A Georgian food guide: khachapuri, khinkali and the supra
Cheese bread, soup dumplings, walnut sauces and a feast led by a toastmaster — an easy guide to eating well in Georgia, and what not to miss.
The big two: khachapuri and khinkali
Khachapuri is cheese-filled bread, most famously the boat-shaped Adjarian version with an egg and butter cracked into the middle. Khinkali are twisted soup dumplings you eat by hand, holding the top-knot — don't cut them, and leave the knot. Between them they anchor almost every Georgian meal.
Beyond the classics
Look for mtsvadi (grilled meat skewers), lobio (spiced beans), badrijani (aubergine rolls with walnut), pkhali (vegetable pâtés) and shkmeruli (chicken in a garlicky milk sauce). Walnuts, coriander and blue fenugreek run through the cooking, and it's unusually good for vegetarians.
The supra
A Georgian feast, the supra, is led by a tamada (toastmaster) who proposes long, heartfelt toasts, with wine poured throughout. It's the best way to feel Georgian hospitality, and we can arrange a proper supra — in Tbilisi or a Kakheti wine cellar — as part of a trip.