Kubdari

Name: Kubdari
Prep time: 2 h 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 3 breads
Ingredients: 600 g plain flour; 7 g instant yeast; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; 350 ml warm water or matsoni thinned with water; 2 tbsp oil; 700 g beef and pork, hand-chopped; 3 onions, finely chopped; 4 cloves garlic, crushed; 2 tsp Svan salt; 1 tsp ground blue fenugreek; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp caraway; 1 tsp dried marigold; 1 tsp chilli; 1 tsp black pepper; salt; butter, melted

Makes 3 breads

Units

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

Chop the meat by hand with a heavy knife rather than mincing it.
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.
Mix the meat with the onion, garlic and all the spices, and leave it 30 minutes for the flavours to work in.
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.
Blue fenugreek and dried marigold are the two Georgian spices that make this taste of the mountains rather than of anywhere else.
Make a soft dough with the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, warm liquid and oil, knead it 10 minutes, and prove for an hour.
Divide the dough into three and roll each into a round about 25 cm across.
Pile a third of the filling in the centre of each round.
Gather the edges of the dough up over the filling and pinch them together in the middle, sealing it into a closed parcel.
Turn the parcel over so the seam is underneath, and press it gently flat with your palms.
Press it out slowly, working from the centre. Pressed hard or fast the dough splits and the filling comes through.
Roll it out carefully to about 2 cm thick, keeping it round.
Prove for a further 20 minutes.
Cut a small hole in the centre of the top with a knife.
Cut the vent. Steam builds inside as it bakes and without an escape the bread balloons and then tears at the seam.
Bake at 220°C (430°F) for 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden.
Brush generously with melted butter as it comes out and let it stand 5 minutes.
Cut into wedges and eat hot with your hands.
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

A round, baked bread filled with finely chopped, well-spiced meat, typically a mixture of beef and pork, documented across Georgia, specifically associated with the mountainous Svaneti region in the country’s northwest, an area known for its distinct culinary and cultural traditions shaped significantly by its historical geographic isolation within Georgia’s highest mountains. Its rich meat filling, generously seasoned with Svan salt, a distinctive regional spice blend unique to Svaneti, reflects that region’s particular culinary identity, considered genuinely distinct within the broader landscape of Georgian regional cuisine. Kubdari remains closely and specifically associated with Svaneti’s distinct mountain culinary tradition within Georgia.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kubdari?

Kubdari is a bread & pastry from Georgia: svan bread stuffed with chopped spiced meat. A round, baked bread filled with finely chopped, well-spiced meat, typically a mixture of beef and pork, documented across Georgia, specifically associated with the mountainous Svaneti region in the country’s northwest, an area known for its distinct culinary and cultural traditions shaped significantly by its historical geographic isolation within Georgia’s highest mountains. Its rich meat filling, generously seasoned with Svan salt, a distinctive regional spice blend unique to Svaneti, reflects that region’s particular culinary identity, considered genuinely distinct within the broader landscape of Georgian regional cuisine. Kubdari remains closely and specifically associated with Svaneti’s distinct mountain culinary tradition within Georgia.