Khachapuri Guide: 10 Types of Georgian Cheese Bread and How to Eat Them

Ask ten Georgians what the national dish is and most of them will say khachapuri. The name joins two words, khacho (curd) and puri (bread), but that simple description hides a whole family of breads. Every region bakes its own version, with its own shape, dough, cheese and story, and Georgia's official tourism board counts around forty kinds.

In 2019 the khachapuri tradition was granted the status of a monument of intangible cultural heritage of Georgia, and the country even celebrates a National Khachapuri Day on 28 February. Here is a guide to the main types, region by region, and how to eat them.

A Bread With Very Old Roots

Khachapuri sits at the meeting point of two ancient Georgian traditions: grain and cheese. Wheat growing in this land was already mentioned by classical authors such as Herodotus, Xenophon and Strabo, and Georgia is home to a remarkable number of wheat varieties, several of them found nowhere else.

The oldest recipes use a sourdough starter that Georgians call "the mother of bread". Later, a quicker method appeared, with dough made on matsoni (Georgian yoghurt) and baking soda, so it did not need time to rise. Written evidence also goes back a long way: Megrelian khachapuri is described in the 17th century by the Italian missionaries Arcangelo Lamberti and Cristoforo Castelli.

The Main Types of Khachapuri

1. Imeruli (Imeretian Khachapuri)

Often called the "mother of khachapuri", this round, flat pie from Imereti in western Georgia is the one you will find everywhere. Thin dough wraps a filling of fresh, slightly salty Imeretian cheese, and it is cooked in a pan. Traditionally it was baked in a clay dish called a ketsi over hot embers. It is so common that Georgian economists at the ISET Policy Institute use the cost of making one as their Khachapuri Index, a home-grown cousin of the Big Mac Index.

2. Megruli (Megrelian Khachapuri)

From Samegrelo, the Megrelian version looks like Imeruli with an extra layer: more cheese is spread over the top, together with egg, and baked until golden. Two cheeses are typical here, fresh chkinti ("squeaky" cheese) inside and stretchy sulguni on top. A festive Megrelian form, ghandami, is decorated with a braided sulguni cross.

3. Adjaruli (Adjarian Khachapuri)

The most photographed khachapuri of all comes from Adjara on the Black Sea coast and is a symbol of Batumi. The dough is shaped like an open boat, filled with cheese and baked, and then an egg is added to the hot filling, with a generous piece of butter on top. Tradition links its creation to the Laz, a seafaring people of the coast.

4. Penovani

A flaky, layered khachapuri made with buttery laminated dough, folded around melted cheese and baked until crisp. It is the classic grab-and-go version, sold in bakeries and street kiosks across Georgia and perfect for a quick breakfast.

5. Meskhetian "Turban" Khachapuri

From Meskheti in the south comes what is considered the most difficult khachapuri to make. Very thin dough is worked with fat, wrapped around the hand and shaped into a turban, then filled with local cheese and topped with egg yolk and sour cream before baking.

6. Rachuli (Rachan Khachapuri)

Mountainous Racha is the only region where khachapuri comes in squares, rectangles, triangles and circles, often stamped with patterns using wooden rings. One Rachan speciality, the rectangular bachuli, is traditionally baked on the Saturday before Lent.

7. Petvraali (Svan Khachapuri)

In Svaneti, high in the Caucasus, khachapuri is made with millet, which gives it a darker colour. Svans also bake versions with potato, green onion or hemp.

8. Khabizgina (Ossetian Khachapuri)

A festive pie filled with potato and Ossetian cheese, common in the Shida Kartli region. The potato balances the richness of the cheese, and khabizgina is served both at celebrations and at memorial meals.

9. Kotori (Tushetian Khachapuri)

The odd one out: Tushetian kotori is the only khachapuri made without cheese. Instead it uses dried curds, wrapped in dough rolled so thin that locals call it "paper-like", and is finished with melted Tushetian butter. It was traditionally baked for the New Year.

10. Ghvezeli (Gurian Khachapuri)

Often called "Gurian khachapuri", ghvezeli from Guria is really a crescent-shaped pie and a Christmas bread, filled with cheese and boiled eggs. Ethnographers believe it was baked in Guria even before the Christian era.

And in the city. Tbilisi has its own modern takes that are not tied to any one region, from khachapuri on a skewer grilled over embers to doughs kneaded with matsoni. Every bakery and family has its favourite.

How to Eat Khachapuri

• Imeruli and Megruli are cut into wedges like a pie and eaten with your hands, ideally while still hot.

• Adjaruli needs a technique: stir the egg and butter into the hot cheese, then tear off pieces of the crust and use them to scoop up the filling.

• Penovani is a snack on the go, best straight from the bakery.

• Share it. A whole khachapuri is meant for the table, alongside salads, pkhali and, of course, khinkali.

  
  

Taste Khachapuri With ORIENTO

The best khachapuri is the one baked in the region it comes from: Imeruli in Kutaisi, Adjaruli in Batumi, Megruli in Zugdidi. On our Georgia tours we stop at local bakeries and family tables, so you can taste the difference for yourself.