I've recently become pretty good frinds with someone from Georgia (the one in Eastern Europe, not the one in Southern US). Of course, he's very proud of where he came from, and my friend has been busy educating me on food from his native country. These are eight of my favorite things so far.
- Sulguni is a famous cheese that you can literally peel layer by layer. Unfortunately, we were only able to get a "sulguni-style" cheese from New York, so it wasn't exactly the same.
- Tkemali is a sour plum sauce that can be purple or yellow, used as a condiment for grilled meats, and very yummy.
- Adjika is another condiment sauce, but made from red peppers, vinegar and spices. I was assured that the brand we got wasn't like homemade, but I liked it anyway.
- Hinkali, which is Georgia's version of a boiled, meat filled dumpling.
- Khachapuri (pictured above) is Georgian comfort food, made of bread that has cheese and eggs baked in it.
- Mzhave niori, or pickled garlic, is a great side dish or snack in a Georgian meal.
- Pakhlava is a walnut pastry similar to Bhaklava but made with dough instead of phyllo.
- Did I mention Georgian wine? I don't know how many times I've been told how great is Georgian wine, but sadly haven't gotten any yet.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2008 @ 11:50AM
Vlad said...
I'll be damned - Georgian food is the last thing I would expect on this blog. I am Georgian, currently in Georgia and using RSS to follow this blog. I have to say that I was quite shocked to see Georgian food reviewed :)
Couple comments - to be clear, khachapuri pictured above is the type they make in province of Georgia called Ajara. Compared to the rest of the country, Ajara was under Turkish influence longer, hence the Turkish pide style of khachapuri. Otherwise, it is usually round, covered and does not have eggs.
I love pickled garlic. People usually shy away, thinking that it is pungent, but instead find mildly flavored crunchy and refreshing little clove. What you should try to taste is something that is called jonjoli. I have not been able to figure out what the plant name in English (or Latin) is. It's grass with flower buds that is pickled, and usually served like that with a bit of oil sprinkled on top.
Georgian wine is a must! We maintain (with some backing from archeologists) that Georgia is the cradle of wine, and one has to try Georgian wine.
Thanks!!!
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6-18-2008 @ 5:18PM
Alex said...
Georgian wines are becoming very popular in the US. You can usually find them in a Wine/Package store (at least in Massachusetts). A lot of Russian stores carry a wide selection of Georgian wine since it is a very common wine found in any Russian household.
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6-18-2008 @ 7:44PM
Lynds said...
Hopefully we can see some Armenian food soon. I love it but rarely have the motivation to cook it for myself.
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6-18-2008 @ 8:28PM
bob said...
When i lived in St. Petersburg Russia, there was a Xachipuri vendor near the Metro stop...and every day I'd buy that shizzit on the way home and slap some peanut butter on it...MAN that was good...
it didnt exactly look like the picture up top, though..
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6-19-2008 @ 12:19PM
Silver_Potato said...
Khachapuri, is that a kind of Georgian pizza?
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6-19-2008 @ 12:54PM
Beany said...
Vlad:
this link:
http://www.darragoldstein.com/downloads/Darra_Goldstein_Georgia.pdf
identifies jonjoli/dzhondzholi as 'bladdernut', Staphylea colchica.
A couple of other web pages suggested that 'acacia buds' (probably Robinia
pseudoacacia?) might be substituted if bladdernut is not available.
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8-11-2008 @ 11:15AM
ally said...
does anyone know of any georgian restaurants in new york city?
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8-15-2008 @ 5:10AM
Audrey said...
This post brought back good memories! My husband and I spent over a month in Georgia last year and were blown away by the quality and variety of Georgian food. We would visit Georgian restaurants at every opportunity - from Prague to Dushanbe (Tajikistan). A few more favorites to add to the list above:
- Pkhali – a paste made from spinach, walnuts, and garlic.
- Lobio - somewhere between a bean soup and refried beans. Doesn't sound that appealing, but it can be delicious.
- Satsivi - chicken with a rich walnut, garlic and herb sauce
The warmth and richness of Georgian food match the people. We wrote quite a lot about Georgian food here: http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2007/07/georgian-food/
And about the country, in general: http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/category/caucasus/georgia/
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