Traditional dishes of the Caucasus: the way to the heart through the stomach

Caucasian cuisine has collected national dishes from all territories of the region: Southern Russia, South Ossetia, Georgia, Abkhazia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Due to the mountainous terrain, traditional dishes of the Caucasus are dominated by meat and sour-milk products: mutton, cheese, milk, and a small amount of fish. Various herbs and, of course, a large number of spices.

Adjara khachapuri – Taste of sunny Georgia

Adjara khachapuri (Russian: Аджарская хачапури) is a dish that is prepared with love and passion for cookery. It is a true pride of Georgia and one of the most famous dishes of the Caucasus. Adjara khachapuri is a kind of dough pastry filled with cheese and egg. It is baked to a golden crust and served with a piece of butter in the centre. Tasting this dish for the first time, you will feel the warm Georgian sun pouring inside you.

Traditional Caucasian kebab

Shashlyck, or Shashlik (Russian: шашлык) is an ancient dish that has become a symbol of family gatherings and friendly sit-downs in the Caucasus. Meat is marinated in spices and cooked over an open fire until golden crust. Juicy and flavourful meat seasoned with family recipes will not leave any gourmet indifferent.

Lobio – Taste of Georgia

The calling card of any Georgian feast is Lobio (Russian: Лобио). This hearty dish is made of different varieties of beans, cooked together with spices, tomatoes and onions until they get a unique taste and aroma.. Lobio is usually served with pita bread or corn porridge.

Churchkhela – Sweet Delight

Churchkhela is a special treat that is worth trying when you are in the Caucasus. It is a confection created from walnuts that are dipped in sweet grape syrup. The resulting product is shaped like a long sausage and has an amazing flavour. Churchkhela is a sweet note in the world of Caucasian gastronomy.

Satsivi – the national Georgian sauce

Satsivi is a famous Georgian sauce that can turn any ordinary dish into a sumptuous festive treat. That is why satsivi in Georgia is a full-fledged dish: it is not served as an accompaniment. The classic version of satsivi is made only with turkey.

The main feature of satsivi, thanks to which its taste cannot be confused with anything else, is walnuts: it is they that give it its recognisable flavour and aroma. There is also cinnamon, saffron, garlic, pepper and other ingredients. Wine vinegar or pomegranate juice is added to satsivi for sourness, and coriander for freshness.

Georgian Wine – Living History

Georgian wine deserves a special mention. It has over 8000 years of history, making it one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world. Georgian wine is made from special grape varieties and is produced using traditional methods that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Wine in Georgia is not just a drink, it is a part of culture and history. It accompanies holidays, weddings and family celebrations. Tasting Georgian wine, you will plunge into the rich history of this amazing country.

Afar is a traditional Lezgin-Karchagh dish

Afar is a traditional Lezgin-Karchagh dish in the form of a flatbread with a filling. Afars are made of unleavened dough, which is very thin and tender. The most popular stuffing is fresh herbs and herbs in different combinations. In addition to mint, wild onion and dill (it is used only a little so as not to overpower the flavour palette), horse sorrel, nettle, swede, beetroot and shepherd’s purse can be added to afar.

Afars are prepared with meat, cheese, cottage cheese, a combination of vegetables – practical housewives in the Caucasus always use local ingredients. Afar has become famous outside its region as well. The Italian culinary magazine Sapori-Italia placed the lezghin flatbread in sixth place in the list of the world’s healthiest dishes.

Tsken – a dish of the peoples of Southern Dagestan

Tsken (tskan) is a national dish of the peoples of Southern Dagestan (Rutul, Agul, Tabasaran, Lezghin). Modern authors, giving tsken an artistic image, describe it as ‘a tiered pie like gardens’. Tsken is called ‘Lezgin pizza’, it consists of several layers of pita – thin and thicker. Usually 2 or 3 layers are rolled out, on which rich stuffing is laid out: mutton flesh, turkey fat, onions, potatoes, walnuts. All this is seasoned with cumin and thyme to taste.

There are many variants of making tsken: the key difference is in the stuffing. In Azerbaijan, housewives use potatoes and meat to make the pie hearty and calorific. In Dagestan instead of meat they often put horse sorrel. There are recipes of tsken filled with cheese or mushrooms. Some restaurants even add beans.

Dovga – the elixir of Azerbaijani

Sour-milk all-season soup, pearl of Azerbaijani cuisine, elixir of long-livers – Dovga (Azerbaijani: Dovğа) has many names. It is difficult to trace the history of this dish. Researchers assume that dovga was first made in the XI century in the Seljuk Empire, when the Azerbaijani ethnos was beginning to form. It is known that 100 years ago dovga was served only at big festivals.

