Appetizers and famous side dishes
The list below is just a short selection from the wide variety of appetizers and sweets
Traditional Georgian bread
Traditional Georgian bread, called "puri", is of course the most famous side dish and probably the one to begin with. It is served everywhere and with everything and will usually be brought to your table without asking. Georgian bred comes in different sizes and styles: "tonis puri" is flatbread, while "shotis puri" has a triangular shape. A third type, "mchadi", is cornbred and described below.
Georgian "shotis puri", which you can get on almost every corner, is traditionally prepared in a special oven. The oven looks like a barrel made of stone and is open at the top. The baker spreads the moist dough onto the hot inner walls and a later removes the finished bread with a long spatula.
Mchadi
Mchadi is a type of cornbread that is traditionally eaten with beans and cheese. This kind of bread is especially popular in the nortwestern Georgian region of Svaneti under the name "chvishtari". This type of "mchadi" is already filled with cheese in addition to beans and cheese as a side order.
Ajapsandali
This is a stew from the northwestern region of Swaneti, mostly served as a vegetable stew with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, onions, red and green peppers and herbs, especially parsley and coriander. "Ajapsandali" can be served cold or hot and there are also variations with lamb and beef.
Ajika
"Ajika" is actually neither a starter nor a side dish, but still omnipresent in Georgian cuisine: whenever there is meat on the table, "ajika" is there. It is a sauce made with hot peppers, dried savory, garlic, coriander and saffron. There is green and red "ajika", depending on the degree of ripeness of the peppers: unripe peppers for green "ajika", ripe peppers for red "ajika".
Badrijani
This is a classic of traditional Georgian cuisine and it's always part of a "supra", the traditional Georgian feast with wine, toasts and singing. "Badrijani" are grilled eggplant rolls filled with a paste of walnuts, garlic, onions, coriander, parsley and pepperoni. It tastes quite delicious, especially with a wonderful looking topping of red pomegranate seeds. In addition, there are many different variations of "badrijani" with cheese, mayonnaise or rice instead of the traditional walnut paste filling.
Jonjoli
This is a classic salad from Eastern Georgia, served either as a starter or as a side dish. The flower heads of the Colchian bladdernut are mixed with red onions, coriander, olive oil and vinegar. Just a hint: the Colchian bladdernut tastes a little bit like pistachios.
Pkhali
This is something for lovers of vegetarian cuisine: "pkhali" is a traditional paste that can either be served as a starter or as a side dish. "Pkhali" is made of different chopped vegetables, according to the season. There are variations "pkhali" with spinach, beetroot, green beans or leek. Always included are the essentials of Georgian cuisine: walnuts, coriander, parsley, saffron, garlic and - in this case - dill.
picture credits: beyondarts GmbH (the picture shows the classic Georgian cheese bread "khachapuri imeruli")
Project “Increased regional added value in the tourism sectors of Georgia by Digital Heritage Tourism Guides” was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation.
