Here are our Top 10 “Must Have” Georgian dishes to inspire you and this is notonly khinkali:
1. Adjarian Khachapuri-Probably the most popular and well known Georgian dish is the Adjarian Khachapuri: a rich bread canoe filled with suluguni cheese and butter, served with an egg cracked on the top. This is usually stirred in by the waiter, and the egg will be cooked by the molten cheese. 2. Khinkali-Let us introduce to you “Khinkali” – one of Georgia’s most popular and recognizable dishes which will melt in your mouth! These funny-shaped dumplings are often filled with a delicious broth of meat, herbs and blends of Georgian spices. Don’t worry if you’re a vegetarian, they also serve khinkali with potato, suluguni cheese or mushroom fillings. 3. Badrijani Nigvzit – A delicious appetizer of grilled or fried slices of eggplant, rolled up and filled with a crushed walnut paste, sometimes with added garlic, are the best start to any Georgian feast!
4. Mtsvadi is Georgia’s name for meat impaled on a stick and cooked over an open flame. Cooking it outdoors gives it a completely different taste to that made at home using a frying pan or an electric cooker – this harks back to ancient Georgian rituals and meat cooked on open fires on mountainsides. Mtsvadi can be made with pork, mutton or veal. 5. Traditional Georgian Salad – only the freshest ingredients tomatoes the size of grapefruits, fresh green cucumbers, maybe some onions and walnuts – ground into creamy paste. This combined with a splash of olive oil and freshly picked herbs makes for a simple combination so full of flavor. 6. Phkhali – These colorful appetizers are made from boiled and chopped spinach, beets, beans or other seasonal produce, with walnuts and spices added to the main ingredient before all is ground into a blended mass. Before serving, pkhali is typically rolled into large balls which are sometimes decorated with a pomegranate seed. 7. Shkmeruli – To make shkmeruli, the chicken is fried and cut into large pieces. A milk-garlic sauce is prepared separately and seasoned with aromatic coriander, a spice called utskho-suneli and Svan salt. The chicken is served in the milk sauce, with a little adjika dip and butter sometimes added for extra flavor. When serving shkmeruli, fresh vegetables, herbs and hot bread are also placed on the side.
8. Megrelian Kharcho is a dish invented in Samegrelo, a region in northwestern Georgia. Like any Megrelian dish, kharcho is distinguished by its sharpness and abundance of spices. Megrelian kharcho is meat-based (usually beef is used, but lamb and poultry varieties can also be found). Walnuts are crushed and mixed with spices such as hops suneli, utskho suneli, kharchos suneli and ground coriander. The walnut mix, tomatoes, onions and garlic are added to the beef and all are stewed together along with small amounts of water and corn flour. The spicy Megrelian kharcho is often served with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and, of course, hot shoti bread. 9. Cheese Sulguni – It’s salty, and tastes a bit like feta but with a harder consistency. Suluguni is typically eaten by itself, or with a round of fresh Georgian bread and a plateful of herbs and tomatoes. To give it a try, there are plenty of cheese platters available at many restaurants or bars, and they are a perfect accompaniment to some local wine. 10. Churchkhela – You’ll see rows and rows of these brightly coloured sticks hanging from many a street-side booth in any town in Georgia. Tourists often mistake these for sausages, but now you’ll know better 😉 . Churchkhelas are walnut strands covered in a waxy grape candy, made from leftovers from the wine harve st. These treats are packed with protein and sugar, and are often served at people’s home with fresh coffee.