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Recipes with matsoni or plain yogurt

4 recipes that use matsoni or plain yogurt, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Gebzhalia, takes 40 minutes. It is most often cooked with butter, plain flour and egg.

Run out of matsoni or plain yogurt? Sour cream or buttermilk, same amount.

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Achma

Ask in Batumi and someone will call achma the Georgian lasagne: thin sheets of egg dough are boiled one by one, layered in a deep tray with salty cheese and a lot of butter, and baked until the top crackles and the inside is soft and molten. It is made for name days and holidays across Adjara, and slices are carried to neighbours on a plate. A common mistake is boiling the sheets too long; they should be barely cooked and still firm, or the layers merge into a heavy paste. Chef's tip: plunge every boiled sheet into iced water and lay it out on a towel, so the layers stay distinct and silky. Most sulguni and imeruli cheeses use animal rennet, so choose vegetarian versions.

105 minGeorgianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gurian Christmas pie

On Christmas Eve, 6 January, kitchens across Guria, around Ozurgeti and Lanchkhuti, smell of baking ghvezeli: large crescent pies stuffed with fresh cheese and chunks of boiled egg, their shape said to recall the crescent moon. They are baked in batches, carried to relatives and eaten through the holidays with tea. A common mistake is overfilling, which makes the crescent split at the seam in the oven. Chef's tip: let the yeasted dough rise once, shape the pies, then give them 15 minutes more so they puff into soft, rounded crescents. Imeruli and sulguni usually use animal rennet; look for vegetarian ones.

70 minGeorgianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gebzhalia

Gebzhalia is one of the dishes Mingrelian hosts in Zugdidi and Martvili bring out when guests arrive: soft, freshly made cheese is warmed in hot milk until pliable, flattened into sheets, scattered with mint and rolled up, then served in a cool, minty yogurt sauce. It is mild, salty and refreshing, served as a starter at a supra. Fresh imeruli cheese is the traditional choice; fresh mozzarella curd works well too. A common mistake is overheating the cheese, which makes it squeaky and tough instead of silky. Chef's tip: keep the milk just below a simmer and work the cheese with a spoon until it is soft enough to stretch, then roll while it is still warm. Fresh cheeses are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one.

40 minGeorgianSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pkhlovani

Pkhlovani comes from Pshavi, the high, wooded valleys north-east of Mtskheta, where cooks fill a plain dough with whatever greens the slopes and gardens give: beet tops, spinach, nettles, wild sorrel, with handfuls of coriander and a little crumbled cheese. It is baked as a large round in a pan and cut into wedges at harvest meals and on the long table of a village supra. The filling should taste green and peppery rather than cheesy. The usual mistake is to pack in raw, wet greens; they release water, the base turns soggy and the pie splits. Chef's tip: wring the cooked greens in a clean tea towel until they feel almost dry, which concentrates their flavour and keeps the crust crisp.

75 minGeorgianBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with matsoni or plain yogurt