Vad äter man i Georgien? - 15 georgiska maträtter och specialiteter

What do you eat in Georgia? We went on a 10-day road trip around the country and tried lots of different dishes. Here are our experiences with Georgian food, delicacies, sweets and drinks.

What do you eat in Georgia?

If we are to answer the question of what is eaten in Georgia very quickly, we must mention bread, cheese and cheese bread, as well as various meat and vegetable dishes. At a Georgian meal, there are often many dishes on the table for everyone to share.

Bread and cheese are the mainstays, and there are also salads, colourful vegetable dishes and dishes with beef or pork, for example. Walnuts are a common ingredient, as are various spices. Seafood is also on the menu, but is perhaps more common on the Black Sea coast.

But we'll elaborate a bit more. Here is a list of 15 Georgian dishes and specialities that we encountered during our trip.

1. Puri (bread)

Puri simply means bread and is an important part of Georgian cuisine. Bread is eaten lengthwise and crosswise, at almost every meal. There are many different types of bread, and in general, we can say that bread in Georgia is often very tasty.

2. Chatjapuri (cheese bread)

Chatjapuri (which can also be spelt khachapuri) is sometimes described as the national dish of Georgia. Puri means bread, and chatja means cheese. These are soft breads that are filled with cheese and sometimes also with something else, such as spinach. Very tasty!

3. Adjarisk chatjapuri

In the Adjara region, where the city of Batumi is located, the form of chatjapuri that is perhaps best known is cooked: adzjarisk chatjapuri. This cheese bread is shaped like a boat and is filled not only with cheese, but also with an egg that is cracked into the "boat" before the pastry is gratinated. When you eat, you mix the cheese and egg with butter, and then you eat with your hands by breaking the bread.

4. Lobiani (bean-filled bread)

Another popular stuffed bread is Lobbian. This bread is filled with a bean curd before being baked in the oven. Very tasty we thought!

5. Mchadi (corn bread)

Mchadi is also a type of bread, but this bread is made from corn. It is traditionally eaten with lobio (a kind of bean curd) or cheese.

6. Georgian cheese

Cheese plays an important role in Georgian cuisine, and restaurant menus often feature 'cheese platters', with cheeses from different regions of the country.

7. Pkhali (vegetable scramble)

Another dish, which is often on the menus is pkhali. This is a kind of vegetable stir-fry made from chopped and ground vegetables such as cabbage, aubergine, spinach, beans and beetroot, which is mixed with vinegar, onion, garlic, herbs and ground walnuts. In restaurants, pkhali is usually served in three varieties: spinach, beetroot and white beans.

8. Badrijani Nigzvit (stuffed aubergine)

Another dish that is nice to order in is badrijani nigzvit. These are aubergine rolls filled with a walnut cream. Really delicious!

9. Ajapsandali (aubergine scrambled eggs)

Ajapsandali is a dish that is common in both Georgia and Armenia. It is made from vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and onions, which are boiled or fried with garlic and herbs.

10. Mtsvadi (grilled meat)

Most Georgian restaurants we visited had mtsvadi on the menu, that is, grilled meat. Most often it is pork, but it can also be beef. The meat is often served with onions, but without other accompaniments. This is simply one of many dishes that are put on the table. If you want a sauce, it can often be ordered separately.

11. Shkmeruli (chicken stew)

Shkmeruli is a chicken stew, where the chicken is served in a garlic sauce. The stew takes its name from the Georgian village of Shkmeri.

12. Kharcho (meat stew)

Kharcho is a traditional Georgian stew or soup, which includes beef or lamb. Other ingredients may include rice, tomato paste, walnuts and spices.

13. chinkali (dumplings)

chinkali, or khinkali as the dish may also be spelt, is a form of dumplings. These can be filled with different ingredients, ranging from meat to mushrooms, cheese or vegetables.

14. Churchkhela

When it comes to sweets churchkhela perhaps one of the most typical things you can taste in Georgia. These treats consist of nuts, dipped in a mixture of grape juice and flour. A really good and energising snack to take on your outing!

The sweet originated in Georgia, but is also eaten in Cyprus, where it is called shoushoukos. Under a visit to the Cyprus countryside we got to see how they are made.

15. Fruit and nuts

In the context of Georgian cuisine, we can't help but mention fruit and nuts. Walnuts are a common ingredient in dishes, and fruit and berries are sold everywhere. We saw a lot of pomegranates and pomegranate juice.

Georgian food in a restaurant

We have presented a number of Georgian specialities here, but what do you eat in Georgia - in a restaurant? In fact, it is very common to find traditional Georgian restaurants, where you order different variations on the dishes we described above. Often, as a group, you order a bunch of dishes and place them in the centre of the table for everyone to share.

And of course there are international restaurants serving things like burgers, pasta or Asian food. For tips on restaurants, read our reports on Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Batumi.

Breakfast - Georgian food in the morning

What do you eat for breakfast in Georgia? We don't know for sure what is commonly eaten in homes, but in the hotels we have stayed, the range has been wide and relatively classic. Sometimes there are typical Georgian products such as mini-chatjapuri, churchkhela and the domestic yoghurt product matsoni.

Georgian drinks

So, what do people drink in Georgia? The country is first and foremost known for wine, but it also produces several other drinks. Here are some Georgian drinks that might be worth mentioning.

Georgian wine - red and orange wine

If there's one thing Georgia is truly famous for, it's wine. Wine jugs dating back 8,000 years have been found and the country is known as the 'cradle of wine'. Even today, people still use a traditional method to make wine, the so-called qvevrimetides, when the wine ferments in large buried jars. Most famous is the white wine called orange wine, or amber wine.

READ MORE: Wine in Georgia - a visit to the Kakheti wine region

Georgian beer

Georgia is not as well known for beer, but it does produce beer. On several occasions we drank a Lager from Argo, which tasted just fine.

Brandy and chacha

When it comes to spirits, both brandy and chacha (a local spirit similar to grappa). We tried the local brandy in a restaurant and found it really good.

Tea and coffee

Georgia has a long tradition of producing tea, and was a major tea producer during the Soviet Union. Today, tea is only made on a small scale in the country. When it comes to coffee, in Batumi you can try sand coffee - a coffee that is heated in sand and is similar to Turkish coffee.

Juice and mineral water

Borjomi mineral water is bottled water from the springs of the Bordzjomi ravine in the spa town Bordzjomi. You can also buy different kinds of fruit juice in the country, not least pomegranate juice. Don't expect it to be cheap, but it's good!

What are your experiences with Georgian food?

Have you been to Georgia? Have you tried Georgian food, or perhaps any food similar to Georgian food? Please tell us!

What to eat in Georgia - 15 Georgian dishes and specialities