Khachapuri facts for kids
Adjarian khachapuri
|
|
| Alternative names | hachapuri, xachapuri |
|---|---|
| Type | Pie |
| Course | pastry / filled pastry |
| Place of origin | Georgia |
| Region or state | South Caucasus |
| Serving temperature | hot |
| Main ingredients | Cheese, eggs, flour |
| Variations | open, closed |
Khachapuri (Georgian: ხაჭაპური khach’ap’uri [χɑtʃʼɑpʼuɾi] from Georgian: ხაჭო Georgian pronunciation: [χatʃʼo] "curds" + Georgian: პური Georgian pronunciation: [pʼuri] "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. It is Georgia's national dish, 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:
- Imeretian (Imeruli) khachapuri is the most popular form, made with a yeast dough filled with white Imeretian 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, has multiple layers and looks rather like a sauceless lasagna.
- Gurian (Guruli) khachapuri has chopped boiled eggs inside and looks like a crescent-shaped calzone. Gurians make them for Christmas and call them simply "Christmas pie." In the rest of Georgia, it is called "Gurian pie."
- Ossetian (Osuri) khachapuri has potato and cheese as its filling. It is commonly called khabizgini.
- Svanuri lemzira
- Rachuli khachapuri
- Samtskhe–Javakhetian 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, including Russia. It was reported that 175,000 khachapuris were consumed during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Khachapuri is a popular street food in Armenia, where it is widely served in restaurants and school cafeterias. It has become increasingly popular as a brunch food in Israel, where it was brought over by Georgian Jews. It is also a very commonplace dish in New York City, most notably in Russian Jewish enclaves like Forest Hills, Queens & Rego Park where Bukharian Jews and Georgian Jews from the former Soviet Union popularized it
See also
In Spanish: Jachapuri para niños
