GEORGIAN

CUISINE GUIDE
An essential guide to Georgian cuisine including key flavours, techniques, ingredients and some of
the most popular dishes found throughout the country.

WHAT IS GEORGIAN CUISINE?

There is no denying that sampling the delicious dishes and flavours that
comprise Georgian cuisine is one of the highlights of visiting this South
Caucasus nation and, in fact, Georgian food can be just as much of a draw to
the country as its beautiful mountains and historic cities. Firmly cementing
itself as a foodie destination, Georgian cuisine is one of the last “discovered”
culinary scenes in Europe and the food and flavours are really something to
celebrate.

However, Georgian food is still relatively unknown outside of a handful of

intrepid foodies keen to explore world cuisine. And aside from the hard-
hitting international favourites like khachapuri and khinkali, even fewer
people know just how complex and deep Georgian culinary tradition can go.

With flavour profiles that are both unique and exotic yet somehow
comforting and familiar, Georgian cuisine is truly a delight to the tastebuds
and an oddessy through some of the country’s best-loved and most
traditional dishes is one that you will never regret.
Georgian Bread
Dishes
Georgian meals typically revolve around bread and you
will get funny looks at a restaurant if you fail to order a
bread dish of any sort at a restaurant in Georgia.
Luckily, Georgians do bread incredibly well and in
many different iterations.

Shoti Puri – შოტი პური

The word “puri” or “პური” in Georgia simply means
bread and shoti puri is the simplest form of Georgian
bread you can find.

This crusty, delicious flatbread can be found at

bakeries across the county and is an absolute staple for
any meal in Georgia.

Traditionally cooked on the walls of a tone — a

tandoori-style oven — shoti puri is ubiquitous,
delicious, and incredibly affordable.

Lobiani – ლობიანი
Lobiani is khachapuri’s more healthy cousin and is
arguably the other most common stuffed bread that
you will find in Georgia.

Lobiani is a bread that is stuffed with a red bean mash

and it is hearty and absolutely delicious — and just a bit
more healthy than a gooey, cheese khachapuri!
Georgian Bread
Dishes

Khachapuri – ხაჭაპური
Of course, nothing discussing traditional Georgian food
would be complete without mentioning khachapuri,
arguably the national dish of Georgia. In fact, if you’re
only familiar with one particular Georgian dish, it likely
is khachapuri.

This delicious, cheese-filled bread is one of the best

foods in Georgia and it receives its international
renown for a reason.

There are actually over fifty different regional varieties

of khachapuri found throughout Georgia, however,
there are three that are likely the most distinct.

The most well-known of these three is undoubtedly

Adjaruli khachapuri — a boat-shaped version filled with
molten sulguni and imeruli cheeses and topped with a
gooey egg yolk and butter — that hails from the Adjara
region on the Black Sea.

Less decadent but definitely more of an “everyday”

khachapuri is Imeruli khachapuri, hailing from the
Imereti region surrounding the city of Kutaisi in
Western Georgia. This is a circular bread filled with
cheese and it is absolutely delicious.

The other popular riff on khachapuri of this style is

Megruli khachapuri, coming from the Samegrelo region
in Western Georgia. This bread is very similar to the
Imeretian version except for the fact that it is also
topped with cheese.
Georgian Main
Dishes
One of the great things about Georgian cuisine is that a
good portion of main dishes either are completely
vegetarian or have vegetarian iterations, making this a
fantastic cuisine for our meat-averse friends to enjoy
to its fullest.

This is due to the fact that nearly half the year in this
deeply Orthodox country as marked as “fasting days,”
meaning that the consumption of meat is prohibited.
Great news for vegetarians!

Khinkali – ხინკალი
Second only to khachapuri in notoriety, khinkali is one
of the most popular dishes in Georgia. These steamy
soup dumplings hail from mountain villages in the
north of the country, however, are popular as a late-
night snack or a cheap eat amongst Georgians.

Like with many other Georgian dishes, khinkali come in

many different iterations, the most common of which
are filled with a mixture of pork and beef spiced with
coriander and caraway.

Vegetarian khinkali can be found everywhere meat

khinkali are found and are typically filled with
mushrooms, though you can sometimes see them filled
with cheese or potato, as well.

Mtsvadi – მწვადი
Countless countries do a version of “grilled meat on a
stick” and mtsvadi is Georgia’s iteration. This is a dish
you will see at most restaurants across the country and
most commonly consists of cubes of marinated chicken
or pork that are skewered and then grilled to
perfection.

They are then served off the skewer, usually garnished

with slices of raw, red onion and pomegranate seeds.
Georgian Main
Dishes

Kharcho – ხარშო
Kharcho is really a catch-all term for a sicy beef stew
or soup and there are countless different iterations of
it across all of Georgia. Kharcho soup usually consists
of a thinner broth spiced with all of the typical
Georgian seasonings, cubed beef or veal and some rice.

Kharcho stew — called Megrelian kharcho as it hails

from the Samegrelo region — is a thicker stew of meat
(usually beef or veal, but sometimes chicken) slow-
cooked in a deliciously spiced sauce thickened with
ground walnuts.

