On the roads of Georgia: nervous drivers and a delicious khinkali recipe

At the fish farm

Gray streamer ribbon, sharp turns, ups and downs. It is breathtaking, lays ears from pressure drops, but the sensations are indescribable. The roads in Georgia are excellent, which is a sin to hide. Even high in the mountains they are renovated.

On a journey out of town, we are accompanied by mountain ranges shrouded in trees. Rocks and weighty boulders remind of some ancient volcanic eruptions. Without stopping, I take pictures. But the photograph does not reflect all the enthusiasm that envelops me. The distant bluish mountain tops in the clouds are not visible, and certainly the air is not captured in amazing purity. It is breathed easily and freely!

We drive through small villages with improvised markets for fruits and vegetables, haystacks of colorful hay, colorful peasants and children. At times, the trees standing on the sides of the road are intertwined with branches, and we find ourselves in a green living arch.

In a cozy place high in the mountains, at the foot of the Algeti reservoir, there is a fish farm where trout are grown. There are several pools, each one has a fountain from a horizontal wide pipe - it feeds water with oxygen. Landscaping is rich and diverse. There is also a restaurant where you can try freshly caught and cooked fish.

By the way, the trout is very capricious, if, for example, it got off the hook and again dived into the water - it will not survive - its nature is too thin. By the way, she spawns only where she was born, high in the mountains. Swims for procreation long and hard - against the tide. And in the pools, of course, everything is different, here it creates the necessary conditions for growth, and then they rent it to restaurants in Georgia.

We got the fish directly with a net, and we cooked it at home. By the way, Georgians fry it without chopping it in flour, just putting it in a frying pan with hot oil or baking in the oven. And it turns out damn tasty!

Georgian road rules

The drivers are nervous. And maybe temperamental. Or impatient. I didn’t understand. But at the wheel I feel slight stress there. Once I was advised: think two cars ahead. At first I did not understand. It has come with time.

In Russia, the roads are boring. The movement is a single mechanism, clear and coherent. He wanted to readjust or overtake - “blinked” the turn signal - warned. In Tbilisi, the flow of machines is the chaotic movement of molecules. I don’t understand who wants what and where it will explode right now. Moreover, the honk constantly. Drivers are all annoyed: if you do not start with a whistle at a traffic light and go, in their opinion, slowly or move correctly along all traffic signs. Sometimes they loudly hint that you went to another lane and lost yours for unknown reasons.

By the way, no one observes traffic rules. They can let everyone with a minor pass on the main one, they enter the turntable, as it happens. And pedestrians are generally not respected. It struck me that few people drive strictly in lanes in Tbilisi. They go in the center, on the dividing.

In a large car, it is better not to snuggle to the right edge: you are the king of the road - drive proudly. This is approximately how the driver relationships were explained to me.
A woman should not thank anyone for missing - bad taste. I also did not understand the manipulations with outstretched arms from the window, it’s like when we blink the headlights: “drive through”. It looks like this for them: the driver lazily extends his arm bent at the elbow, without being distracted from the steering wheel, road and conversation in the cabin. Then, with dignity and restrained superiority, he makes a wave with his brush. A spectacle worthy of cinema!

The police do not set up an ambush - they move around the city, and basically stop, if you have broken something, then they will rush after you with flashing lights and a nasty siren.
Once on a busy road, near the city station, I saw that two cars stopped in the center in parallel to each other. I got nervous, because they, in fact, blocked the passage. But she pulled herself together, went around, looked at the drivers. It turned out that the two comrades met and decided to just chat. So, in the middle of the road, on iron horses. And no one was indignant, not surprised, no one even signaled! A common thing: well, they desperately need to talk.

Conclusion: skillful Georgian riders have their own rules on the roads.

City of love

Georgia, like any country, is divided into regions, in each of which different ethnic groups of Georgians live. They have some differences in traditions, national clothes, culture, cooking, behavior. And each group is famous for something. For example, Kakhetians live in eastern Georgia, they are proud of their vineyards and winemaking.

Here grows the ancient Georgian grape variety - saperavi, from which amazing red wine is made. By the way, in the fall, all of Georgia buys Kakheti grapes, the wine from it turns out to be especially tasty.

In Kakheti, there is an incredibly beautiful place - Alazani Valley. Guaranteed, for expansive tourists a surge of positive emotions there are ten on a ten-point scale. Fabulous place. Widely spread the green kingdom of moderation, harmony and tranquility. Milky clouds nodded on the ridge. The air is devoid of the poison of the modern world. The omnipresent sun gives joy and strength.

If you look from the road, then from below we are waving cheerful tiled roofs of some village. And it rises above the valley City of love - Sighnaghi. He amazes with his calm. “He who understands life is in no hurry,” as if it were the motto of the locals.

