Taste Of Georgia: Ajara, Samegrelo, Svaneti
Going to Georgia, travelers usually prepare themselves to enjoy khachapuri, lobio, khinkali and, of course, a variety of meat barbecues, which are called “mtsvadi” in Georgian. Advanced experts in Georgian cuisine leave some free space in the stomach for pkhali, eggplants in walnut sauce, chakhokhbili and kharcho. However, our compact country has such a rich variety of regional dishes, that even if you decide to try one new for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you will need more than several weeks to explore the whole treasury.
Let’s take a little journey through the regions of Georgia and see what they can offer!
Starting with the West Coast… Well, Ajarian cuisine can really be described as “cheese rolling in butter”. Locals prepare very tasty and high-calorie meals. One of them is sinori, gentle rolls made of thin dough baked with matsoni/yoghurt and butter. Sinori can be eaten for breakfast – especially if you days is promising to be busy – or for a heavy family dinner.
Another calorie bomb from Ajara is called borano. It is made of Adjarian cheese melted in butter. Be prepared: it will be difficult to leave the table after you are finished!
Samegrelo, another Western Black Sea region of Georgia, is famous for the fact that its inhabitants prefer very spicy food. Megrelian adjika sauce is so sharp that Chuck Norris himself would probably cry, having tried it. If we talk about dishes, the most significant for the region are gebzhalia and elarji. Elarji is polenta brewed from corn flour with suluguni cheese inside. This heavy delicious dish should served hot!
Gebzhalia is a starter, delicate rolls with fresh cheese and mint in matsoni/yogurt sauce. It just melts inside your mouth, and is contrasting to those extremely spicy dishes and sauces that are served after.
From Samegrelo it is logical to climb higher into the mountains – to Upper Svaneti. This fabulously beautiful region with harsh living conditions is famous first of all for its special seasoning – Svan salt. Common salt is mixed with local spices in a special wooden mortar, and thus turns into slightly moist flavorful spice that can be used with salads, as well as with meat and fish.
Typical Svanetian pastry is kubdari, a tortilla stuffed with meat. In such difficult living conditions as there, meat filling is an excellent source of calories, and tortilla format is a convenient option for takeaway eating. The shepherds take kubdari as they travel to pastures, and eat them during a long time there.
Another traditional Svan pastry is chishdvari (down the mountains, in the rest of Georgia it is called “chvishtari”). It is made from corn flour, and keeps a piece of suluguni cheese inside. Chishdvari is especially tasty, as it’s taken just from a pan, and you eat it looking at the highest peaks of Georgia – let’s say, Shkhara – and breathe fresh air at an altitude of over 2,000 meters.
The first part of our culinary journey through the regions of Georgia is about to end now. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of interesting stuff for you! Stay tuned with Georgia and Travel!
Source: Georgia.travel
Khinkali: Georgian dumplings like a work of art!
o holiday in Georgia is complete without trying khinkali, one of the most traditional dishes in the country.
With the help of a specialist chef, ‘Taste’ reporter Claudio Rosmino discovered its history, how to prepare it and the special technique to enjoy what is basically a big, tasty dumpling, filled with meat.
Khinkali was traditionally the food of shepherds in the mountains but then it became popular nationwide.
Usually, you eat it in specialised restaurants, like the one visited in Tbilisi by ‘Taste’.
Reporter Claudio met Malkhaz Tsikolia, the head of the kitchen at the ‘Tsiskvili restaurant’, and asked him about where khinkali comes from.
“Khinkali is a Georgian dish produced many years ago in the mountain regions,” the chef explained.
“It quickly became the favourite dish of the whole country and nowadays people from many other nations visit Georgia to taste real khinkali.”
So how is Khinkali cooked and what ingredients is it made of?
“First we make the dough,” said Malkhaz.
“Then we insert minced beef and pork and some spicies. You seal the dough with the meat inside. You put it in boiling water and in seven minutes it is ready.”
Khinkali is something of a work of art because of its fascinating shape. A delicate touch is required in its preparation. Not everyone has got it – as Claudio discovered when he tried!
There are several varieties of khinkali, with pork, beef or lamb, but there are also vegetarian versions with cheese or mushrooms.
While the cooking is quite fast, preparing the ingredients requires several distinct stages.
In the kitchen, everyone must be coordinated, like in an orchestra, in order to produce hundreds of these traditional Georgian dumplings per day.
And when it comes to eating, the challenge is not to spill any of the tasty juice. The aim is to have as little juice as possible fall onto the plate. And for that you really need to master a special method, which chef Malkhaz demonstrated for Euronews.
“First of all, you take a bite,” he said.
“Then you drink the juice – and it’s really very good!”
Source: Euronews.com
Euronews: Traditional Georgian Ballet is the Classics plus Folklore
Euronews correspondent Wolfgang Spindler went to Tbilisi to find out more about traditional Georgian ballet.
The Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet combines traditional Georgian dances, ballet, and elements of modern dance. With fast turns and acrobatic jumps, the dancers can easily captivate an entire audience, young and old. The ensemble has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious performance spaces.
The company began 70 years ago when Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili, a husband and wife team, created their own dance ensemble. Since then, they have survived the Stalinist terrors, the Cold War, and the collapse of the USSR to build international recognition. Today, it’s the grandchildren who are in charge. Iliko Sukhishvili the younger is the Artistic Director, and his sister Nino is the General Director and Costume Director.
The group’s repertoire includes dances from the various regions in Georgia, featuring traditional costumes from these same regions. Some dances from mountainous regions are reminiscent of fights, or agility and courage competitions.
You can see a performance of the Sukhishvili Georgian National Ballet at Rike Park in Tbilisi every Saturday through August 25.
Source: Euronews.com
How to Drink Wine the Right Way, According to Science
Drinking wine is more than simply consuming a beverage; it’s an entire experience. Although there are thousands of different types of wines, there are a few key elements to include in the wine experience that will make all of your wine drinking much more enjoyable. If you learn about the different components of wine – such as body, finish, and flavor intensity – you’ll be able to find the perfect wine for you.
Get a recommendation. If you’re a new wine drinker, go to a store that specializes in wine to ask for help in selecting the wine that is right for you. If there isn’t a specialty wine store near you, don’t panic. Most liquor and grocery stores have a large variety of wine, so you should have no problem finding the right wine for you.
- Explain to the wine expert or store employee what flavors you enjoy so that they can help you choose the best wine.
- If you’re planning to have wine with food, tell them what food that will be on the menu so that they can help you pick the right wine.
Choose a wine. Knowing what qualities you’re looking for in a wine is very important, as there are numerous types of wine. Do you want a full-bodied or light-bodied wine? Body equates to how heavy the wine actually feels in your mouth. Or do you prefer a dry or sweet wine? In wine-speak, dry is the opposite of sweet. Do you want a crisp or soft wine? A wine with refreshing acidity is crisp, whereas a wine that feels smoother is considered soft.
- The most popular red wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir.
- Try a white wine. Popular white wines include Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Pour 1-2 ounces of wine into your glass to taste it before deciding on a full glass. It’s common to try a few sips of wine before committing to a glass. Proper wine tasting is a great way to determine whether or not you like the overall flavor of the wine.
Experience the aroma. Swirl the wine in your glass to expose it to a larger surface area. This increases wine’s contact with air and intensifies its aroma. Swirl your wine by holding the glass by the base or by the stem. Smell your wine as you swirl it to take in the aromas. Common aromas include different fruits, spices, herbs and flowers.
- Be sure to smell the wine several times, swirling before each smell. A complex wine will offer multiples scents, and taking in each scent will intensify the wines flavor.
- The overall taste of a wine is a combination of smells and flavors, so it’s important that you don’t skip the smelling stage.
Taste the wine. Taste your wine in small sips. Roll the wine across your taste buds by lightly swishing it around your mouth. Hold the wine in your mouth for 5-10 seconds before swallowing to really absorb the flavor. After swallowing, notice the aftertaste, or finish. High quality wines tend to have a more defined the finish. A good finish will linger on your palate for quite some time.
Here you are! 1 or 2 glasses is enough to feel the taste and to be on a good mood.
Georgian alphabet in the metro of Frankfurt
Frankfurt U-Bahn has been decorated with the posters of Georgian alphabet. The posters are the reminder of the fact that Georgia is the honorary country of Frankfurt Book Fair 2018. Every year, the fair chooses a country as guest of honour.
The chosen country has a chance to introduce all its cultural and intellectual treasure to the international audience. The honourary country has a special opportunity of putting out its works through the major theatres, concert halls, galleries, cinemas, libraries and
Georgia decided to represent the country through the characters of Georgian alphabet at the fair. The concept of the project is “Georgia made by characters”. Cultural events of 72 Georgian writers and German translations of about 200 Georgian literary works will also be represented at the fair.
The beauty and uniqueness of the Georgian alphabet are recognized all over the world. Georgian scripts are among the only 14 existing scripts worldwide. Georgian scripts include three writing systems: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli. The three systems show three levels of development of the Georgian alphabet. It is worth to admit that today all of them are still in use. The third system – Mkhedruli or designated for wider society is used as a literary language. The first two are used in church services – all of the books used in church and liturgy are written with the Nuskhuri and Asomtavruli script. Although the systems differ in appearance, all three are written in the lower case (in other words no capital letters are used).
Their letters share the same names and alphabetical order and are written horizontally from left to right. Mkhedruli is now the standard script of modern Georgian. The Georgian alphabet was announced as one of the world’s most beautiful scripts by www.matadornetwork.com (a collection of millions of travelers across the globe with an unquenchable thirst for adventure and exploration).
The fair is going to commence on the 9th of October.