.
Megrelian khachapuri— differs from Imeritinsky by the presence of cheese on top of the flatbread.
Adjarian khachapuri- the most beautiful and appetizing. Served in the form of an open boat, with cheese, egg and a piece of butter inside.
Khachapuri on a spit- khachapuri with cheese, which is cooked and served on a skewer.
Royal khachapuri- a huge khachapuri with cheese not only inside, but also outside.
Penovani- the most popular type of khachapuri. It looks and tastes like a cheese puff.
Achma- a hearty dish. Essentially the same puff pastry, but made from boiled layers of dough, which are spread with butter and cheese.
Lobiani- boiled bean pie. Usually quite a spicy dish.
Kubdari- pie with meat, with the addition of hot seasonings.
Gurian pies— unusual dish, resembling a bagel. An egg and cheese are placed inside.

Read our separate article.

Cheeses

Cheeses in the country quite a bit of, and the most diverse. They all differ in taste, texture and cooking process. To the most popular worth mentioning:

Imereti— It is customary to prepare khachapuri from it. Very tasty both on its own and in various dishes. Refers to lightly salted species.
Suluguni- salty cheese, which is considered brine. It has a few eyes and an elastic consistency.
Nadugi - curd with incredibly gentle creamy taste. Often served in a thin suluguni envelope.

Dessert

How can we not remember Georgian desserts? Even those who don’t really like sweets will find something to pamper and surprise themselves here.

Churchkhela- walnuts or hazelnuts strung on a string, generously doused with a mixture made from grapes, sugar, wheat and corn flour. They come in different types and colors depending on the grape variety. Always a very tasty, sweet and unusual dessert.
Gozinaki(kozinaki) - pieces of walnuts fried in honey.
Pelamushi- prepared from grape juice and corn flour. Serve cooled and sprinkled with nuts.
Baklava- a complex and painstaking dessert. It is made with thin layers of dough, which are coated with sweet syrup and nuts.
Nazuki- big delicious bread with honey and raisins.
Tklapi- a sweet and sour dessert, essentially a marshmallow that is dried in the sun.

If you are afraid to go to Russia because of the specific heat and spiciness of the dishes, we assure you: here you can find quite normal food(as a last resort, cook it yourself). In addition, in cafes and restaurants often listen to the wishes of customers, they make the food less hot or do not add any seasonings. In popular tourist places they obviously prepare what travelers are more accustomed to ( no pungency or fat). By the way, a huge amount of greenery in almost any dish - this is the norm for Georgia.

Trying all the national dishes of a country in one visit is quite difficult and almost impossible. You shouldn't order a lot of dishes if there are only two of you. After all, the portions in Georgia are really huge.

We advise you to pay attention, first of all, on flour. Of the brightest that we tried, we will separately highlight Adjarian khachapuri. It’s hearty and tasty easily can serve as breakfast for two. It's worth the pleasure 6 lari GEORGIAN GEL RATE:
6 lari = 1.99 euros;
6 lari = 2.28 dollars;
6 lari = 151.32 rubles;
6 lari = 63.84 hryvnia;
6 lari = 5.1 Belarusian rubles.
. We tried the most delicious Adjarian khachapuri in Batumi, in the “Retro” and “Tserodena” restaurants.

And this is what the most expensive kebab in Georgia looked like for us. Not only did it take a very long time to wait, it was also tough and burnt.

If you come to Georgia to enjoy local kebab, you will most likely be upset. Due to the fact that meat is usually do not pre-soak, it turns out dry and a little tough.

We tried many different kebabs, and came to a conclusion - the most delicious turned out to be pork from the cafe "Dukansky Caucasus" on the highway to Passanauri (by ). If you don’t have the opportunity or desire to go on an excursion, try pork kebab in Batumi at the Sachashnike restaurant or in Tbilisi at the Mravaljamieri restaurant.

Of the soups, it turned out to be the most delicious chicken(chihirtma). At first, however, it was a little strange and unusual to eat soup without vegetables. The most delicious chikhirtma was served in 5 lari GEORGIAN GEL RATE:
5 lari = 1.66 euros;
5 lari = 1.9 dollars;
5 lari = 126.1 rubles;
5 lari = 53.2 hryvnia;
5 lari = 4.25 Belarusian rubles.
Exchange rates and prices may not be accurate.. Huge portion enough for two. It is best to try chikhirtma in the Tbilisi restaurants “Mravaljamieri” or “Maspindzelo”, and in Batumi in the “Bremen” restaurant.

