Georgian Recipes

In this recipe we show how to make a pastry filled with cheese and boiled eggs that comes from Georgia’s Guria region. Guria (Georgian: გურია) is situated in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea.

Ingredients (for 4 servings): For the dough: 600 grams of flour, 300 grams of all purpose flour, 300 ml of water or milk, 1 egg, 1.5 tbs of yeast, 1 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp of salt and 30 grams of butter or 50 ml of oil. For kneading and dusting the dough and work surfaces: 300 grams of flour.

For the filling: 4 boiled eggs and 700 grams of Imeretian cheese (or mozzarella cheese).

Preparation (dough): There are several recipes for making dough but we find the following method to be the easiest way to prepare it.

Warm 300 ml of water or milk to 35C and add to a bowl. Stir in the yeast.

Add 600 grams of flour to a mixing bowl and make a depression in the flour. Add the yeast water, oil, milk and a raw egg. If you want the pastry to have a golden color you can add 1 tsp of sugar.

The dough should be formed into a soft ball.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a warm place for 2 hours. The dough will rise and look like the picture below.

When you are ready to use the dough, add 150-200 grams of flour and knead the dough. The dough should be fluffy, not wet. Separate it into four hand-sized balls.

Cover the dough balls (we used clingfilm) and leave in a warm place for 10 minutes.

Boil 4 eggs and cut in half.

Crumble the cheese.

Use the palms of your hand and your fingers to flatten out each ball of dough until it is circular and 4-5 mm deep.

Add the cheese.

Add the halved boiled eggs.

Fold the dough over the cheese and egg filling and use your fingers to seal the edge of the dough.

The pastry should look like the picture below.

Separate the yolk from one egg. Add 1 tbs of water to the yolk and mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle flour on a baking tray and add the pastry. Use the egg yolk to glaze the top of each pastry (they must be fully coated). Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes on a high temperature.

Serving: Serve hot.

Enjoy your Gurian Pastry!

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