It's khinkali making time!

How to make KHINKALI, the most wonderful pockets of pleasure you have ever met....

 Khinkalis are THE dish to eat in Georgia. They can be made with cheese, but frankly, the meaty kind are so juicy, they are the most eaten version.
So, you start with basic ingredients for the filling:
Ground cilantro (and parsley, too, if you like).
Ground beef and pork, a 75/25 ratio, and a little salt pork
Salt (don't go cheap on the salt, it's important...)and a little red pepper, in flakes or powder, a little svanuri marili , a mixed salt that is oh, so, so yummy...You can make it yourself. Just follow the link!
Some water.
Black pepper, for sprinkling on the khinkalis when you serve them

You then prepare the dough with flour, salt and water. No yeast needed. One kilo of flour (2.2lbs) is enough for 4 people, or about 15 khinkalis. People can eat from 4 to 7 khinkalis..


Here you see the kneading technique used in Georgia, where the dough is pounded with the fists, rather than turned as done in the US or Europe.

The dough will have to rest a bit. 30 minutes is enough, since it doesn't need to rise.

The ingredients are then mixed with the hands. They need to be thoroughly mixed. Then, a little water is added, to make the mixture as loose as a very heavy pancake batter. The water is a very important part of this dish, as it will separate inside the khinkali and provide the "juice" part of this dish, an absolute necessity.

you may think you have enough water, but at that point, add a little more, you won't regret it...

Then, pound the dough onto a rolling surface, using a little flour

Roll the dough out to about 1/2 thickness, then cut round disks out with a glass or basic cutter.

Then take each individual cutout, and roll it to about 1/8" thickness, keeping the shape as round as possible.
Now, take a large tablespoon of the meat mixture. The water will separate a bit, and that is ok. Gather the sides of the round by making folds. They say in Georgia that you are supposed to fold it 19 times for the perfect khinkali, and that can be a goal, but most will have between 11 and 15 folds. Squeeze all the folds together at the top, making sure that the khinkali is sealed and pinch off the excess. The result should look like a large fig.

Place the khinkali on a floured surface. Do not allow them to touch.

While you are making the khinkalis, warm up a large amount of water. Add a little salt.

Drop the khinkalis in boiling water, a few at a time as so not to make them touch while cooking. The khinkalis are eaten as soon as they are cooked, so you make a few, eat a few, make a few, eat a few...or buy a super large pan...  :)

Let the khinkali boil for about 8 to 10 minutes. They will first sink to the bottom, like pasta, and rise up and float. At that point, they are done. Take them carefully out of the water with a slotted spoon and drop them on a platter or an individual plate. 

Sprinkle with a little or a lot of pepper, depending on taste. Serve immediately! Khinkalis are eaten hot, and with your fingers! The trick is to take a little bite, then let the steam escape. Do not let the juice escape, drink it out of the hole made, then eat around. The tradition is not to eat the little "hat" made by gathering the dough. More room for more khinkalis!

And if you are of age, khinkalis are followed by  a tall glass of beer.

Gaumarjos! 

Enjoy!

Second trip to Georgia: more on Georgian food

FOOD, WONDERFUL FOOD!

So, of course, it will all start with food! In a year, the look of Georgia has changed, but the food is still just as fantastic!
It is so nice to come back and to see that the work of Saakashvili is not lost. The streets have been repaved, and the danger of falling into large holes is not so present. People walk with more ease, their heads a little higher maybe. Reconstruction is such a long process!
It seems like the outlook is a little less grim this year. A little over a year after the Russian attacks, people are still standing, and still extremely proud of their country.
In Gori, where a lot of destruction happened, Saakashvili has built tons of houses for the people who lost everything. In South Ossetia, the region around Gori, the houses belonging to the Georgian natives have been destroyed to the ground, while the houses of the Ossetian, claiming loyalty to the Russians, remain standing. It is very disheartening to hear the stories of people whose entire lives have been wiped out by the Russian armies, and then some of them miss the era when they all had jobs and lead maybe emprisoned lives in this country from which they could not escape, but where they had an identity.

and so we eat....At Chilika's, a nice kababi, some green stuff and beer, of course..A little dessert churchrela  is always welcome, along with all the fresh fruit that Georgia is famous for. The Churchrela is a string of walnuts halves dipped in pelamuchi, a mix of grape juice and thickener like flour. The ladies then dip the strings of nuts in the pelamuchi, and hang the lot. They dry and form a delicious treat with low sugar.

A great bunch of khinkali  and bbq items go well with a nice bottle of saperavi  wine. Let's eat!

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