G for Georgia (Chatschapuri)

Chatschapuri (ხაჭაპური) is a typical georgian breakfast dish. What exactly is Chatschapuri can probably best explain my colleague Nano to you. She comes from Georgia and has been living in Germany for many years.

When I asked Nano whether she would like to contribute a typical breakfast recipe from her home country, she was exited and raved especially about Chatschapuri. Nano not only gave me a very tasty recipe for Chatschapuri but also told me many interesting things about georgian cuisine and culture.

Thus, before we will come to the recipe for Chatschapuri first, a very exiting interview with a real "insider"!

Nano, the expert for Georgia:

Breakfast World: „Hey Nano, ich freue mich sehr, dass Du mir und meinen Followern mehr über die georgische Küche und Kultur berichtest. Vielleicht magst Du Dich kurz vorstellen. Wo bist Du geboren und aufgewachsen?“

Nano: "I was born an grew up in Tiflis, the capital of Georgia."

Breakfast World: "I am pretty sure that many people don't even know exactly where Georgia is."

Nano: "Georgia is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It borders on Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. "

Breakfast World: "How long have you been living in Germany and what did you bring to Germany?"

Nano: "I've been living in Germany since the end of 2005. I can't say exactly why I came here, probably due to love of adventure. The German language has fascinated me since my youth. I'm also a big fan of Goethe. I felt like Faust who knows a lot and yet wants to know everything."

Breakfast World: "Your German is really great! Have you already learned German at school? "

Nano: "Yes, I learned German as second foreign language in school from the 5th grade onwards. I also had a great teacher who was originally from Sweden."  

Breakfast World: "Do you miss your old home country?"

Nano: "Sometimes yes. But now I consider Germany as my home. I've changed a lot after all the years I've been living here. I also love Europe. This continent is so small and at the same time so diverse."

Georgian cuisine

Breakfast World: "I would like to learn more about the cuisine of Georgia. What characterizes Georgian cuisine?"

Nano: „Spices! In Georgia, all dishes are strongly seasoned. I know some spices only from Georgia, e.g .: Uzxo suneli and xmeli suneli. Our cuisine has also a mediterranean influenceWe often use eggplant, saffron, figs, pomegranates, persimmons, and citrus fruits. I often remember the beautiful snow-covered persimmon trees. The orange persimmons shone in the snow in a unique way . My grandma also had a tea plantation. That's why I drank black tea with freshly squeezed lemon juice as a baby."

Breakfast World: “Snow-covered persimmons? You are kidding? I thought persimmons only ripens in the heat."

Nano: Persimmon trees need a lot of sun and a dry climate. However, the fruits mainly ripen in December. Temperatures in Georgia are above 35 degrees from April to October. It hardly rains. But in winter it can get very cold. Then it can happen that the kakis are covered with snow."

Typical Georgian dishes

Breakfast World: Is there one (or more) "national dish/es"?"

Nano: "Yes, there are plenty of typical Georgian dishes, for example:

Sazivi: Chicken in walnut sauce:

Chinkali: Dumplings filled with minced meat:

Pchali: Beetroot, spinach and eggplant cream with walnuts, pomegranate seeds and Georgian spices:

Breakfast World: “Wow, that sounds very interesting. What is your favorite dish?"

Nano: „Lobiani: This is a big "dumpling" filled with kidney beans, bacon and coriander:"

Breakfast World: "That all sounds very tasty! Do you often cook Georgian food at home?"

Nano: "Unfortunately, no. Most dishes are too time consuming. Fortunately, there are now some really good restaurants in Germany with authentic Georgian cuisine that are run by compatriots, such as Gemo in Offenbach.“

Breakfast in Georgia

Breakfast World: “Let's come to breakfast. What does a Georgian breakfast table look like? What do you serve?"