It is typically served on top of ghomi, a polenta like

dish, or with mchadi, a Georgian-style cornbread.

Satsivi – საცივი
Another of the stews thickened with walnut paste,
satsivi is a dish typically made with chicken or turkey
stewed in a spiced walnut sauce and served cold, often
over a bed of ghomi, much like kharcho.

Kupati – კუპატი
Kupati just means “sausage” in Georgia, however, there
are a few delicious iterations of these that can be found
throughout the country.

My personal favourite would be Imeruli kupati, which is

made from spiced minced pork and beef and generally
served with a sauce on the side.

Megrelian kupati, also found frequently in Georgia, is

made from pork or beef offal. If you’re uncomfortable
eating offal, it’s best to know which version of the
sausage it is in advance!
Georgian Main
Dishes

Lobio – ლობიო
Lobio is absolutely one of my favourite dishes in
Georgian cuisine and you will commonly see it listen on
menus as “beans in a pot with garnishing,” however,
that doesn’t even begin to describe how delicious this
dish can be.

Like all dishes, lobio can vary from chef to chef,

however, it is essentially a spiced red bean stew.
Often it is thickened with walnuts and it includes the
typical Georgian spices like blue fenugreek, marigold,
and coriander and served in a traditional clay pot.

Traditionally, it is served with a side of various pickles

and mchadi, a Georgian cornbread.

Ojakhuri – ოჯახური
Literally translating to “family meal” (ojakhi “ოჯახი”
means family in Georgian), this is an ultra-traditional
Georgian stew that can be either a meat-lover’s delight
or a vegetarian dish depending on the day it is made.

Generally, it will include marinated and stewed meat

(typically beef, pork, lamb or veal) or mushrooms,
potatoes, and various other vegetables or onions.

Shkmeruli – შკმერული
Another of one of Georgia’s most popular chicken
dishes, shkmeruli is one of the best foods in Georgia.

A crispy chicken cooked in a delicious and decadent

garlic cream sauce, there really isn’t anywhere to
complain when you eat this dish.

Not for those who shy away from a lot of garlic,

shkmeruli is typically served in a clay dish called a ketsi
and is always accompanied by an ample amount of
shoti puri in order to soak up the delicious sauce.
Georgian Main
Dishes

Ostri – ოსტრი
Another addition in the “Georgian stews” category,
Ostri is a delicious and spicy stew that can be made
with either meat or mushrooms.

Spicier than most of the dishes on this list of Georgian

food, it is stewed in a tomato base and leans heavily on
the flavours of fresh parsley and purple basil.

Chakapuli – ჩაკაპული
Another of the most popular and best dishes in
Georgia, chakapuli is a traditional Easter stew and is
served frequently in the springtime.

This stew is incredibly flavourful and usually consists of

either lamb or veal stewed with tkemali (sour plum
sauce), white wine and ttarragon, making for a bright a
slightly acidic dish that you can find throughout menus
in Georgia.
Georgian Starters
& Vegetable Dishes
There are countless Georgian vegetable dishes that can
stand on their own compared to the mains just
mentioned above.

If you want an introduction to the most popular of

vegetable dishes in Georgia, make sure to sample these
delicious dishes!

Badrijani Nigvzit – ბადრიჯანი

ნიგვზით
Another of my absolute favourite Georgian dishes, this
is a very typical starter in Georgia.

Eggplants are sliced thinly length-wise, pan-fried, and

then spread with a delicious, garlicky walnut paste.

They are then rolled up and typically garnished with

pomegranate seeds.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad –

კიტრი პომიდვრის სალათა
Another staple to begin the meal, the Georgian tomato
and cucumber salad (kitri pomidvris salata) is one of
the most delicious dishes in the entire repertoire of
Georgian cuisine.

Because the produce in the country is so good, sliced

tomatoes and cucumbers are so sweet and delicious.
Salads usually also consist of fresh coriander, basil,
sliced onion and sometimes a fresh chilli.

Get it with walnut sauce for something truly divine!

Georgian Starters
& Vegetable Dishes

Ajapsandali – აჯაფსანდალი
Absolutely one of my favourite Georgian dishes.
ajapsandali is a stew of eggplants, red and green
peppers, chillies, tomatoes, coriander and garlic.

Stewed together until it all breaks down and becomes

cohesive, ajapsandali is typically served cold the day
after it is made in order for the flavours to really
penetrate and meld.

It is absolutely delicious and delightfully complex —

essentially a zestier form of traditional French
ratatouille or Spanish pisto!

Pkhali – პხალი
A very popular Georgian starter or cold dish, pkhali is
typically made with a vegetable puree mixed with
bazhe (walnut paste) and then formed into small, golf
ball-sized balls.

Traditionally made with pureed spinach or beetroot,

they are also often garnished with a single
pomegranate seed pressed into the top of the ball.

