Learn Some Georgian Cusine

Hey guys I'm really excited now as I would like to share with you all a recipe of an important food in the Georgian cusine. Its called Kachapuri.! This food is not only famous in Georgia but also im many other Caucasian countries. I can't tell that it is the most tastiest food in the world but the people in Georgia usually love it a lot and often mention this as an important part of their gastronomy. There are different kinds of Kachapuri specific  for different regions in Georgia. This food item can be bought from any local bakery in the streets of Georgia. This is my first experience in Georgian Cusine and please bear with me if something is wrong.

So how actually does Kachapuri taste?

To answer this its enough if I say what actually kachapuri is made of. Kachapuri is a filled bread with melting cheese which is cut into pieces and served. The process of making Kachapuri starts from kneading of dough for Kachapuri. Let me explain them one by one to you.

Ingredients :

The chief ingredients that are needed for making the Kachapuri dough is flour approximately 1 kilograms, 200 grams of milk [ If you can't find milk then you can even use water in its place], an egg, a tablespoon of yeast and a little oil.

Now lets go get our Kachapuri prepared. Take some luke warm water and mix the yeast. Stir it well so that the yeast is finely dissolved. Now take another bowl and add a kilogram of flour you have. After adding the flour level it and make a hole in the flour to add the yeast water mixture. Then add the milk or water whichever you have [but not both] and the egg. Some people also add a tablespoon of sugar to give the golden brown colour. However this is optional. Now mix the contents well enough to make a ball. After reaching this level cover the bowl with some air tight material like a polythene paper and leave it for sometime like 1.30 or 2 hours allowing the yeast to ferment. When the yeast ferments the dough will increase in size. Take off the cover and knead the dough well. The flour that you have in hand can make you three kachapuris therefore make three balls for kachapuri. All the variants of Kachapuri are made from the same dough its just the taste that differs. So whatever kachapuri you are going to make you have to mix the flour and make the dough in the same way.

Ajaruli Kachapuri

If you ahve read my previous article regarding the region of Adjara you would have read about this. For those who don't know about Ajaruli Kachapuri I'll explain it here. This Kachapuri is an important food variety in the Autonomus Republic Of Adjara. All people in Georgia consider this to be something special and delecious and I guess this is the costly Kachapuri variety among others available in the local restaurant and shops. Ajaruli Kachapuri has a special shape and I don't know how exactly to explain it. Anyways I've added a picture of it below please see it. The picture which has an egg in the centre is Ajaruli Kachapuri. The shape of the kachapuri is spindle shaped with a small pit in the centre which has a raw egg and butter. Like other Kachapuri's even this has cheese so people often mix the egg with cheese and eat it. 

After you prepare the dough as mentioned in the above steps now its time to collect ingredients that are needed to make Ajaruli kachapuri. The ingredients that you will need are three eggs, 20 grams of butter and 100 grams of finely grated Georgian cheese [You can even use Mozzarella cheese as an alternative but not others].

Mix the finely grated cheese, one egg and butter in a bowl to make a paste. Then take a dough ball and spread it in an oval shape. Spread the batter you made with egg, cheese and butter in the middle of the spread dough. Fold the edges in the shape of Ajaruli Kachapuri [The shape I mentioned above]. Now take another egg seperate its yolk, mix it well and keep it aside. This yolk is for coating the Kachapuri during baking. Then take a baking tray dust it with some flour to prevent the kachapuri from sticking to the vessel. Place the kachapuri dough that you have prepared and keep it inside the oven at a high temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes. If you want you can even turn the tray in the middle of baking so that both sides gets baked evenly. After the timer runs out take out the kachapuri coat it with the yolk paste that you have made. Break open another egg into the centre of the small pit that you have in the kachapuri. Place it back in the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes. When the baking is done that is it you have the famous Ajaruli Kachapuri ready in your home. It is generally served with a piece of butter in the top in restaurants. 

There are also other kachapuri varities like Imereti Kachapuri and Megrelian Kachapuri which I'm not sure about the procedure. To see Megrelian kachapuri will be circular in shape and the Imeretian Kachapuri is also circular. Imereti Kachapuri is the most common variety of kachapuri that is available. Megrelian kachapuri which is atraditional food for the Megrelians, the people of the Samegrelo region in Georgia. If you had read my previous article about the Samegrelo region I guess you would now remember about the Megrelians and the ancient Colchis. This Kachapuri has cheese on the top unlike other Kachapuri.If I learn to make them I'll definitely share it with you all guys here. Kachapuri as I said before is one among the important traditional food among the Georgian community and I'm really glad that I got to know how to do it. Though it may end up in a mess in the beginning I believe that I would correct my mistakes and do a perfect one in no time. This is really a simple dish to make without any complex ingredients to dwell in markets. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed reading about how to make a traditional food of Georgia. Till I write my next article cheers and keep smiling :)

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