Badagi (Georgian: ბადაგი, ტკბილი) is a pressed and condensed grape juice used in Georgian cuisine for making popular sweets/desserts such as Pelamushi, churchkhela, kaklucha and grape tklapi.

Badagi (Georgian: ბადაგი, ტკბილი) is a pressed and condensed grape juice used in Georgian cuisine for making popular sweets/desserts such as Pelamushi, churchkhela, kaklucha and grape tklapi.

Ingredients: 5 kilos of ripe, white grapes (makes about 2 liters of badagi).

Preparation: Wash and remove stalks from the grapes.

Mash the washed grapes in a colander positioned over a large bowl.

Keep mashing until only skins and seeds are left.

Use your hands to remove as much juice as possible.

Transfer the juice into a large pot and bring to the boil on a medium heat. Then reduce the heat to a low temperature and allow to simmer for up to 3 hours. The juice should reduce by a little less than half. The process produces a sugar (fructose) content of around 60%.

Monitor the simmering process and remove the extraneous matter whenever it forms on the surface of the grape liquid.

After 3 hours of simmering, the juice should have reduced by a little less than half. Allow to stand overnight, then use a fine sieve to pour out the juice into a bowl.

The juice should be clear.

Serving: Badagi can be stored in sealed glass jars and used for a variety of Georgian dishes, such as grape tklapi. It can also be drunk as a refreshing, sweet drink.

Enjoy your Badagi!

Churchkhela

Churchkhela (Georgian:  ჩურჩხელა) is a traditional sausage-shaped candy made by repeatedly dipping a long string of nuts in tatara – a mixture of flour, sugar and Badagi (concentrated fresh grape juice). Georgians usually make Churchkhela in the Autumn when grapes and nuts are harvested. Churchkhela can also be made with dried fruit (such as peach, apple or plum) and pumpkin seeds.

In this recipe we show how to make churchkhela with walnuts and also with hazelnuts. The quantities of nuts are sufficient to make 4 churchkhelas with walnuts and 4 churchkhelas with hazelnuts.

Ingredients: 50 walnuts, up to 100 hazelnuts, 1.5 liters of badagi (click here for a step-by-step recipe), 300 grams of flour and 3 tbs of sugar. The quantities for badagi, flour and sugar are enough for one coating of the nuts. The nuts will require at least two coatings (see note at the end of the recipe). You will also need a needle and thread.

Preparation (walnuts): Shell the walnuts. Add to a hot pan and heat on a low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little and then separate them into halves. Churchkhela can also be made with walnut quarters or eighths (which is the most common).

Preparation (hazelnuts): Shell the hazelnuts. Add to a hot pan and heat on a low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Stir continuously with a wooden spoon to loosen the skins. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Remove the skins from the warm nuts with your fingers.

Preparation (threading the walnuts – for churchkhela made with walnuts): Thread a needle with a 30-inch length of strong thread. With the flat side of the nuts facing up, thread 25 walnut halves onto the thread. Cut the thread from the needle and knot the ends. The walnut strands should be dried in the sun before the next stage of the process to prevent the growth of mold.

Preparation (threading the hazelnuts – for churchkhela made with hazelnuts): Thread a needle with a 30-inch length of heavy-duty thread. Pierce the center of each hazelnut with the needle. Continue until 25 have been threaded. Cut the thread from the needle and knot the ends. The threaded hazelnut strands should be dried in the sun before the next stage of the process to prevent the growth of mold.

The pictures below show strands we prepared using walnut halves, quarters and eighths, and whole hazelnuts.

Preparation (tatara): Add the flour and sugar to a bowl.

Gradually add up to 500 ml of Badagi (click here to see how to make Badagi) and mix with a wooden spoon.

Once the flour, sugar and badagi have been mixed with a spoon, use an electric blender to ensure that the mixture is absolutely smooth.

Add 1 liter of badagi to a deep cast iron pot and gradually add the flour/sugar/badagi mixture.

Stir thoroughly. It should look like the picture below.

Heat on a high temperature, vigorously stirring all of the time. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a low temperature and continue to stir for 8-10 minutes. During that time it will thicken and you should test it to make sure that it does not taste of flour.

