Old Tbilisi, Georgian khachapuri, Georgia

Khachapuri ( ka, ხაჭაპური ''khach’ap’uri'' from ka, ხაჭო "curds" + ka, პური "bread") is a traditional Georgian dish of cheese-filled bread. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise, molded into various shapes, and then filled in the center with a mixture of cheese (fresh or aged, most commonly, specialized Khachapuri cheese), eggs, and other ingredients. The bread crust is traditionally torn off and dipped into the cheese. It is very popular in Georgia, both in restaurants and as street food. As a Georgian staple food, the price of making khachapuri is used as a measure of inflation in different Georgian cities by the "khachapuri index," developed by the

International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

. It is Georgia's

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

, inscribed on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of Georgia. On the behalf and initiative of the Gastronomic Association of Georgia, the 27th of February was announced as National Khachapuri Day, to celebrate Georgia's signature pastry as well as to promote its recognition internationally.

Types

There are several distinctive types of khachapuri from different regions of Georgia: *

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...

an (Imeruli) khachapuri is the most popular form, made with a yeast dough filled with white

an salted cheese. * Adjarian (Acharuli/Adjaruli/Lazi) is a boat-shaped khachapuri, with cheese, butter, and an egg yolk in the middle. * Megrelian khachapuri (Megruli) is similar to Imeretian, but has more cheese added on top. * Achma, from

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which ...

, has multiple layers and looks rather like a sauceless lasagna. *

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...

n (Guruli) khachapuri has chopped boiled eggs inside and looks like a crescent-shaped

calzone A calzone (, , ; "stocking" or "trouser") is an Italian oven-baked folded pizza, often described as a turnover, made with leavened dough. It originated in Naples in the 18th century. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in a ...

. Gurians make them for Christmas and call them simply "Christmas pie." In the rest of Georgia, it is called "Gurian pie." *

Ossetia Ossetia ( , ; os, Ирыстон or , or ; russian: Осетия, Osetiya; ka, ოსეთი, translit. ''Oseti'') is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. ...

n (Osuri) khachapuri has potato and cheese as its filling. It is commonly called khabizgini. * Svanuri lemzira * Rachuli khachapuri *

Samtskhe–Javakheti Samtskhe–Javakheti ( ka, სამცხე-ჯავახეთი, , ) is a region ( mkhare) in southern Georgia with a population of 151.110 (2021) and an area of . The region has Akhaltsikhe as its administrative center, while Besik Amiran ...

an penovani khachapuri is made with cheese-filled puff pastry dough, resulting in a flaky variety of the pie.

Outside Georgia

Khachapuri is popular in the

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

, including

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. It was reported that 175,000 khachapuris were consumed during the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...

in Sochi. Khachapuri is a popular

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

, where it is widely served in restaurants and school cafeterias. It has become increasingly popular as a

brunch Brunch is a meal eaten between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., sometimes accompanied by alcoholic drinks (typically champagne or a cocktail). The meal originated in the British hunt breakfast. The word ''brunch'' is a portmanteau of ''breakfast'' ...

food in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, where it was brought over by Georgian Jews. It is also a very commonplace dish in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, most notably in

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

enclaves like

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeas ...

Rego Park Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...

where

Bukharian Jews Bukharan Jews ( Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכארא/яҳудиёни Бухоро, ''Yahudiyoni Bukhoro''; he, יהודי בוכרה, ''Yehudey Bukhara''), in modern times also called Bukharian Jews ( Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכאר ...

and

Georgian Jews Georgian Jews ( ka, ქართველი ებრაელები, tr) are a community of Jews who migrated to Georgia during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE.The Wellspring of Georgian Historiography: The Early Medie ...

from the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

popularized it

References

External links

Revolution of khachapuri

Recipe at New York Times
* * {{Street food Cheese dishes Cuisine of Georgia (country) Cuisine of New York City Flatbread dishes Georgian products with protected designation of origin Israeli cuisine Russian cuisine National dishes Savoury pies Street food

Types

Outside Georgia

See also

References

External links