Dovga recipe is based on fermented milk drink: katyk, ayran or matsoni. In Derbent, Dagestan, chefs prefer matsoni: it is boiled in a pot with water and eggs, then pre-soaked rice and various herbs are added. Mint, coriander, dill, spinach, parsley, kyavar (Chinese onion) – the herbal bouquet makes the flavour multifaceted.

Shakh Plov – the most delicious rice dish in the world

This is the pride of cuisine from Azerbaijan! Meat is cooked in lavash with dried fruits and chestnut.

Each region of the country has its own specifics of cooking the dish. But in all recipes a large amount of dried fruit is added, which is a key oddity, because this ingredient overrides the flavour of meat and other components. But, at the same time, this is the zest of the dish.

In addition to dried fruits, crumbly onions are added to the dish. The most important component is a crispy crust of lavash (hazmakh), in which the pilaf is cooked. The crust can be bought in advance in a specialised shop or prepared by yourself. It should be very thin, almost transparent, similar to filo dough, which resembles thin paper.

Kurze – a dish of Dagestani cuisine

Kurze is a dish of Dagestani cuisine, outwardly resembling dumplings or manty. A distinctive feature of kurze is moulding with a plait: the seam on this dish, as Dagestanis say, is plaited as if a snake were crawling.

When the ready home-made dough has rested enough, it is rolled out thinly (up to 1.5 mm thick). When moulding the bags, the cook must make a geometrically accurate plait seam and make sure that it is dense, otherwise the filling will leak out. Weaving is carried out according to an algorithm and requires skill.

In the classical interpretation, kurze is slightly spicy and spicy, but the flavour range varies depending on the filling. Kurze is prepared and eaten on Uraza Bayram (a holiday to celebrate the end of the Ramadan fast), on matchmaking and on Mawlid, when Muslims celebrate the coming of the Prophet Muhammad into the world.

Chykhirtma – a part of Dagestani, Turkish and Armenian cultures

In the ‘Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language’ of 1941 ‘chyғirtma’ is translated as ‘a dish of mutton or chicken dressed with eggs’. The dish owes its name to the Turkic root ‘chygyr’, which means ‘to shout, squeal, squeak’. Similar sounds are heard when the ingredients are squeaking on a hot pan and at the final stage of cooking, when pouring eggs over the chygyrtma.

There are many versions of the traditional dish, but the classic recipe is chicken Chikhyrtma. Poultry meat is fried and then slowly stewed in broth with lemon juice, spices, onions and eggs. You get stewed, very tender and juicy chicken in a soufflé of eggs and onions.

Chikhirtma has become a part of Lak, Turkish and Armenian cuisines. In Azerbaijan it is usually served as a side dish to pilaf, but sometimes as an independent dish. Instead of chicken, green beans, lamb and tomatoes, aubergines, spinach and sorrel are often used.

Ajapsandali – a traditional Georgian and Armenian dish

In Georgia they say that Ajapsandali was invented hundreds of years ago by local shepherds. They roasted paprika and aubergines over a fire, crushed them, mixed them with herbs and spices and made a kind of vegetable paste or sauce. The dish helped the shepherds to satisfy their hunger while working in the pastures.

Today, ajapsandal is prepared as a vegetable sauté, stew or thick soup. Sometimes cheese or meat is added (especially often in Armenia). Two ingredients remain unchanged – sweet bell peppers and baked aubergines.

Ossetian pies – a part of Ossetian history and culture

The history of Ossetian pies dates back several centuries and is closely connected with the culture and traditions of the Ossetian people. These pies first appeared in the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, where Ossetians lived and continue to live to this day. Originally, Ossetian pies were prepared as food for travelling and long treks. They were ideal for this purpose due to their compactness and long shelf life.

Originally, Ossetian pies were simple and modest in terms of ingredients. They included a dough and a filling, which often consisted of available products such as potatoes, onions, meat and cheese. Over time, the recipes have diversified, and today there are a huge number of variations of Ossetian pies with different fillings.

The most popular types of Ossetian pies:

• Ualibakh with cheese.
• Fydjin with meat.
• Kabuskadzhin with cabbage and cheese.
• Artadzykhon – cheese pie, which has a triangular shape.
• Kadurjin with beans.
• Kartofjin with potatoes + cheese.
• Tsakharadzhin with young beetroot and cheese.

Traditional Caucasian dishes are a real treasure to be discovered. They not only satisfy your appetite, but also allow you to immerse yourself in the rich culture and history of the Caucasus. Don’t miss the chance to try Adjarian khachapuri, shashlyk, lobio and other great dishes.