I made imeruli khachapuri (cheesebread) a couple of weeks ago. I’d made it before, under the watchful eye of various Georgian ladies of good standing in the khachapuri-making community. I’d also made it ‘flying solo’, with English flour and Italian cheese and only the running commentary of two small, doubtful children to guide me through.
This time, though, I’d rashly promised to show a couple of English friends how to do it, and performance anxiety was starting to creep in. I’ve always considered much of Georgian cuisine to be pretty straightforward at the conceptual level, but somewhat more challenging in terms of actual construction / execution. Ball of dough, ball of cheese: what can go wrong? Not much, apart from leaking, holes, irregular thickness, no cheese near the edges, total collapse at the flipping-over stage…
So I did what any sensible person would do in the absence of a Georgian lady of good standing, and hit YouTube for a brush-up.
And, of course, on YouTube nothing is as one would expect, and so, for your delectation: imeruli khachapuri in the Japanese stylee.
[Disclaimer: I know. It's not how you make khachapuri. I know. But it IS rather fun.]
Oh, and here are ours, as captured on camera by Nikki Pugh. No leaks.
Looks great!
When you’re in Tbilisi, give me a call or a twit and I’d love to make khachapuri with you