The Most Delicious Food In Tbilisi

Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well. Today, I want to share with you all my favorite food in Georgia, although it is not completely of Georgian origin. I tasted it first in Georgia, which therefore, according to me, makes it the favorite food in Georgia (especially to me).

This food is none other than the famous shawarma!

No other food can compete with this delicious food. I enjoyed tasting this food after my first week in Tbilisi, about a couple of years ago. Since then, I have tasted this delicious food in different places around the city. However, I have three favorite Shawarmas' spots.

At first, when I first bought this dish, I really didn't know the name of it, but when I took my first bite it was so yummy! It just made me hungry.

The most tempting thing that you can ever experience is the aroma that comes from the Shawarma place. The smell is really more tempting than the shawarma itself. This is actually an Arabic dish which contains meat pieces inside a wrap. However, there is a similar dish called doner kebab in Turkey which, by itself, is a neighboring country of Georgia.

Each place has its own taste and its own method of making shawarmas, however, certain places make shawarmas that are really delicious to eat. As I said before, I have three favorite places at different areas in the city of Tbilisi and each one has its own taste. They all have their own method of preparing shawarmas.

Shawarmas are available in different forms in Tbilisi. The first one is the XL size which will cost around 8GEL, another one is the large or Didi shawarma that is about 5GEL, the other one is the small shawarma or pathara shawarma, which costs about 3GEL, and the final variety is shawarma in bread, which is about 4GEL.

The method of preparing a shawarma

Next, you should know the process of making shawarmas. As I said before, each place has its own method, therefore, I will describe them in detail.

This is the place in Tbilisi where I had my very first shawarma. I call this place "Eka's shawarma place" as the man who runs the place is Eka. He is a good person and a good friend of mine. The "shop" is located very close to my university, next to the Republic Hospital of Georgia. Eka has been constantly improving his shawarma and now, he has made some changes in it just to attract Indian students. A good business trick indeed!

A huge mass of meat always keeps rolling in shawarma places, getting roasted in the flame which comes from a vertically standing burner. The fat from the meat generally gets melted and emulsifies the meat even more.

Eka opens his "shop" only after 12pm. When you arrive there, he will greet you with a smile on his face. Then, you can order a shawarma and so, he will start the process of making it. He spreads a layer of mayonnaise over the base which is called "lavazi" in Georgian. Over this coating, he places some chopped onions, tomatoes and french fries. Next, he shaves off some pieces of meat from the massive block. The knife that he uses is a really long one. Then, he minces the roasted meat into small fragments using a curved plate like spatula and spreads the minced meat over the "lavazi". Then again, he places a layer of french fries. Finally, he sprinkles some salt and chili powder and coats them again with a layer of mayonnaise and ketchup.

Upon request, he will also add one or two green soaked in vinegar chilies. He rolls the shawarma giving its characteristic appearance. Then he places it inside a toaster which toasts the "lavazi" for a few minutes. In about five minutes, your shawarma is ready to eat. He beautifully puts it into a pack and hands it over to you with a paper napkin. I often buy a bottle of Coca-Cola as a drink.

Eating this full shawarma is a really hard task as it is a really big one. Once you finish eating a large shawarma, you will be full up to your mouth.

Eka has developed some new varities of shawarma for Indian students such as mushroom shawarmas, also called in Georgian as Soko's shawarma, and Kartopili shawarma, which is made from potatoes. Both of them don't contain any meat and are fully vegeterian.

My second favorite shawarma place is located in an area called Polytechniquri, also called "Technical University" in English. This place is open 24/7 and works without any rest. It has its own method of making shawarma.

I don't know much about this place as it is a bit far from my home and university. Here, the worker actually has two massive piles of rolling meat constantly heated by two vertical burners. The same process of emulsification by the meat's own fat occurs here.

When you order a shawarma they spread the "lavazi" and make a coat of mayonnaise, but a different one. Then, they put a layer of chopped onions mixed with kebab powder in it. This is followed by a layer of finely chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and coriander leaves. I actually hate coriander leaves, so I always request the worker not to put them. They shave off some pieces of meat from the pile and mince them the same way Eka did it. Then, they place the fragmented meat inside the "lavazi" which is later coated with a layer of homemade tomato puree and another layer of mayonnaise. He also adds a type of chilli paste over the shawarma, which gives it an additional taste, with some salt and pepper. The worker, again, rolls the shawarma giving it the appearance of a wrap and places it in the toaster for a few minutes. When it is ready, the worker puts it in a bag and serves it with a paper napkin.

There are no vegetarian shawarmas available in this place. Shawarmas from this place have a unique taste and I really enjoy them.

Source

This place is located quite far from my home and therefore, I do not go there frequently. But it will offer you delicious shawarmas with a Turkish touch. Although it is not exactly a Turkish shawarma, I like its taste very much.

This place is located in a place called Marjanishvili, near the metro station. The worker has a pile of meat attached to a big iron rod rotating which is constantly heated by a vertical burner. The amount of meat placed here is quite less when compared to the above mentioned places. When you order a shawarma, the worker will spread the base or "lavazi" and coat it with a layer of Turkish mayonnaise. Then, they place some finely chopped onions which are followed by cucumbers, tomatoes and, if requested, he will also add the green soaked in vinegar chilies.

In this place, instead of coriander leaves, they put some lettuce which make the shawarma more juicy and delicious. The worker follows the same method to fragment the meat and then places the shaved pieces of meat inside the "lavazi". Then, it is garnished with salt, pepper and an additional layer of turkish mayonnaise and ketchup. The shawarma is rolled to acquire its characteristic wrap shape and then placed inside the toaster. In a few minutes the shawarma is ready to eat. The worker puts the shawarma in a beautiful pack and hands it over with a paper napkin.

"It requires great skills to make this amazing dish and not everyone can make it perfectly"

You can see for yourself that in these three different places, you can get three different kinds of shawarmas each with its unique taste. I always think of tasting shawarmas in every shop in Georgia, however, it is practically impossible and at the same time you can't be sure that every shawarma will be equally delicious.

It requires great skills to make this amazing dish and not everyone can make it perfectly. I stick on to these three shops as I like their distinct taste. Each one may have their own favorites depending on their tastes.

On a whole, shawarma is a wonderful dish that fills your tummy and satisfies your tongue! I always end eating a shawarma with a bottle of Coca-Cola. As my title suggests, this is my favorite food in Georgia and even as I write about it I can feel its taste and flavour.

If you get the chance to taste a shawarma you shouldn't miss it! If you miss it, then you will regret for it in the future.

Thank you for reading it patiently and feel free to mention if you have any comments or suggestions below.

Until I publish my next article, keep smiling and cheers!

Note: I forgot to rate the places and different features, which made them appear with their default stars! Sorry for that.