Spotted a new Georgian restaurant — Saperavi — on Upper West Side on Amsterdam and couldn’t hold it. I do miss this food and can have it any day.

What a gem!

Perfect pork mtzvadi, amazing selection of pkhali. Although I prefer lamb khinkali, their beef ones were so brothy, tasty, and just the perfect size — not too big to overwhelm, not too small to underserve — we inhaled them piping hot. And an excellent choice of pickles. They even had jonjoli, earthy, slightly bitter flower buds of a Georgian plant.

The two of us skipped khachapuri — for any of the Georgian cheese breads bigger company is better. The bread fills you up quickly and there’s so much on the menu to try.

People serving were easy and genial — as if we were in one of the warm green gardens of Mtskheta and not in Manhattan at Arctic temperatures. Hope this won’t change.

#food #georgianfood #outinnewyork #diningout #upperwestside #mtzvadi #khinkali #pkhali #jonjoli #newyorkrestaurant

Odjakhuri — traditional Georgian family roast of meat, potatoes, and some other vegetables. Flavored with khmeli-suneli, utzkho-suneli, and a punch from hot paprika it is also heavy on herbs — basil, cilantro, parsley.

Satsebeli, a light but flavorful sauce of roasted peppers and tomatoes is a perfect accompaniment to this hearty dish.

Odjakhuri is customary cooked on a ketzi, a roasting clay dish. I found something similar in Turkish markets of Paterson — same slow even heat distribution and great retention of it that preserves moisture and opens flavors in a different way. The food is cooked with minimum fat, doesn’t burn, and stays hot at the table for a long time.

Fun to make, fun to eat. As, for me, the impossible to replicate suneli aromas transport my mind to the perfect place in time.

#food #cooking #georgianfood #odjakhuri #meatroast #inmykitchen

It was a family movie night out but dinner first.

Chama Mama on Upper West Side in Manhattan.

Like everything that has a strong connection to childhood, Georgian food will forever hold a particular place in my mind and always draw me in. Especially now, at this strange moment in my life — when there’s everything everywhere all at once and mixed up.

But there’s Georgian food and, then, there’s Georgian food.

Food is an experience.

Georgian food can be a hearty chill out under the warm wing of Georgian friends and family in Tbilisi. It can be an apathetic cold stop in Moscow or we’re-hotter-than-you reminder in Brooklyn.

With an indifferent Soviet cold shoulder service — like a naphthalene vapor this one is hard to exterminate, with good Georgian food, and solid UWS prices, Chama Mama made me feel comfortably back at home, simultaneously keeping things in present.

— Very good pkhali selection.

— Nice variation on Adjaruli.

— Solid pork mtzvadi.

— Not too brothy but nevertheless tasty khinkali.

— Fine adjika trio but some versions leaning towards Chinese crisps.

— And a traditional all-Union popular Medovik cake slapped on the table with a traditional all-Union attitude: Here, we’re done.

The movie though! Don’t miss this slow mellow but stirring collection of three family stories written by Jim Jarmusch. Makes you think about your own, the one you’re writing.

#food #diningout #georgianfood #adjaruli #khinkali #mtzvadi #newyorkrestaurant #upperwestside #movienight #fathermothersisterbrother

Sunday dinner with friends.

Can’t let go of the Georgian thoughts, so here they are — lamb and chicken kabobs, lobio, and satsebeli. Plus, Ossetian cheese bread khabidzhin, Greek turlou. Also, Japanese potato salad because potatoes are my everything, especially with those pickled cucumbers.

#food #cooking #dinnerwithfriends #sundaynight #georgianfood #atmytable #foodiverse #cookingathome #foodphotography

Once, I took my family on a trip to Russia. Ten days, ten cities — we covered a lot of ground.

Day nine caught us in Saint Petersburg where we appropriately arrived on a 5 AM train like true Muscovites. IYKYK.

By 2 PM, we covered a monastery, three cathedrals, two museums, a few castles, a ballet school, two parks, a memorial field, a bunch of bridges, all four channels, the entire Nevsky Prospect from Alexander to Peter, and crossed over to Vassilievsky Island. On foot. All of it.

Seeing beds, my three companions passed out. What did I do? I went downstairs to a Georgian restaurant. What did I have? Lamb lyulyua kebob with Satsebeli sauce. Waitstaff watched with admiration how I cleaned up a shareable platter on one breath.

Here’s more remembrance of things past and another successful recreation:

LAMB LYULYUA KEBABS:
— 2 lb ground lamb with a serious amount of fat (20% at least);
— 1 large onion, grated;
— 3 garlic cloves, chopped;
— 1/3 cup of cold water;
— 1 tsp salt;
— 1 tsp black pepper;
— 1 tsp baking soda;
— 1 tsp hot paprika;
— 1 tsp cayenne;
— 1 tsp khmeli-suneli;
— 1 tsp utzkho-suneli;
— handful of cilantro, chopped;
— handful of parsley leaves, chopped ;
— handful of mint, chopped;
— 1 tsp cumin seeds;
— 1 tsp coriander seeds;
— 1 tsp fenugreek seeds;
— 1 tsp fennel seeds;
— 1 tsp dill seeds.

