Round flatbread stuffed with mashed kidney beans, onion, and coriander — Imereti's vegetarian answer to khachapuri.
Lobiani uses the same yeasted dough as khachapuri but swaps cheese for spiced mashed beans — the Imeretian Orthodox Lenten alternative. Eaten any time of year by anyone, but most associated with Barbaroba (St. Barbara's Day, December 17), and eaten during the 40-day Lenten fasts before Easter and Christmas. Hearty, smoky-spiced, holds up cold.
Tear into a wedge and the bread is soft inside, dense with refried red beans seasoned with coriander, onion, and just enough chili to register. Less spectacular than khachapuri, more satisfying after a working morning.
Refried beans bind into a paste because the second cooking ruptures bean cell walls, releasing starch that acts as glue. This is why the filling stays in place when the bread is sliced — no leakage, no soggy crust.
Variations
Racha province makes a smokier lobiani with cured pork (ghoml) folded into the bean filling — the mountain provinces add fat where the lowlands keep it leaner.
On the Palate
Where Lobiani sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
5 steps · 1 hour 24 min active + 36 min waiting
- 124 min
Dough: 500g flour + 7g yeast + 10g salt + 280ml warm water + 3 tbsp oil. Knead 8 min; rise 90 min.
- 224 min
Filling: simmer 300g dried kidney beans 90 min until soft; drain, mash.
Watch outSimmer the beans until they crush to a smooth paste under a fork — any firm centers left and the filling won't bind and will leak when sliced.
- 324 min
Sauté 1 chopped onion in 3 tbsp oil until softened. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp coriander, ½ tsp paprika, salt, pepper. Mix with mashed beans; cool.
- 424 min
Divide dough in 4. Roll each to 22cm disc. Place ¼ filling on each; gather edges to enclose, flip seam-down, press to 20cm.
Watch outPinch the gathered edges shut tight and flip seam-down — a loose seal bursts open and spills filling in the oven.
- 524 min
Bake at 220°C for 15 min until golden. Brush with melted butter to serve.
Watch outBake until the crust is deep golden all over — pale patches mean the bottom's still doughy under the filling.
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