National Khachapuri Day in Georgia Date in the current year: February 27, 2024

Khachapuri is a traditional Georgian pastry; its name can be literally translated as “bread with curds” or “bread with cheese”, so it isn’t hard to figure out what its main ingredients are. Traditionally, khachapuri dough is made with matsoni (a fermented milk product that acts as a leavening agent), and the most common filling is Imeretian cheese.

However, it can also be made from yeast or puff pastry and filled with some other type of cheese, for example, sulguni or bryndza. It should be noted that pastry with other fillings cannot be considered khachapuri and has other names (for example, bean-filled bread is called lobiani and the name for meat-filled bead is kubdari).

There is no single “right” recipe of khachapuri, because each region of Georgia has its own variety of this pastry. For example, Imeretian khachapuri (imeruli) is a round flat bread made with yeast and filled with Imeretian cheese. Megrelian khachapuri (megruli) is similar to imeruli, but it has an extra layer of cheese added on top.

Adjarian khachapuri (acharuli) is the signature dish of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and arguably the most popular type of khachapuri in Georgian restaurants outside Georgia. It is a boat-shaped bread filled with cheese, butter and egg; the butter and the egg are added at the end of baking so that the yolk remains runny.

Gurian khachapuri (guruli) is shaped like a crescent, and the filling contains halved hard-boiled eggs alongside cheese. This version of khachapuri is a Christmas staple in Guria, where it is sometimes referred to as “Christmas pie”. Racha khachapuri (rachuli) has a square shape and is smeared with yolk before baking.

Achma is one most difficult to cook varieties of khachapuri, but the result indefinitely worth the effort. It is sometimes referred to as “Georgian lasagna” because, like lasagna, achma consists of multiple thin, flat dough sheets, which are layered with cheese and butter and then baked in an oven. Achma is usually served hot, straight from the oven.

A variety of khachapuri called penovani has become a popular street food. A penovani is a puff pastry envelope stuffed with cheese. It is smaller than other types of khachapuri and therefore easier to eat on the go.

Since khachapuri is one of the staple foods in Georgia, in 2010, the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University even developed the Khachapuri Index, named after the Big Mac Index. It helps to measure inflation by comparing the cost of making a khachapuri at different points in time.

The Gastronomic Association of Georgia created National Khachapuri Day to emphasize its status as the symbol of Georgian culinary culture, to popularize khachapuri and Georgian cuisine in general throughout the world, and to facilitate the development of culinary tourism in Georgia.