Khinkali frankly speaking to us didn't like it. Either we ate them in the wrong place (not in the “khinkal houses”), or this dish was simply not ours. By the way, despite the fact that khinkali are considered big dumplings, in any cafe or restaurant you can choose them with: vegetable, cheese, curd, potato, etc. fillings. Their cost starts from 0.45 GEL GEORGIAN GEL RATE:
0.45 lari = 0.15 euro;
0.45 lari = 0.17 dollars;
0.45 lari = 11.35 rubles;
0.45 lari = 4.79 hryvnia;
0.45 lari = 0.38 Belarusian rubles.
Exchange rates and prices may not be accurate. per piece, but orders less than 5 are usually not accepted. If you want to try really tasty khinkali, go to. Almost the only place where we ate normal meat khinkali was the village of Pasanauri.

But what we really liked was this ojakhuri. We ordered it often and in different places. He was almost everywhere perfectly tasty, with juicy pieces of meat. The cost per serving started from 7 lari GEORGIAN GEL RATE:
7 lari = 2.32 euros;
7 lari = 2.66 dollars;
7 lari = 176.54 rubles;
7 lari = 74.48 hryvnia;
7 lari = 5.95 Belarusian rubles.
Exchange rates and prices may not be accurate..

Imereti cheese, as we noticed, not only tourists, but also Georgians themselves love it very much. We advise you to try it too. Personally, we took this cheese and it turned out to be salty enough. As the owner of the apartment in which we lived in later said, in fact, it can be different. At her place we treated ourselves to practically unsalted Imeretian cheese.

We also definitely recommend trying it churchkhela(from 2 lari GEORGIAN GEL RATE:
2 lari = 0.66 euro;
2 lari = 0.76 dollars;
2 lari = 50.44 rubles;
2 lari = 21.28 hryvnia;
2 lari = 1.7 Belarusian rubles.
Exchange rates and prices may not be accurate.). This unusual delicacy absolutely does not look like similar to what can sometimes be found on store shelves in post-Soviet countries. Churchkhela in Georgia - popular dessert, which is eaten by both adults and children. The most delicious is sold in Batumi in a specialized store, “Badagi”. In addition to churchkhela, there are beautiful ones that are well suited as a present.

And finally: if you want to taste real Georgian food, look for places that Georgians themselves visit.

Dishes of Georgian cuisine are something that you need to try more than once. They combine Transcaucasian traditions, customs of the Black Sea region and Asia, have a bright taste and appetizing appearance.

Among the main features of Georgian cuisine are:

Delicious meat without restrictions. When cooking, they use both pork and lamb, as well as poultry and beef.
Soups without vegetables. Instead, add to the broth during cooking a raw egg, spices and flour sauce.
Abundance of cheeses. Each region of Georgia produces a separate type of cheese.
Sauces for every taste. They are served with all dishes and are prepared only from fresh ingredients.

To avoid getting lost among the huge number of dishes national cuisine Georgia, find out what you must try during your holiday in this country.

Meat cuisine

Famous dish Georgian cuisine. Nutritious and juicy Georgian dumplings are made from pork, beef or veal, and less often from lamb. There is also vegetarian option- used for filling boiled potatoes, mushrooms and cheese. You must try khinkali in different regions of Georgia, because each region has its own recipe and cooking features.

Traditional list of ingredients for khinkali:

Wheat flour
Garlic
Salt and spices (cilantro, red pepper, ground cumin)

Meat and lard are passed through a meat grinder, finely chopped onions and garlic are added to the minced meat. Then it is poured with a small amount of water and mixed together with spices.

To prepare the dough, flour is mixed with water and salt. Then it is rolled out as much as possible, often using special equipment that every Georgian housewife has in the kitchen.

The finished dough is cut into squares and placed one on top of the other, each time sprinkling with flour (there should be at least 15 such layers). The minced meat is prepared in advance. It is placed in the center of the square, folding the edges of the dough like an accordion, as tightly as possible. This is the most difficult stage of preparing khinkali.

