Bread is the king of all! Every Georgian region has its own unique & distinct types of bread that differ not only by the way they are baked, but also by the ingredients used. In Eastern Georgia, yeast dough bread is popular. It is baked on the surface of the inner walls of a large clay oven or cylindrical ceramic jug with fire burning on its bottom. The bread there has different names. Some call it "madauri", others "kutkhani", "trakhtinuli" or even "dedaspuri" a.k.a. "mother's bread". In Western Georgia, they make "mchadi" - a corn bread made in special clay frying pans (ketsi). They also make "Ivishtari" a corn patty with cheese or kidney beans. In the regions of Abkhasia & Megrelia the bread is substituted by a very thick corn dish called "Gomi" resembling polenta or grits, to which either "Satsivi" or "Suluguni" are added. It must be noted that "Suluguni" is not the only traditional cheese that is made by Georgians in pitchers & hide-bags using a pickling solution. There are also other "Georgian salty" types of cheeses, among which are spicy "Tushynsky", "Imeretinsky" & aromatic "Kobi".
Justly famous sauces are easy to make with your own hands. In order to make "Satsivi" sauce you have to brown 250 g of onions and 20 g of garlic in butter with fat skimmed from a chicken bouillon. Then add flour with 500 g of boullion, simmer, and put it aside for a while. Then you must mix finely crushed walnuts, about 300 g with dried & fresh potherbs, ground red pepper, two egg yolks, saffron & boiled wine vinegar approximately 100 g & other spices. Put the mixture into the previously prepared sauce & heat while stirring. Do not allow it to boil. Serve with poultry, fish and other dishes.
"Satsebeli " sauce is a much easier recipe: 200 g of crushed walnuts are stirred in 200 g of wine vinegar, 500 g of bouillon is added (a meat bouillon - for meat dishes, a fish one - for fish dishes), as well as large chopped onions (200 g), crushed garlic, salt, red pepper, parsley and dill to taste. This sauce is served with meats, fish or vegetables. An excellent & most delicious tomato sauce is made in the following way: ripe tomatoes are sliced into four parts and boiled until they form a thick substance that is then rubbed through a sieve. Into this puree, a lot of pepper and garlic, herbs including coriander, and salt are added. It is served with fried meat.
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