Regardless of the reason for coming together, the Georgian table and its selection of dishes provides a fascinating insight into a unique culture. Georgian cuisine makes use of animal products in most dishes and is rich in herbs, spices, dairy products, and oils. Most key ingredients are easily recognizable but the methods of preparation, which are the time honored secrets of the Georgian chef, lend a special taste and quality to each particular dish. There is no doubt that, regardless of your dietary preference, there is something to tantalize the taste buds.
Georgians generally eat three meals a day with the main meal being eaten when the family has returned from work or school. Breakfast often consists of breads, cheeses, and meats. Lunch is generally pasta, eggs, or potatoes with the main meal being Lobio (beans), fish, or meat or sometimes all of these things. It is hard to provide a snapshot of a typical day in the life of food for a Georgian family as there is a wide variety of dishes eaten that vary from region to region and season to season. The diet of a city dweller in Tbilisi will be considerably different to the mountain people of the Caucusus; however, I will try to provide an outline of the dishes that will most certainly be encountered during a stay in Georgia.
Bread (Puri) makes up a large part of the Georgian diet and is as frequently made at home as it is bought from the market. There are too many types of bread to mention; however, Lavashi and Shotis Puri are two of the more popular varieties. They are baked in specially crafted stone furnaces and are generally served in restaurants. The baking method gives a unique flavor which is difficultly emulated at home; however, fresh, hot, home cooked bread is something to savour.
Bread will almost always be accompanied by cheese. The two most common types of cheese are Suluguni and Tchkinti. Suluguni is a hard, yellow, smoked cheese that has a rich and distinct salty smoky flavor and is eaten with bread or with Ghomi. Tchkinti has a wetter, softer texture and a subtler flavor but is also quite salty and can be eaten between dishes to refresh the palate.
Literally translating into cheese bread, Katchapuri is one of the most popular Georgian dishes and is found whereever you care to look. It can be described as cheese pizza with a top that has many variations from region to region and kitchen to kitchen. Megruli Katchapuri in Samegrelo has a cheese and egg filling; head north to Svaneti and the cheese is replaced with meat or go to Ajara for an overwhelming cheese taste. If you’re not a cheese or meat eater that’s O.K-lobiani katchapuri is a bean variation that is also very tasty. These varieties are not exclusively regional so you shouldn’t have to look further than the next supra to decide what your favorite will be. Due to the cheese, butter, and oil that is used in making this dish, katachpuri can be considered a little heavy. However it is something that should be enjoyed, maybe just on special occasions.
Kinkhali is a dish for the restaurant and the home and is a spiced pork or beef (sometimes both) dumpling that is prepared with the aesthetic in mind. There is a definite method to eating Kinkhali. A knife and fork would only complicate things as this is defiantly a finger food. Take the pastry by the bunched knob, turn it upside down and take a small bite into the corner to drink the juice inside, once drained, the rest can be eaten without spillage onto the shirt or pants (although accidents do happen). The dough 'handle' (Kuchi) is left on the plate and is a good way on keeping track of how many you have eaten when the mind becomes foggy from accompanying drinks. Taste varies on the freshness and quality as Kinkhali can be purchased everywhere from high class restaurants through to supermarket deep-freezes and is best enjoyed steaming hot with a liberal sprinkling of pepper for an extra kick.
Ghomi is a common maze dish that has the consistency of stiff porridge and a fairly neutral taste. Almost always eaten with Suluguni (smoked cheese) that has been tucked into a pocket of the dish and allowed to melt and run, Ghomi makes for a great carrier of additional flavors and is often used as a substitute for bread.
Lobio is a dish that is made from the ground. Having a fundamentally earthy taste, key ingredients are kidney beans, red and green peppers (capsicums), onions, and a fair amount of salt. With a stew like texture Lobio is commonly eaten with bread or Ghomi and is made at home as well as served in restaurants.
Other Georgian favourites include Pavli, a sweet rice mixed with pomegranate seeds; Satsivi, roughly chopped turkey cooked in an aromatic walnut sauce; bread stuffed with meat, onions and spices (Kababi); Mtsvadi, which are barbeque skewers and Gozinaki which is a Christmas time treat of finely chopped walnuts boiled in a sweet honey sauce.
It’s amazing how food can convey the personality of culture. Georgian cuisine evokes a love of food and fresh, rich ingredients. The Georgian tableside manner is warm and inviting as they are always keen to share their culture of food with a hungry stomach.
Jacob Joseph
Footprints’ Teacher in Georgia
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