Toast all the seeds on a dry pan and crush in a mortar. Do not pulverize, you want some crunch.

Combine other ingredients besides lamb and whiz them with an immersion blender. You want it liquidy. Mix in the seeds. Mix in lamb.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, on a low speed, beat the mixture to emulsify fat and liquid — no less than 2 minutes, no more than 3. Overdo and the fat will separate.

Make sausage shapes or stick the mix onto flat (! — important) skewers. Refrigerate for an hour or better overnight.

Grill on a mangal type fire, i.e. when meat is suspended and doesn’t touch the grate.

#food #cooking #grill #kabobs #georgianfood #mangal

Answering a question about Georgian sauce Satsebeli from my previous post.

This sauce is a relative of another Georgian condiment — Adjika. If Adjika is hot peppers and spices, Satsebeli is a mix of tomatoes, red pepper, cilantro, garlic, and spices.

Like with any traditional recipe, every family has its own which is the best.

During my many summers in Georgia I got to like Satsebeli more than any other food I have ever tried. As a matter of fact, I can eat this sauce with a spoon without anything else.

For years in the US, I was looking for my favorite kind. Tried multiple commercial brands, dozens of recipes from books, YouTube, blogs. None came close.

Not sure how I came up with this one but it is The One. For me.

The sauce doesn’t have to be hot at all — this is absolutely personal. I add a heaping teaspoon of chopped Thai Dragon peppers because this is how we like it.

Some people add vinegar — it didn’t work for me.

Do not use fresh tomatoes. Those from your garden, char under the broiler, peel, and seed.

I stopped adding water — the sauce is so good when seriously thick.

Svanetian salt can be replaced with plain kosher one. Utzkho-suneli can be replaced with another teaspoon of khmeli-suneli. But if you don’t have khmeli-suneli make something else.

SATSEBELI SAUCE
— 15 oz jar fire roasted tomatoes, drained,
— 6 oz jar of tomato paste,
— 1 red pepper, charred under the broiler, peeled, and seeded,
— 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped,
— fresh Thai dragon peppers, or any hot peppers you like (optional),
— a handful of cilantro — leaves and stems,
— 1 tsp svanetian salt,
— 1 tsp khmeli-suneli,
— 1 tsp utzkho-suneli,
— water (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whizz them with an immersion blender or in food processor to a smooth paste. Add water to the consistency you like. Some people like it watery, I like it thick like sour cream so a big glob could safely travel from the bowl to the mouth.

#food #cooking #georgianfood

Sunday night and Georgia is on my mind. Not the one Ray Charles was singing about.

Lamb lyulya kebab with satsebeli sauce, the best sauce in the world.

Not sure what initiated what. Did I make the sauce because I always crave grilled ground lamb? Or did I make kebabs because I needed a vehicle for the sauce?

Ossetian Khabizdzhin — potato and cheese pie — to round things up and because it is so good for breakfast!

#food #cooking #backyardbbq #georgianfood #lyulyuakebab #cheesebread #cookingathome #cookingtherapy #fooddiary

As many versions as there are of French ratatouille, Italian caponata, or Greek tourlou, that many there are of Georgian ajapsandali.

Georgians cook vegetables together with roots, and add enormous amount of herbs usually in two stages: when cooking and once finished.

The dish is equally good hot, warm, or cold. It can stand on its own or make a fantastic side.

This version based on the recipe from Tasting Georgia by Carla Capalbo included approximately:
— 1 lb potatoes
— 1/2 lb carrots
— 1,5 lb eggplant
— 1 lb tomatoes
— 1/2 lb cubanelle peppers
— 1 lb onions
— 1 head of garlic
— summer savory
— thyme
— basil
— cilantro
— parsley
— dill
— fresh green chili to taste
— salt and pepper to taste
— neutral oil and butter

The vegetables are cut in large chunks, only garlic is very roughly chopped, and added to the pan in stages. First — the roots. In about 15 minutes — the eggplant. In about 10 more — the rest.

The herbs Georgians throw in as they live — by handfuls, with a swing. “Keep the change,”— if you remember the movie. 🐄🚁🇬🇪

#food #vegetables #georgianfood #adjapsandali #homemade #cookingathome #lovetocook #inmykitchen

Today all day it felt like something Georgian. Shkmeruli to be exact. So I peeled and smashed a nice pile of garlic — a head and a half about.

As I was reaching for that garlic, I noticed a few potatoes asking to be used and thought of Odjakhuri. Peeled those. Added carrots for the illusion of plenty.

When everything was coming together nicely in the oven, my daughter’s cat knocked over a bouquet of parsley, cilantro, and dill on the counter spilling water all over. Chakhokhbili came to mind and I chopped them all. Besides the cat (swipe).

Some khmeli-suneli, paprika, cayenne, and here’s the final result. Not bad. Not bad.

#food #cooking #homemadefood #lovetocook #georgianfood #missinggeorgia #roastedchicken #cookingtherapy