Georgian cuisine is also great
Big appetite? Try Georgian cuisine
Most of us probably have their own favorite cuisine coming from a specific place or country in the world. Among the top 5 most popular choices would be certainly Italian, Asian, Spanish or Greek food. In the last few years, however, we have a growing trend in Poland. It turns out that it is Georgian restaurants that conquer our hearts and stomachs now.
Discovering the unknown
It will not be that far from the truth, if we would say that most of the Polish are not familiar with Georgian cuisine, its spices, flavors and dishes. Georgian restaurants were a rare find in comparison to the numbers of Italian, Greek or even Czech taverns. Perhaps this is why there is a big misconception of what Georgian food really is.
Against the common belief, Georgian dishes are neither only meat-based nor fat meals. On the contrary, this cuisine is astonishingly varied and unique. One thing that relates it to Polish food is its respect for tradition.
Genuine taste
The king in Georgian menu is undoubtedly a dish called chaczapuri. This is like a pizza for Italy or pork chop for Poland. You cannot know the cuisine if you do know the taste of the dish. It is made of cheese and flour. The literal translation of chaczapuri would be something along the lines of bread with cottage cheese. This meal is extremely easy to prepare. The dough is shaped in a tear and baked. Most often is is served with cottage cheese and egg, but you may come across some variations with spinach and other sides.
If you are not a big fan of cottage cheese you will definitely fall for another Georgian gem – lobiani. The process of preparing the dough looks similar to chaczapuri’s. The stuffing is quite different though. It is usually made of smashed red beans, onion and garlic. This mixture is then topped with fresh coriander.
Time for the classics
Listing the original Georgian dishes, one cannot forget about the phali. It can be compared to a one-vegetable salad. Phali is in fact a minced paste made of chosen vegetable with a hint of walnuts. The good news with this one is – you can really find your favorite way of having this dish. When it comes to serving phali, a small scoop of the paste is usually served on the plate next to other delicacies.
Another true Georgian rarity is khinkali – the dumpling with a delicious filling. There may be some regional and local variations of the dish, but the original recipe consists of minced meat, onion, chili pepper, salt and cumin. Some would add parsley and coriander too. The dumpling is stufed with this raw mixture and only then can be boiled. The juices and spices are trapped inside the dough which adds +100 points to the flavor and incredible sensations while eating the khinkali. And the aroma…! Heaven on earth. To keep our promises, it is worth mentioning that meat can be replaced with mushrooms, potatoes or cheese. Here you go – no meat needed!
As you can tell, the Georgian have they say in the matter of culinary arts. And this is not a complete list of all the arguments.