Georgian dumplings are cooked in small batches, 10-15 pieces for 7-10 minutes each. Then carefully remove and serve the dish on the table.

Georgians themselves usually sprinkle khinkali generously with ground black pepper, but spiciness is a feature of their cuisine. You don't have to do this.

Taste juicy meat filling in combination with tender dough justifies all the difficulties of preparing the dish.

A popular Georgian dish of meat and vegetables. Traditionally baked in clay pots. It is based on pork or lamb; vegetables include potatoes, eggplant, onions, tomatoes, beans or peppers. The recipe necessarily includes tomato juice and adjika, several cloves of garlic and various spices.

The dish is prepared in a certain sequence, creating each layer with a new ingredient. Meat and vegetables are cut into cubes, herbs and garlic are finely chopped. First, onions are poured into the pot, then potatoes, eggplant, herbs, tomatoes, peppers and garlic. Each layer is coated with adjika and sprinkled with spices.

To ensure that the meat is as tender and juicy as possible, it is placed in pots last.

Next, the dish is poured tomato juice and put it in the oven. During cooking, the ingredients are mixed, creating a unique taste. The dish is hearty and slightly spicy, has a pleasant aftertaste and is suitable for any meal at a Georgian feast.

Satsivi with chicken

The dish gives you the opportunity to enjoy unique taste baked poultry with spicy Georgian sauce made from walnuts. Usually the dish is served separately from the side dish, adding a little greenery, and eaten with pita bread or flatbread. The main feature is that satsivi is eaten cold.

How is it prepared?

First, the chicken is boiled. The broth is filtered and left for further dressing of the dish. Then bake the chicken until crispy. The bird is cut into pieces, separating the bones and meat.

To make the sauce, walnuts are crushed until crumbly. Then they are mixed with spices, stewed onions and chopped cloves. The resulting mixture is poured chicken broth, beat in a blender, add pomegranate juice.

The consistency of the sauce is similar to sour cream.

At the end, the meat is placed in a pan with sauce and placed in the refrigerator.

Vegetarian dishes

Many national dishes of Georgian cuisine consist only of vegetables. The most popular vegetables in sunny Georgia are beans, eggplants, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions.

There are many options and features for preparing this dish, depending on the region of the country and the availability necessary products in the hostess's kitchen. But traditionally, onions, garlic, cilantro and spices, such as cinnamon, adjika, and coriander, are added to beans (the main ingredient).

Before you start cooking, soak the beans in cold water for 8-12 hours. Then it is boiled by adding chopped onions. During cooking, the beans become soft and acquire a piquant taste.

Having made the fire a little quieter, the beans in the pan are partially kneaded so that one half of them is in the form of a mush, and the other remains intact. While stirring, sprinkle with seasonings and salt. After this, the dish is sprinkled with chopped cilantro and chopped garlic. After 15-20 minutes, the lobio is removed from the heat and allowed to brew a little.

This healthy and unusual dish is served with corn porridge; in Georgian it is called “gomi”.

Lobio is one of those dishes of Georgian cuisine that are definitely worth trying.

Georgian soups

The most popular soup among Georgian national dishes. The spicy taste and unique spicy aroma will awaken the appetite of even the most demanding gourmet. Perhaps you will decide that you have already tried kharcho before and it is not worth spending money on it on vacation. However, this soup is worth trying in Georgia, at least for comparison. Believe me, not everything is so simple.

You can taste real kharcho only in Georgia. After all, it is here that tklapi is added to it - plum puree dried in the warm sun. It adds an unusual sourness to the dish, enriching its taste.

Traditionally, kharcho is made from beef. But cooks, both in the country and abroad, sometimes use chicken and lamb.

How is the national Georgian soup prepared?

First, the beef brisket is cut and boiled for 1.5-2 hours, while soaking the tklapi. Then rice is cooked in the resulting broth along with the beef. At the same time, chop the onion and hot pepper, and pass the nuts through a meat grinder.

After this, pepper, nuts and garlic should be mixed and added to the broth. Add finely chopped greens there. All these ingredients are added to the pan with the meat, which is seasoned with the remaining spices and tklapi. After 15 minutes, remove the kharcho soup from the heat.

