A light creamy curd cheese like ricotta, blended with mint and salt, often wrapped in thin sulguni sheets shaped into little sacks. The word means boiled, and it is a Megrelian hallmark dairy product.
Nadugi is a traditional Megrelian dairy product, catalogued by TasteAtlas as a dish of the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti region. The word literally means boiled, referring to how it is made by heating soured milk. The light, creamy curd is blended with mint and salt (and sometimes chili), and is often wrapped in thin sheets of stretched sulguni shaped into little sacks. The mint-and-cheese combination and the sulguni-wrap presentation are Megrelian hallmarks.
Light, fluffy and milky-tangy, like a fresh ricotta but with the bright punch of mint running through. Wrapped in a sulguni sack it has a textural contrast, the soft curd against the slightly chewy cheese skin.
Nadugi is made by heating matsoni (or soured milk) until the curds separate from the whey, then draining the curds to a soft, ricotta-like consistency. The drained curd is lightened further by beating, then seasoned with chopped fresh mint and salt. To serve it in sacks, thin sheets of stretched sulguni are wrapped around spoonfuls of the curd. The beating is what gives nadugi its signature fluffy texture, denser than ricotta but lighter than cheese.
Variations
A spiced version adds chili. Some households serve it plain with mchadi instead of in sacks.
On the Palate
Where Nadugi sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 112 min
Heat 2 litres matsoni (or soured milk) in a pot very gently to about 70C, holding it there until the curds separate from the whey (about 20 minutes); do not boil.
Watch outHeat the matsoni gently to about 70°C and hold it until the curds split cleanly from the whey — let it boil and the curd turns grainy and tough instead of soft and ricotta-like.
- 215 min
Ladle the curds into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and drain 1 hour until soft but not dry.
- 38 min
Beat the drained curd with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.
Watch outBeat the drained curd until it's light and fluffy — this whipping is what gives nadugi its signature airy body, denser than ricotta but lighter than cheese.
- 44 min
Stir in a handful of chopped fresh mint, a pinch of salt and (optional) a pinch of chili.
- 512 min
To serve in sacks, stretch fresh sulguni into thin sheets, cut into squares, and wrap each around a spoonful of nadugi.
- 64 min
Serve cold with mchadi or as part of a supra spread.
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