Khinkali is one of the traditional dishes of Georgian cuisine, a real visiting card of this hospitable country. Without this dish, it is impossible to imagine a single Georgian feast. And not only Georgian - khinkali has many admirers among people of different nationalities.
But before you try them for the first time, you should find out how to eat khinkali in a restaurant. After all, the history of this dish has many centuries, and the rules associated with it are no less.
Khinkali legend
In Georgia there is a popular legend about the time of the invention of khinkali. This story tells of a long war with the Persians, the main battles of which took place in the mountains. Naturally, edible stocks were catastrophically small. For proper nutrition of the wounded, experienced housewives came up with a dish that combines nutritious broth, fresh meat, onions and delicious fresh dough. That is how khinkali first appeared.
Of course, no one knows exactly how this amazing dish was invented. But over a century of history, many traditions and rules have appeared that are related to their preparation and how khinkali is properly eaten.
How are they cooked?
Cooking khinkali requires great skill from the hostess. Making the filling was not difficult; young lamb or beef was used for the dish. Finely chopped meat was mixed with a lot of onions and garlic. In traditional cuisine, greens were not added to the filling, because in the mountains it is practically nonexistent. In more modern recipes, the presence of greens and favorite spices is allowed.
Minced meat for this recipe was necessarily bred with a small amount of water, this made the filling more juicy and tasty.
The khinkali dough was made fresh, then it was rolled thinly and cut into pieces of the desired size. The filling was placed in the middle of the dough piece, and the most difficult thing began. The dough had to be folded so that a bag with folds and a tight knot on top was obtained. The more folds the khinkali has, the higher the culinary skill of the hostess. But the folds should not have been less than 15, otherwise it was not khinkali! It was also very important to wrap the bag with minced meat rather tightly so that the meat broth that appeared during boiling would not flow out.
According to tradition, the prepared bags were boiled in a large pot, adding salt and spices to the water. It was necessary to ensure that the nodules on top of the khinkali remained undercooked.
Dish features
Many are sure that khinkali are not very different from the usual dumplings. Of course, outwardly these dishes are similar: minced meat in a shell made of unleavened dough. But there is a significant difference: in the Georgian recipe, the main emphasis is not on meat, but on the hot nutritious broth inside the dough. We can say that each khinkali is a portion of strong hot soup with meat, packed in dough.
It is this feature that must be taken into account when analyzing how to eat khinkali correctly. The broth inside is very hot, it is important to be careful and not get burned. But the cooled dish loses its peculiar taste. By the way, in Georgia there are cooled khinkali considered bad form.
Only hands
One of the basic rules of how to eat khinkali in a cafe is no cutlery. This delicious dish is eaten only by hand!
Bags of meat are specially made quite large, so that it is convenient to take them with your fingers. Eating khinkali is a whole art: you need to lift the bag, holding it by the bundle on top, gently bite and immediately drink the aromatic broth. Sometimes it is advised to turn over the taken khinkali and only then start eating.
We must try not to shed a single drop, because without broth the taste of the dish loses all its charm.
Sometimes a waiter in a khinkal still brings a fork and knife. Knowing how to eat khinkali in a restaurant, they are used to pick up all the smallest leftovers of the dish at the end of the meal, except for the tail.
Why do you need ponytails
As in any traditional dish, all the little things are thought out and honed in khinkali. For example, the tail of this bag is half-baked when planned. This is done in order to make it convenient to take the fragrant product with your fingers and not burn yourself.
Solid ponytails are not accepted, they need to be carefully folded on a plate. Of course, if you really want to, they can also be tried, but this does not correspond, because it is not right to eat khinkali on etiquette. Yes, and they are tasteless.
In the homeland of meat pouches, there is a funny tradition of counting tails left on a plate. So, at a friendly dinner, the weakest or the most fed eater is determined. And, according to custom, he will pay for everyone. Although properly cooked khinkali is a very tasty dish, it will therefore be difficult to stop and eat few juicy bags.
No bread
Another nuance on how to eat khinkali in a restaurant - no extras. Khinkali is a self-sufficient dish, it does not require an additional piece of bread. To be satisfied, enough fragrant bags of dough will be enough. But the supply of fresh herbs and vegetables is quite allowed.
And any, even spicy vegetable sauce, only violates the harmony of taste. In addition, in traditional Georgian cuisine, adding something to the taste of khinkali is considered indecent. The exception is only ground hot pepper, which can generously sprinkle served pouches.
What to eat with?
Surprisingly, the traditional dish does not go well with wine. Knowing how to eat khinkali in a restaurant, they should order a glass of cold beer. Although traditionally this dish was served with strong Georgian vodka. At dinner, the guest drank a glass and only then bit off a piece of khinkali.
For those who don’t really like the taste of alcohol, chilled mineral water is fine.
