A Georgian supper, or supra, is less a meal than an event. Dishes arrive in waves until the table disappears beneath them, and a toastmaster guides the evening with speeches that can last as long as the food.
The essentials
Start with khachapuri, a boat of bread filled with molten cheese and finished with an egg yolk and butter. Then come the pkhali, small balls of spinach or beetroot ground with walnuts, garlic and herbs. Somewhere in the middle, khinkali: twisted dumplings full of spiced broth, eaten by hand.
How to eat
Take a little of everything, then go back for what you love. Hold khinkali by the knot, bite a small hole, drink the broth, then eat the rest. Leave the knot on your plate; locals count them to see who ate the most.
The toasts
Toasts follow a loose order: to peace, to the family, to those no longer with us, to friendship. You do not need to speak, but you should listen. It is the toasts, more than the food, that people remember.
Bringing it home
- Make one bread, one walnut dish and one stew. That is already a feast.
- Serve everything at once and let people help themselves.
- Nominate a toastmaster. Keep the speeches short, or don’t.