Nano: “In Georgia, we have for breakfast mostly sweet things: cakes, biscuits, jam, rusks. The only exception is Chatschapuri.„

Breakfast World: "What exactly is Chatschapuri?“

Chatschapuri

Nano: „Chatschapuri is a type of flat bread or cheese pizza, mostly made from yeast dough - sometimes also from puff pastry. Each region in Georgia has its own type of Chatschapuri. They are shaped and filled differently (with different types of cheese, eggs, potatoes and / or spinach). Circular Chatschapuri with cheese filling are the most classic:

We often use local cheese (imeruli), which is rarely available outside of Georgia. Alternatively, you can mingle mozzarella and feta cheese in a ratio of 1: 2. I also like to add some grated Gouda cheese to the mixture as well as a raw egg for better binding."

Breakfast World: "Is it difficult to prepare Chatschapuri What can I do wrong or what should I watch out for during preparation?"

Nano: “I find it difficult to roll out the yeast dough with the cheese filling thinly and evenly. It can happen that the filling squeezes out if you apply too much pressure while rolling it out. If you apply too little pressure, the dough can become quite thick in relation to the cheese filling after baking. However, that doesn't matter. It definitely tastes good!"

Breakfast World: “Thank you for the great tips and information. Finally, one more question: What do you prefer to eat for breakfast?"

Nano: „Tiramisu! 🙂 However, I also like Chatschapuri very much for breakfast."

Breakfast World: "And how do you say "Bon appetit" in Georgian?" 

Nano: „Gemrielad miirtvit – გემრიელად მიირთვით“

With this in mind, I wish you a lot of fun with the preparation of Chatschapuri and "Bon appetit":

Gemrielad miirtvit – გემრიელად მიირთვით!

Chatschapuri

gefüllte Pizza aus Georgien

2 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Rest period 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course bread, breakfast

Cuisine Georgia

Servings 1 Chatschapuri (ca. 30 cm Durchmesser)

Ingredients

  

• 350 g flour (type 550)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 10 g yeast (fresh)
• 150 ml water (lukewarm)
• 30 g melted butter
• 1 egg (for the dough)
• 1 ball Mozzarella (Drained weight: 125 g)
• 200 g Feta
• 30 g Gouda
• 1 egg for the filling
• 1 tbsp. melted butter for buttering

Instructions

 

• Put the flour in a large bowl. Make a dent in the middle of the flour and crumble the yeast into it. Add about 50 ml of the water to the yeast and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
• Add salt, egg, butter and the rest of the water. Knead all ingredients into a yeast dough. The easiest way to do this is with the food processor (approx. 5 minutes on level 2).
• The dough should be elastic and not sticky - if necessary, add drops of water if too dry or a tbs. of flour if too sticky. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and let it rest in a warm place for 1.5 hours.
• While the dough is resting, prepare the cheese filling: Crumble the feta in a bowl. Coarsely grate the mozzarella and Gouda cheese on a kitchen grater and mix with the feta. Mix the cheese well with a raw egg and shape into a ball. Put the mixture in the refrigerator until further processing.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (top and bottom heat).
• As soon as the dough has doubled, place it on a floured work surface, knead briefly and shape into a ball again.
• Roll out the dough ball on the floured work surface into a large circle. The dough should be about 1cm thick.
• Place the cheese ball in the center of the dough circle.
  
• Put the edges of the dough over the cheese ball so that it is completely enveloped.
  
• Knead the edges of the dough together in the center of the top so that they do not tear apart.
  
• Place the filled dough ball with the seam down on the work surface and carefully, and flatten it at first carefully with your hands:
  
• and then roll it out with a rolling pin into a circle with a diameter of approx. 30 cm.
  
• Brush the flatbread with a little melted butter and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
• Raise the oven temperature to 220 degrees and place the baking sheet on the middle rack.
• After about 20 minutes, the Chachapuri is baked golden yellow and can be taken out of the oven.
• Let cool down a bit, cut into 8 pieces with a bread knife or pizza cutter. Serve warm.

Notes

Georgian wine tastes good with it!

Keyword Chatschapuri, cheese bread, cheese flatbread, cheese pizza

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Sources: Allgemeine Informationen zu Georgien