Chakhrakina

Imeretian·Medium·50 min

A round Imeretian savory pie filled with red beet greens, spinach and Imeretian cheese in a yeast or kefir dough. The beet greens give it an earthy note and a reddish tint that distinguishes it from other khachapuri.

Chakhrakina is a distinctly Imeretian savory pie, filled with red beet greens (charkhali), spinach and Imeretian cheese. Multiple Georgian-language recipe sources and Sofiko's Kitchen describe it as filled specifically with beet greens and Imeruli cheese. An Ossetian beet-leaf khachapuri (chakhragina) exists as a relative, but the Imeretian version pairs beet greens with local Imeruli cheese. The reddish tint from the beet greens is the visual signature.

A golden crust enclosing a deep green-and-rose filling of wilted beet greens and melted Imeretian cheese, the greens giving an earthy sweetness, the cheese a tangy pull. Eaten warm, it is savoury, slightly sweet and faintly mineral.

The beet greens and spinach are wilted, squeezed very dry, and chopped, then mixed with crumbled Imeretian cheese so the filling holds together but stays green-flecked. The dough is yeasted or kefir-based, rolled into a round, the filling piled on one half, the other half folded over and sealed, then baked. The moisture must be squeezed out of the greens thoroughly or the pie goes soggy.

Variations

A richer version adds a little sulguni to the cheese. Some cooks add chopped walnuts.

On the Palate

Where Chakhrakina sits in the Georgian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

How it's made

6 steps · 50 min

1
15 min
Make a dough of 500g flour, 200ml warm milk, 1 egg, 30g butter, 1 tsp yeast and 1 tsp salt; rise 1 hour.
2
8 min
Wilt 300g beet greens and 200g spinach in a pan; cool, squeeze very dry, and chop.
Watch out
Wilt the greens, then squeeze them bone-dry before mixing — any water left and the pie steams soggy from the inside instead of baking through.
3
6 min
Mix the greens with 300g crumbled Imeretian cheese, 1 chopped spring onion and pepper.
4
6 min
Roll the dough into a round, pile the filling on one half, fold the other half over, crimp the edge.
Watch out
Mix the squeezed greens with the cheese so the filling just holds together, green-flecked — over-wet or over-mashed and it slumps out the seam.
5
12 min
Bake at 200C for 25-30 minutes until golden.
6
4 min
Rest 10 minutes, slice into wedges, and serve warm.

Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed

These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.

Baking Sheet

Flat rectangular metal pan (sheet pan, half-sheet, quarter-sheet), 33×23 cm to 45×33 cm, with a low rim. The flat surface gives even heat for cookies, biscuits, roasted vegetables, sheet-pan dinners. Heavy aluminum sheets conduct heat fastest; non-stick coatings make cleanup easier but can warp over 200°C; rimmed half-sheet is the modern American restaurant standard.

Techniques

Blanching Baking