Kubdari

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 350 mlwarm water or matsoni thinned with water
• 2 tbspoil

Filling

• 700 gbeef and pork, hand-chopped
• 3onions, finely chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2 tspSvan salt
• 1 tspground blue fenugreek
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspcaraway
• 1 tspdried marigold
• 1 tspchilli
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt

To finish

• butter, melted

Directions

1. Chop the meat by hand with a heavy knife rather than mincing it.
2. Hand-chopped meat is the mark of real kubdari. Mince packs into a dense paste, while chopped pieces stay separate and the juices run between them.
3. Mix the meat with the onion, garlic and all the spices, and leave it 30 minutes for the flavours to work in.
4. Svan salt is the defining seasoning: a coarse blend of salt with garlic, blue fenugreek, coriander, marigold and chilli, made in Svaneti. Use it if you can find it and build it from the separate spices if you cannot.
5. Blue fenugreek and dried marigold are the two Georgian spices that make this taste of the mountains rather than of anywhere else.
6. Make a soft dough with the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, warm liquid and oil, knead it 10 minutes, and prove for an hour.
7. Divide the dough into three and roll each into a round about 25 cm across.
8. Pile a third of the filling in the centre of each round.
9. Gather the edges of the dough up over the filling and pinch them together in the middle, sealing it into a closed parcel.
10. Turn the parcel over so the seam is underneath, and press it gently flat with your palms.
11. Press it out slowly, working from the centre. Pressed hard or fast the dough splits and the filling comes through.
12. Roll it out carefully to about 2 cm thick, keeping it round.
13. Prove for a further 20 minutes.
14. Cut a small hole in the centre of the top with a knife.
15. Cut the vent. Steam builds inside as it bakes and without an escape the bread balloons and then tears at the seam.
16. Bake at 220°C (430°F) for 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden.
17. Brush generously with melted butter as it comes out and let it stand 5 minutes.
18. Cut into wedges and eat hot with your hands.
19. It comes from Svaneti in the high Caucasus, and unlike khachapuri it is meat rather than cheese, which is why it kept mountain households fed through winter.

Technique

• It is a close cousin of khachapuri in construction and entirely different in filling.
• The dough is often made with matsoni, which gives a softer crumb.
• It reheats well in a dry pan and is good cold.

Substitutions

• Ordinary salt with extra garlic, coriander and fenugreek, in place of Svan salt.
• All beef, or lamb, in place of the mix.

Variations

• Made with lamb, which is common higher in the mountains.
• Smaller, as individual breads.
• With more chilli, as the Svans generally make it.

History

Svanetian bread filled with meat that is chopped, never minced, and seasoned with Svanetian salt.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kubdari?

Kubdari is a bread & pastry from Georgia: svan bread stuffed with chopped spiced meat. Svanetian bread filled with meat that is chopped, never minced, and seasoned with Svanetian salt.

How long does Kubdari take to make?

Kubdari takes 45 min plus 1 hr 30 min rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 3 breads. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kubdari?

Yes, within limits. Ordinary salt with extra garlic, coriander and fenugreek, in place of Svan salt. All beef, or lamb, in place of the mix.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kubdari?

Chop the meat by hand with a heavy knife rather than mincing it.