Traveling in Georgia 2018

[ElsieD]

43 minutes ago, shain said:

 

I haven't had a Lebanese fatayer in ages (however the Palestinian flat fatayer is a favorite of mine). I won't consider them very similar to this Georgian pastry, this dough was much more tender and rich, I think some potato might have been mixed into the dough. 

 

 

 

https://georgianrecipes.net/2013/03/29/mtskheturi-gvezeli-meat-pastry/

 

I found this in the internet.  How does this recipe look to you?

[shain]

4 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

 

https://georgianrecipes.net/2013/03/29/mtskheturi-gvezeli-meat-pastry/

 

I found this in the internet.  How does this recipe look to you?

 

It seems tasty for sure, but not exactly like what we had there. The dough seems too lean. Other recpies I saw use milk or yogurt, those that do use only water include some butter. 

The inclusion of rice seems strange to me, but I haven't had the the meat filled version, so I can't say for sure. I'll suggest skipping it so you get a more consentrated filling, and make the pastries smaller to compensate (part of their charm was being small enough to be eaten out of hand if desired). 

Adding some coriander seeds and parsley to the filling can be nice as well. 

[ElsieD]

23 minutes ago, shain said:

 

It seems tasty for sure, but not exactly like what we had there. The dough seems too lean. Other recpies I saw use milk or yogurt, those that do use only water include some butter. 

The inclusion of rice seems strange to me, but I haven't had the the meat filled version, so I can't say for sure. I'll suggest skipping it so you get a more consentrated filling, and make the pastries smaller to compensate (part of their charm was being small enough to be eaten out of hand if desired). 

Adding some coriander seeds and parsley to the filling can be nice as well. 

 

Thanks.  I'll look around some more.  I'd like to make this.

[shain]

"Dry bridge market" - where you can probably find any second-hand item you could imagine.

  

[KennethT]

I've never seen such an active slingshot market!

[heidih]

The image where you show some handles and grinding (?) plates - for food?  Looks like my flea market though it is one of the largest in the US. The treaures one can find are fascinating. Often displayed on the ground like you show, https://www.longbeachantiquemarket.com/

[shain]

32 minutes ago, heidih said:

The image where you show some handles and grinding (?) plates - for food?  Looks like my flea market though it is one of the largest in the US. The treaures one can find are fascinating. Often displayed on the ground like you show, https://www.longbeachantiquemarket.com/

Yes those are meat grinder parts. 

Your market seems massive! 

[shain]

After a visit at the park, we decided to have khachapuri for lunch.

 

Grape "lemonade" - i.e. grape soda. Flavored with local wine grapes, it was tasty, if very sweet.

 

Lobiani - filled with beans paste. The dough was thin and crisp, but the filling too dry.

 

Adjaruli khachapuri - made from the same dough, but being thicker due to how it's shaped, results in a very different quality. The dough is airy and soft, with notable yogurt flavor and very low on salt. We removed the pat of butter, as the filling seemed rich enough. It had a tart, yogurt flavor as well as a light sheep cheese flavor. It is consumed by removing pieces of the crust and sipping into the cheese. We also find it works well to dip the lobiani into the cheese.

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by shain (log)

[shain]

Last evening in Georgia.

 

A plate of herbs. 

 

 

Garlicky roasted eggplant. Meaty and slightly oily. The garlic spiciness comes through.

 

Mchadi - a corn bread. This version also contained chopped cheese. It is very crisp, tender and flavorfull.

 

Kharcho - beef stewed in a rich walnut sauce, with garlic, tomato and coriander. 

 

Various mushrooms with onion, herbs garlic and butter. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by shain (log)

[ElsieD]

Thank you so much for showing us this beautiful country and it's diverse selection of foods.  I have learned more than a few things and I really appreciate your having taken the time to take us with you.

 

Elsie

[heidih]

Yes thank you so much for sharing your experiences,. You describe the food so well. My head has tasted it all and I will re-visit for inspration. 

 

Oh and if English is not your first language you deserve high props on your communication skills  

Edited December 9, 2018 by heidih (log)

[kayb]

That sent me down the rabbit hole of looking up a kharcho recipe. I'll be trying that.

 

[shain]

Today I sampled a sunflower seed snickers bar that I had from Georgia.

Honestly, it wasn't very good, but that's mostly because I don't really like snickers with their tasteless caramel...

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by shain (log)

[shain]

And while I'm at it, a few more things that I brought from Georgia. I took those photos back then with the hope of posting about them once sampled.

 

"Lemonade" tarragon and vanilla flavored soda. Both yet unopened. The tarragon I had in Georgia, so I know it's unique and palatable. The vanilla is intriguing. 

 

Cold pressed sunflower oil - I already used in a few salads, it's mildly, with a gentle nutty rich, heavy taste. Plum preserve and chestnut preserve will hopefully be used in sweets in the near future.

 

 

The Aragveli beer is an average craft pale lager.

The Black Lion Porter was really good, very chocolaty / coffee flavored. 

I also had their APA on the trip, and it was also decent.

 

Sunflower halva. Still somewhere in my fridge...

 

Snacks:

The chips are standard cheese flavored chips, perhaps with a hint of onion.

The sausage bread-crisps I haven't tasted myself, but they smelled of smoked paprika and dry garlic, and I was told that they are OKish.

The 5d things were mild and salty. Very crisp. Didn't fall for them.

The dill pickle bread-crips I still haven't tasted.

 

Obviously, I also brought many churchkhela, most were already eaten. The best ones were bought from a shop named Bagadi in Tbilisi. Those sold in markets were of far lesser quality (some had stale nuts, other flavorless dense coating).

The common nuts are walnuts and hazelnuts, which are not toasted, and I found myself much preferring the walnuts ones. I find raw hazelnuts quite appealing. Those from Bagadi also mentioned the grape variety used to make the coating, which are red Saperavi and white Rkatsiteli. Of them, the Rkatsiteli was my favorite by far with a slight acidity and a fruity, almondy flavor which reminded me of marzipan.

[shain]

A new video by Mark Wiens showing up Tbilisi.

 

 

Good memories, it's been too long.