Sighnaghi is a toy city guarded by an ancient fortress. Here, narrow cobblestone streets and low picture houses, you can get to the balconies of the second floors of some buildings with your hands.

And all, of course, is in bloom. Slightly reminiscent of the enchanted garden in which Gerda lingered. Time makes no sense here. I want to wander, reflect and ... fall in love. Completely forgot! In the city of love, the Wedding Palace is open around the clock. Nearby is an ancient church, where you can immediately get married.

For us Russians who are familiar with everyday stress, Sighnaghi looks like a resort area, a kind of reserve.

Lovers slowly walk in pairs, old women knit leggings, bags, hats right at their homes and immediately sell them. Invitingly sipping a barbecue from cafes, empty hotels with open doors are asked to stop and spend the night there. Just like from the classics: “Stop, a moment!”

Zion Reservoir

In my opinion, everything large-scale, grandiose and useful was built in Georgia during the time of socialism. These are not empty words. Abandoned sanatoriums, unfinished bridges, dead plants - this is a deplorable reminder of the past prosperity.

But there are also current Soviet projects: for example, gorgeous dams and reservoirs. On the way to one such reservoir, I, a resident of the plateau, first saw signs warning of sharp ascents and steep descents. Serpentine! The head was spinning from turns, stupefied with wonderful purity air. Flickered fields, mountains and villages.

On the way we met a beech forest. The trees are so great, powerful, that you feel like an ant. Clutching the trunk of an ancient eastern beech (and they have been living for more than 400 years) is simply unrealistic, although I tried.

And here is the village of Sioni, it arose in 1951 in connection with the construction of the Zion reservoir. The reservoir is striking in its size.

They say that they built the hydroelectric power station, flooding the villages with the church. And now, when the water drops, supposedly someone sees the flickering cross of the bell tower. This place is only seventy km from Tbilisi. There used to be camp sites, over time they emaciated and ordered a long life. Now it’s better to rest here for a day, or rent rooms in the private sector.

I was surprised by the very principle of building a reservoir.If you go down from the side of the village, then the bottom there resembles a giant concrete inverted cone.

In June, the water level is higher, in August we had to significantly sink to get to it. Due to the unusual geometric shape of the reservoir, we were sunbathing almost standing, although we were lying. And they descended quickly into the water - urged on a steep descent. There are no bourgeois entertainments there. At the disposal of vacationers only a boat and a couple of old catamarans, who remembered the best days.

But the water! And the landscape! Such places are like precious stones in the casket of the Earth. Having bought up and sunbathed, we went down to the village hungry. It’s good that everywhere in Georgia you can eat, have a meal, starve a worm or, as the Georgians say, have a tasty meal. In a small cozy roadside cafe, khinkali was prepared with us.

Huge, juicy, hot, with the smell of herbs. Only for their sake can you love Georgia. It is said that those Georgians who climbed high in the mountains for the winter came up with khinkali. There they grazed flocks of sheep and for several months were cut off from the outside world. Therefore, they stocked up food. By the way, the khinkali was stored right in the snow, this is a kind of frozen blank. The broth, which is miraculously preserved in the dough, is the most important difference from our dumplings. By the way, khinkali tastes different in different places. Somewhere in the dough they add an egg for stickiness, somewhere a little more herbs and pepper. But in any case, the khinkali are divine. My girlfriend is happy to give this recipe.

Khinkali recipe from Alena Vatiashvili

To prepare the test, we need:

• 1 kg of premium flour;
• 0.5 l of water;
• 1 tbsp. l salt.

For minced meat:

• 1 kg of meat (beef and pork in equal proportions, pork with fat);
• 3 onions;
• parsley, cilantro, oregano;
• bitter red pepper (to taste);
• salt.

First we make the dough. We dissolve salt in warm water. Sift flour into bulk dishes.

We make a deepening and pour water and an egg there.

Knead the dough, like dumplings.

We put it in the refrigerator for three hours, and even better at night.

Now let's get the stuffing done.

Scroll pork, beef, onions and herbs.

Mix well.

Separately, heat 250 g of water, salt and pour into the meat. Stuffing should resemble thick sour cream in consistency. Now we return to the test, roll it into a 2 cm thick circle. Press the circles with a glass of glass.

Roll each extruded circle to 3 mm. Now a little trick: so that the juice does not flow out of the minced meat during the modeling, we put a circle of dough into a jam outlet. In the middle we put a dessert spoon of minced meat and pinch the edges in a circle.

Next, in a large pan, boil water, salt and carefully lay the khinkali.

Khinkali should not be crowded, otherwise they will stick to each other or burst. In a five-liter pan, approximately 25 pieces are placed.

We cook 13 minutes from the moment of boiling, occasionally stirring with a slotted spoon. Then gently spread on a large flat dish and serve.

- Gemrielad is mivert! - Enjoy your meal!