13 Must Eat Meals While In Samegrelo Region

Georgia has a beautiful landscape that attracts visitors to the region every year. Apart from this, the people of Georgia have diverse cuisines, with every part setting itself apart with its signature culinary traditions. After visiting the beautiful sites of Georgia, settle down and enjoy a sumptuous meal in one of the many restaurants in the Samegrelo region, Georgia Country.

Among the many places, you can visit while in Georgia is the Samegrelo region, which boasts of delicious sizzling and spicy meals. The people in this region love tasty food. Their love for spices was brought about by the subtropical climate that fuels malaria disease. The people of Samegrelo found out that a large amount of pepper in food inhibits the progression of malaria by a large margin. Out of this, hot spices became a part of the Megrelian cuisine to this day.

Here is a list of the 13 meals you should sample while in Samegrelo

1. Ghomi

The Ghomi dish is from a mixture of cornflour and cornmeal. You can have it as an accompaniment of a Satsivi, which is a stew made from meat and walnut sauce, served cold. Place slices of Sulguni cheese inside Ghomi and let it sit for two minutes, then take a small bit of Ghomi accompanied by a sulguni mixture and dunk it inside the Satsivi sauce.

There is another Ghomi recipe that has toppings of mint leaves that are tossed together with sulguni cheese. This recipe is known as Chincholla Cheese Ghomi.

2. Elarji

Elarji has similarities to Ghomi, the distinguishable difference being that there is boiling of cornflour together, resulting in a dish that stretches more with extra cheese. The Elarji dish is not food that you find on any other day in Samegrelo; the dish is made for special guests or during special occasions such as holidays.

3. Gebzhalia

This meal serves as an appetizer, and preparation is out of cheese rolls that are extra soft with fillings of a mixture of mint with cheese. Traditionally, it is from was made by cottage cheese, but the chef can still make it using matsoni. Gebzhalia is a product made from milk, and it looks like yogurt; its texture is smooth creamy with a mildly tart flavor. Lastly, this meal is protein-rich with minerals and calcium.

4. Khachapuri

About ten diverse forms of Khachapuri exist in Georgia Country, but each region has a distinct recipe. The Samegrelo region Khachapuri is round in shape, and milk is used in place of water while preparing the dough. It is then topped with Sulguni cheese to add more flavor.

Another Khachapuri recipe is the one made with yeasted dough. After resting, one can shape the dough in the form of a football and its edges folded. It is then filled with fresh, creamy, and aged cheese and one egg. The Khachapuri is then put in the oven and allowed to bake until golden and oozy. After this, the egg cooks-through, and the dish has a sumptuous interior, which makes it ideal for dipping.

5. Chvishtari

Chvishtari is a dish that is similar to Mchadi. Mchadi is a type of bread that is made with cornflour and with Sulguni cheese that is grated to make a filling. The bread is stretchy, and it stretches when biting into it. When preparing Chvishtari, one can use yogurt mixed with milk and eggs to replace water and create the stretchy and fluffier dough.

6. Satsivi

In the traditional setting, the preparation of Satsivire is by turkey meat; however, nowadays, chicken is used instead of turkey. Turkey or chicken meat is first boiled before frying. After cooking, remove the chicken from the cooking pot where only the broth remains in the cooking pot. After that, add walnuts in powder form in the cooking pot with the soup. Then saffron and garlic are added to the soup with onion plus other spices that you prefer. After boiling for a few minutes to make a thick stew, add the turkey or chicken meat back to the pot. After stewing for a few minutes, serve the food as a Ghomi accompaniment.

7. Kupati

Kupati is another popular dish you must try when you travel to Georgia.  Kupati is made by mixing pig lung, liver, and pig spleen where the mixture is then put into the intestine. After preparing it with lots of spices, it is sealed and suspended openly in the air for some weeks for drying. It can sometimes be hungover smoke to add more flavor to it. It can be served out of a claypan or on a skewer with Ghomi or Tkemali.

8. Ajika

The Ajika sauce is a mixture of garlic and green peppers with dried spices; this is a traditional Samegrelo dish. Many regions in Georgia have prepared the meal in different ways. However, the most distinguishable one is the one that has walnuts in a mixture of fish and pieces of meat. The chef may also decide to add potatoes, some beans, and slices of tomatoes to the meal.

9. Lobio and Marinades

Lobio is food that consists of beans that are added extra garlic with onion and herbs, and seasoning to make it delicious. You get to enjoy the dish more when you have it from a clay pot. It goes well with vegetables such as cucumber, some pepper, cabbage, and jonjoli marinades. Jonjoli is a vegetable that grows as a bush, but harvesting is before it flowers in May but, you can eat it in the year.

10. Mchadi

Mchadi is an excellent accompaniment for Lobio. It is made from corn flour, making it crispy and tasty. To enjoy Mchadi more, you can add Ajika to the plate or an assortment of pickled vegetables.

11. Nigvziani Badrijani

This is just eggplants with nuts but prepared in a way that makes it more delicious than you know it. The eggplant is cut into slices, which are then fried; then, a mixture of cilantro, nuts, and garlic is rolled into the eggplant slices. The chef can then season with pomegranate to give it a taste as you have never had before.

12. Pkhali

Pkhali is a vegetarian dish whose preparation is by boiling an assortment of vegetables. They are then mixed with onion, garlic, walnuts, and herbs. The one made from spinach is the most popular, but cabbage and beet Pkhali is also as delicious.

13. Soko Kecze

The Soko Kecze is a well-liked mushroom dish that entails fried mushrooms served on a plate made from clay. The recipe can either be served as plain mushrooms or with cheese, so you have to state your preference.

In conclusion, when looking for places to visit in Georgia, you can try visiting Samegrelo and sample the region’s rich cuisine. Samegrelo is a region rich in culture and tradition that any visitor will find interesting.