More beans, more eggplant, more potatoes and more walnuts (of course)

I’m convinced that at some point in the distant past, some wrote a book (in Georgian – one of the oldest living written languages) about the wonders of walnuts, and how to make sure you eat them at every single meal. It must have been a best-seller, because really and truly, walnuts are in everything here.

But enough about walnuts.

Tonight I had another go at Lobio, or red beans, although this time I followed a recipe for a cooked version. This version is a sort of soup/stew/dip, made of onion, garlic, kidney beans, herbs and spices. I used suneli (a special Georgian spice made from the flowers of the fenugreek plant), dried mint, coriander seed, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, fresh coriander and fresh parsley. The recipe said to use raw garlic and onion, but MR is a bit of an alliumphobe, so I used roasted garlic and red onion.

Lobio

It was warm and filling, but to be honest it just didn’t push my buttons like the salad version did. As kidney beans are the main source of vegetarian protein here in Tbilisi, I’ll probably try to make this again, though next time I think I’ll use raw garlic, and add more salt, more clove, and track down some fresh mint and dare I say it… dill.

I used two recipes conflated, which you can find here, and here. They are already vegan, hooray!

The second part of tonight’s menu was stuffed eggplant. The main feature that separated this Georgian versionto all the other kinds of stuffed eggplant was the method of cooking – the eggplant with stuffing got simmered in a skillet for about 45 minutes, instead of being baked.

Stuffed Eggplant

Sadly, this dish was also a little bland to my tastes, and I missed the oily, baked goodness I’m used to. The blandness could be because I only had kinda crappy tomatoes, or because I’m a salt-fiend. In any case if I make this again I will be using a little more salt, and maybe some nooch and lemon juice.

The saviour of the evening was the potatoes with walnuts, which is a very simple dish of boiled chopped potatoes, tossed with walnuts and fresh herbs. The original uses butter, I subbed olive oil. If you’re playing along at home, I would recommend using a butter substitute like vegan margarine for the flavour, although the olive oil was good.

Potatoes with Walnuts

I am a big fan of potato salads without mayo, so this was a winner for me.

On a tangent, I am very happy to say that as Christmas approaches, the shops have more and more “lenten” or “fasting” foods. Today I scored vegan cake slices, which we had for afternoon tea. At one lari a pop (about 70 cents), I’m looking forward to eating lots of these in future.

Georgian Cherry Cake

Georgian Chocolate cake

 

 

 

 

 

Vegan things you can buy in Georgia

While it is true that no Georgian I have met so far has managed to hide the confusion and shock they feel when I say I don’t eat meat OR cheese, there is actually quite a lot of vegan fare available in Tbilisi without any substitutions or changes required.

In fact, a lot of the food available in the supermarket here is so good, its hard to be bothered cooking. Its also very easy to find this food, particularly as my local supermarket labels everything in the deli section in Georgian and English, and I have made myself a handy cheat-sheet for reading the Georgian words for milk, dairy, eggs, advent, lent and fasting (some Georgians give up milk and meat for lent and advent, so there are vego versions of the classics available sometimes).

Here are a few of the delights we’ve been tasting in Georgia so far:

Roasted capsicum wth walnut paste

Eggplants stuffed with walnut paste

Walnut Paste with Beet Leave (left) and Eggplant with Cinnamon (right)

Be aware, there are many kinds of walnut paste dishes. They all taste fabulous, but I don’t recommend the one with the beet leaves – its tastes good, but looks like cat vomit, and feels how I imagine cat vomit would feel, because of the hard, stringy leaves.

Every kind of jam and preserve imaginable. These ones are chilli (wth fenugreek and dill, of course), pomegranat and plum (all local products)

Lobiani, a bean pie, or "Lenten" pie

Bean pie filling - savoury, not sweet

Be careful when buying the bean pies – some of them may have an egg wash. This one doesn’t.

Shotis Puri, a Georgian bread

Fastng Khinkali (this one is mushroom, though the potato one tastes better)

What lunch looks like for vegans in Tbilisi - bread, spreads, jam, tea and varenki (Russian dumplings)

Also, sometimes like this- salad, sauted cabbage, seeds, khinkali, tea and Georgian pear lemonade

Also available at Goodwill (supermarket closest to my place) is pre-made fried potatoes with mushroom, roasted vegetable medley, rice dishes, breads, pastries, dips, salads, red beans, red bean salad, red bean soup, Georgian corn cakes, vegetarian spring rolls-looking things, soy milk, vegan lard, and even vegan (though not fair trade) chocolate.

The far more numerous supermarket chain, Populi, also has bread, frozen vegan khinkali, and a some of the walnut and eggplant dishes, though they don’t have an ingredient list. There are also bakeries selling warm, local bread (vegan!) everywhere, numerous popcorn and doughnut vendors (I’ve been told the doughnuts are ok for fasting, so no animal fat or milk, but they may have egg) and plenty of fruit, veg and all the walnuts you can eat (these guys have a for serious obsession with walnuts).

So, you see its a total walk in the park being vegan in Tbilisi, regardless of the incomprehension of the locals.