A Culinary April

April started in good company around a great supra we hosted in our flat on the fifth day of the month. It’s a chance to spend time with friends, to laugh, but above all to enjoy some great food.

In fact, this month has been very rewarding for my little recipe book — I’ve already mentioned my newfound passion for cooking since I’ve been here. So you can imagine what a great opportunity a supra is for cooking traditional Georgian dishes.

Now that I’ve mastered lobiani (and the ten hours of patience it takes to rehydrate the beans), I’ve decided to make some nigvziani badrijani (eggplant with walnut filling).

Nothing could be simpler: you just have to find some good eggplants (why do we call this poor vegetable like this by the way?), cut them into thin slices, and bake them with some oil.

The filling is made from grilled and crushed walnuts, garlic, vinegar, and khmeli suneli (Georgian spices).

It is delicious!

After that, and since my boyfriend was still there, I decided to let him try some homemade Moroccan couscous.

It has to be one of my favorite dishes in the world; we eat a lot of it in France thanks to the large population of Moroccan people in the south. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved it, and I always hoped really hard whenever I went to visit my best friend Jian that her mom would make some for us.

My vegan recipe takes forever to make, but I assure you it’s worth it — even though it takes fifteen hours just to soak and cook the chickpeas…

It’s also quite an adventure to get all the ingredients I need at the bazar: couscous, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, onions, raisins, and a handful of spices.

I love dishes that take a long time to make because I can spend hours in the kitchen/dining room. It’s the epicenter of the apartment — everyone who’s in the mood to socialize hangs out there, cooks, has coffee, or reads a book.

My English has greatly improved since I’ve been living here, and I honestly think it’s mostly due to the hours I’ve spent in this kitchen surrounded by all kinds of conversations. I like having life around me; it’s soothing to listen to others talk about their days, their stories, their frustrations or their passions.

But let’s get back to the main point. The vegetables need to simmer for a good hour with caramelized onions, tomato paste, and a generous helping of spices (turmeric, ras el hanout, ginger, parsley, cilantro, salt, and pepper).

But my favorite part is the caramelized onions. They’re the best! Just slice one or two onions thinly (there’s no limit to how much you can indulge), toss them into a pan with plenty of sugar, raisins, and cinnamon.

Then cook the couscous with a generous amount of cumin and salt. It’s really a dish that’s all about generosity.

And that it ! You'll see it's amazing.

I hope this has made you want to cook because, well, it’s the best activity I’ve discovered in Georgia. But mostly because you absolutely have to make couscous ! It’s the best dish ever. Don’t forget to invite me over, by the way — why do you think I gave you a recipe with astronomical quantities? It’s a dish meant to be shared.

All this to say that cooking is an incredible vehicle for cultural exchange. We all spend hours in the kitchen at the apartment chatting, giving each other advice, discussing our methods — when to add salt, what to do about patriarchy, how to cook rice, the role of Europe, how to make vegan yogurt, or international voluntaring...

Just cook together — that’s the advice I’ll give you.

And for more amazing recipes, Annii will soon be making a vegan recipe book so don't forget to get it !