Jonjoli – ჯონჯოლი
Jonjoli is something that is very traditionally Georgian
and I have never seen anything like it anywhere else.

They are buds from the flowering bladdernut plant that

are picked and pickled in the springtime and served as
a salad in its own right, as a side to dishes like lobio, or
sprinkled in to more complex salads for a bit of acidic
bite.

Absolutely delicious!
Georgian Sauces &
Desserts
There are countless Georgian sauces to have on the
side of your meal, however, Georgian deserts are a bit
few and far between.

Georgians don’t tend to have the sweet tooth that

many others posses, so there aren’t a lot of traditional
Georgian desserts and sweets out there to round out
your meal.

Adjika – აჯიკა
Adjika is found throughout Georgia but traditionally
hails from the Samegrelo and Abkhazian regions in the
northwest of the country.

This mixture of garlic and chillies with other spices can

often be found as a paste or as a dry rub and is typically
served as an accompaniment to meat dishes.

It is the spiciest of Georgian sauces and intensely

flavourful. Abkhaz ajika tends to be the spiciest and
used green chillies. Megrelian ajika is a bit milder and
uses red chillies.

Tkemali – ტყემალი
My absolute favourite of the Georgian sauces, tkemali
is a delicious sour plum sauce that is typically served
either as an acidic element in dishes like chakapuli or
lobio or as a sauce for chicken or potatoes.

Made with green cherry plums in the springtime, green

tkemali packs a more acidic punch than its late-
summer cousin of red tkemali, made with ripe plums.

Stewed with garlic, dill, tarragon and other spices,

tkemali is pungent and zesty and absolutely delicious.
Georgian Sauces &
Desserts

Bazhe – ბაჟე
You’ve likely noticed bazhe be mentioned here a few
times and that’s because it’s used as a condiment
frequently in Georgian cuisine.

A delicious paste using ground walnuts and garlic

among other spices, it is used as a salad dressing, in
eggplants with walnuts, and in dishes like satsivi.

Churchkhela – ჩურჩხელა
Churchkhela is affectionately referred to by locals as
“Georgian Snickers” and it is a very fitting name for this
candlestick-like Georgian sweet.

Basically, churchkhela is made by stringing walnuts on

a thread and dipping them, candle-like, in a heavily-
reduced and thickened grape juice until they are well
coated.

They are hung to dry and will last for quite some time,
making them the perfect snack to take on a hike
through the Caucasus or on a long, sweaty marshrutka
ride!
Georgian Drinks

Georgians are proud as peacocks about their wine

culture and will not hesitate to inform you they are,
indeed, the birthplace of wine, with a viticulture that
dates back more than 8,000 years.

However, Georgians also have a few soft drinks that

make them distinct, as well.

Georgian Lemonade
Forget what preconceived notions that you may have
about lemonade when you order one in Georgia
because the drink doesn’t even necessarily have to be
lemon-flavoured to adorn this moniker.

Georgian lemonade is a soda that comes in a variety of

flavours ranging from pear to vanilla to a chartreuse-
coloured tarragon flavour. They are incredibly sweet
and sugar-packed but can be very refreshing, as well.

Lagidze Water
Boasting similar flavours to a Georgian lemonade,
Lagidze waters are a traditional Georgian soda that is
mixed from a classic soda fountain.

Many kiosks and shops around Georgia will have glass

canisters filled with flavoured syrups used to make
Lagidze waters, and the syrups are then mixed with a
neutral soda to make a delicious soft drink!

Borjomi Mineral Water

Hailing from the natural springs in the spa town of
Borjomi in central Georgia, Borjomi mineral water is a
popular beverage throughout Georgia because of its
interesting flavour and supposed healing abilities.

Borjomi water is carbonated and slightly salty but is

said to be a cure-all for any sort of ailment.
Georgian Drinks

Qvevri Wine
When Georgians boast of their 8,000-year-old wine
tradition, they are also sure to boast about how they
haven’t lost their traditional methods, despite the best
efforts of the former Soviet Union.

Traditionally, Georgian wine is made from juicing the

grapes and transferring them — skins, seeds, stems and
all — to an egg-shaped subterranean clay vessel (called
a qvevri) to mature for a number of months.

What makes Georgian wines even more unique is that

they use the same method for their white wines,
allowing skin contact for upwards of six months,
resulting in a deep amber colour and distinctly tannic
flavour in their white wines. In fact, they refer to white
wines as “amber wines” specifically because of this.

There are countless endemic grape varieties in Georgia

that vary from region to region, however, the two most
common you will find is the white Rkatsiteli and the
deep red Saperavi. Saperavi grapes are unique in their
own right as they are only one of three grape varieties
that have both a red exterior and interior.

Chacha
And finally, no list of Georgian drinks would be
complete without mentioning the lethal Georgian
firewater — chacha.

Another spirit that is said to cure whatever ails you

chacha is Georgia’s answer to grappa and is a brandy
made from the byproduct grapes after they’re done
fermenting wine.

Plenty of Georgians make chacha at home and it can

clock in upwards of 60% alcohol by volume.