The resulting mixture is called tatara and its consistency should look like the picture below.

Keeping hold of one end of the thread, carefully place a strand of threaded nuts (walnuts or hazelnuts) into the tatara.

Use a wooden spoon to cover the threaded nuts.

Ensure that all of the nuts are coated with tatara.

Remove the churchkhela from the tatara.

If the tatara has been made correctly the churchkhela should not drip. Immediately hang the churchkhela. A pole placed between two chairs is ideal. Repeat the coating process with each strand of threaded nuts.

Leave the churchkhela to dry in the sunshine for 3 to 4 days, until the strands are no longer sticky to the touch. After 3 to 4 days make more tatara and repeat the dipping process. Use the recipe above but increase the quantity of badagi from 1.5 to 2 liters. Leave the churchkhela to dry in the sunshine for 3 to 4 days. Repeat the coating process one or more times if you prefer thicker churchkhelas. The churchkhelas can be eaten once they are dry to the touch but can also be wrapped in towels in a wooden box and allowed to mature for 2 to 3 months. When stored, the churchkhelas will develop a thin layer of powdery sugar – this is normal.

Serving: Pull the string from the churchkhela, hold and nibble!

MCHADI (GEORGIAN CORNBREAD)

MCHADI (GEORGIAN CORNBREAD)

Posted by georgianrecipes on 2013/03/29 · 9 Comments 

Mchadi is a very popular cornbread traditionally eaten with lobio (beans) and cheese.

Ingredients (for 6 servings). 400 grams of stone-ground cornmeal (preferably white), 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of cold water (may need more depending on the cornmeal).

Stone-ground white cornmeal 

Preparation. Add water to the cornmeal little by little so that the cornmeal becomes firm but not wet.

When the dough is ready, take a piece and make a small ball. Shape the ball in the palm of your hand until it looks like the one in the picture above.

Heat the oil in a pan (medium heat) and add the dough. Smooth each piece with the back of a wet spoon.

Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes. Turn the dough over and cook uncovered for a further 5-6 minutes. The Mchadi are golden brown when ready.

Mchadi is traditionally eaten with lobio (beans) and cheese. Enjoy!

"Утром - яичница, днем - яичница, вечером - яичница, а ночью - омлет. Скоро я буду кудахтАть, как цыплёнок".Фрунзик ;)

Acharuli Khachapuri

Khachapuri (Georgian: ხაჭაპური), is a filled bread stuffed with melting cheese. It is justifiably considered to be one of Georgia’s most famous national dishes.

In an earlier article we described three of the most popular types and gave a step-by-step guide on how khachapuri dough is made. Find it here.

In this article we will show how to make Acharuli (Georgian: აჭარული ხაჭაპური) from Ajara, in which the dough is formed into an open gondola shape and is topped with a raw egg and butter before serving.

Ingredients: 200 grams of khachapuri dough and up to 100 grams of flour.

Prepare the dough as per the step-by-step guide in the link to the article mentioned above.

The recipe for the dough is enough to make 3 or 4 khachapuri so you will need to reduce the quantity of the dough ingredients if you only want to make one or two.

3 eggs, 20 grams of butter and 100 grams of Sulguni cheese and 100 grams of Imeretian cheese  (alternatively, you can use only imeretian cheese or mozzarella).

Grate the cheese.

Add the grated cheese, one egg and butter to a mixing bowl.

Mix the ingredients with a fork.

Separate one egg yolk and stir in a dish. This will be used later to glaze the khachapuri.

Knead the dough before using. Leave for 10 minutes and then make a flattish boat shape, like in the picture below.

Spread the cheese filling onto the middle of the dough.

Fold the sides and ends of the dough, like in the picture below.

Lightly dust a baking tray with flour (to stop the khachapuri sticking) and put the khachapuri in a pre-heated hot oven for about 12 minutes at a high temperature.

After 12 minutes take out the khachapuri, glaze the surface with the egg yolk and add a raw egg to the cheese.

Bake for 3 minutes at a high temperature.

Serving: The Ajarian khachapuri is served hot and traditionally served with butter. The butter and egg are mixed together with a knife and fork and eaten together with little pieces of the bread part of the khachapuri.

Enjoy this famous Georgian dish! 

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