Svaneti Cuisine

Perhaps the first dish that comes to mind when remembering Svaneti is Kubdari. And you will be right! Kubdari is the most famous and probably the tastiest Svan dish. Kubdar is mainly made from beef. The meat is finely chopped, seasoned with onion, garlic, herbs and, of course, Svan salt. This heart of meat will be wrapped in dough and baked in a pan. Of course, you should not return from Svaneti without tasting Kubdari!

In Svan cuisine, millet is often used in the preparation of various types of baked goods. Millet Chvistari is a really delicious dish. To prepare Chvistari with millet, mix corn flour, ground millet and grated Sulguni cheese. Slowly add water and knead the dough. The dough should be homogeneous and should not "crack" in the hands. Once prepared, fry it on both sides in a pan.

While in Svaneti, you should definitely try Tashmijabi. Tashmijabi is made from cheese and potatoes. Boiled potatoes are mashed and then cheese is added to it. It is left on the stove and stirred until the cheese melts and creates a consistent mass with the potatoes. Tashmijabi is amazingly delicious dish.

Bread is usually crumbled, mixed with grated cheese, salted to taste, put on a plate and served. The word "pachkhi" itself means "sprinkling", if you don't put it together well, it will fall apart. Because of this, some people call it Pachkhi, and they also call it Chkhetvra.

The next dish that you should try while in Svaneti is Chvishtari. Chvishtari is one of the pride of Svan cuisine. Chvishtari is made from corn flour and cheese. Cheese is sprinkled in corn flour and kneaded like Mchadi. They will make small balls and bake them. If you love Mchadi and cheese, then this dish is definitely for you.

When talking about Svan cuisine, we should not miss Svan salt. Svan salt is prepared in different ways in different communities of Svaneti. Svans actively use Svan salt even today, both in main dishes and in salads. Svan salt is very popular not only in Svaneti but throughout Georgia.

How can we end the article without mentioning millet khachapuri or fetvraal. Crushed cheese into khachapuri is put on millet, rolled up like khachapuri and baked in dough. It must be noted that fetvraal is not baked on both sides, and all other flour products are baked on both sides.

Narchvi is not the dish. This is a cheese preserved according to the Svan tradition, which, due to the peculiarity of its preparation, you should definitely ask for and taste while in Svaneti. The rennet is a gradually increasing amount of cheese that is stored in a closed container to drain well from the whey. Cheese stored in this way kept well. The cheese placed in the dish is scraped, the same residue is added periodically and the same milk is added little by little to the cheese and pressed together. The cheese prepared in this way is called Narchvi, which is pressed and has a curd-like composition, and mainly in the lower villages of Svaneti, the method and sequence of its production is followed.

One can talk endlessly about Svan dishes and cuisine, but it is better to taste than to read!