The soup is prepared with virtually no vegetables, this is its peculiarity. This is a fatty beef broth with herbs, spices and, of course, garlic. In many Georgian families this National dish Eat for breakfast, delicious khashi gives you energy for the whole day. With such a lineup - of course!

To prepare the dish, use beef legs, cut lengthwise into two parts. They are kept in the kitchen in cold water for one day, after which they are placed in a large saucepan and boiled without salt, skimming off the foam as it appears. When the meat easily separates from the bones, proceed to the next stage.

The cooked beef is cut into several pieces, salted, the broth is filtered, and returned to low heat. At this time, the garlic needs to be crushed and the greens finely chopped. The ingredients are then mixed with pieces of pita bread and added to the soup. In a few minutes I can all enjoy the delicious national Georgian dish khash.

National desserts

Churchkhela

National Georgian delicacy. To make this healthy and tasty sweet, they use different types nuts and badaga - special grape juice.

Churchkhela comes in different colors and flavors, since each grape variety has its own characteristics. The delicacy is a little sticky, pleasantly sweet and very soft.

To prepare this dessert of Georgian cuisine they use:

Grape juice
Nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds)
Wheat and corn flour

The nuts are fried in a frying pan for a few minutes, then left to cool. After cleaning, they are strung on a thick thread and hung in a dry place where there is access to the sun.

To prepare grape jelly for this national delicacy, part of the juice is simmered over low heat. At this time, add flour little by little to the second (cooled) part, stirring thoroughly, avoiding the appearance of lumps. The resulting mixture is poured into the boiling juice and cooked until a paste forms.

Each string of nuts is dipped in jelly and hung. After two days, the delicious Georgian dessert is ready to eat.

Since the dish does not contain sugar or dyes, even small children can try churchkhela in Georgia.

Georgian pastries

Khachapuri

Insanely delicious and very popular flatbreads with sticky cheese, which have spread far beyond the borders of Georgia. When preparing them, they use a special “young” cheese – Imeretian. It differs from all other varieties with its unusual sour, but at the same time delicate taste.

Georgian khachapuri consists of:

matsoni
sour cream
salt and sugar
butter and soda

Before cooking, the butter is left to melt and the cheese is left in water briefly to make it less salty. Add salt and sugar to the matsoni, mix and pour in the melted butter. Gradually add flour and knead the dough.

Shredded or grated cheese is placed in khachapuri. Also in the recipe you will find sour cream, a little butter and salt. All ingredients are mixed. The dough is formed into flat cakes, inside which they place cheese filling. Then put it in a frying pan and fry until a crust forms.

Before serving, khachapuri is greased with butter. They are eaten with their hands, breaking off small pieces from the flatbread.

You can experience all the features of the amazing taste of khachapuri not only in cafes, but also simply on the streets of sunny Georgia.

And be prepared for the fact that the portions in Georgia are very large - it’s almost always enough to order one dish for two. So you can’t try too much in one meal.

Georgian appetizers

This snack is based on vegetables. The most popular are pkhali made from mushrooms, beets, spinach and zucchini, green beans and cabbage. The consistency of the appetizer resembles a pate; it takes place of honor on the festive table.

Preparation of pkhali occurs in two stages:

Vegetables are peeled and stewed until cooked. Wait until they cool down.
Pass the vegetables through a meat grinder along with the rest of the ingredients: onions, cilantro, garlic, walnuts and spices. They form the balls and decorate.

Greens or pomegranate are often used to decorate pkhali. A soft and cooling appetizer goes well with lobio, hot flatbreads and national Georgian wines.

Sauces

Georgians are masters in preparing sauces, which are an integral part of Georgian cuisine.

Bazhe is an incredibly soft, fragrant sauce that permeates meat and fish, significantly enriching their taste. It is made from nuts and served cold.

In Georgia, for preparing bazhe they use:

walnuts
cilantro
garlic
khmeli-suneli
vinegar
spices (saffron, pepper)

First, the nuts are crushed until flour is formed. Then cold water is added to them boiled water, salt, vinegar and spices. All ingredients are thoroughly mixed, passed through a blender and placed in the refrigerator.

Bazhe – universal sauce, which is suitable for both vegetable and meat dishes, it gives them a spicy taste and aroma.

National dishes of Georgian cuisine are a true gourmet delight. Have a nice trip!