Svanetia is located in the north of Georgia. The Russian border is not far away. The region was difficult to access until a few years ago. Four- and five-thousand-metre-high mountains of the Great Caucasus dominate the landscape. Characteristic of many mountain villages are their stone medieval defence towers. In case of danger, people and animals retreated there. Natural disasters and enemies could not harm them. The region lives from livestock and dairy farming. Potatoes and fruit are also on the menu. Especially popular are 'Georgian ketchup' cooked from plums, sulguni cheese and stuffed dumplings. Swanetian salt, Svanuri marili, seasons many dishes.
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Like many other inhabitants in Tsvirmi, the Tamliani family lives as self-supporters. The village lies at an altitude of almost 2000 metres. At the end of a long summer, Archil Tamliani harvests the potatoes together with his father and his brother Lascha. The potatoes are an important source of livelihood. Johnny and Archil sell most of it or trade it for flour. The Tamlianis still do everything by hand, they can't afford machines, they don't have the money for that. Instead of a combine harvester, they scythe their pastures, and with a team of oxen and a wooden sledge they bring the hay into the barn.
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Swanetian cuisine is hearty and unthinkable without cheese. Khachapuri filled with Sulguni cheese is a daily must. Kubdari with chunks of beef and the spicy plum sauce tkhemali is delicious - it is the Swan dish par excellence. Lilly Tamliani and her daughter-in-law Khatia are responsible for cooking in the house. They prepare the dishes on a simple wood-burning stove. Twice a week, Lilly makes sulguni cheese. It has a similar consistency to mozzarella. She makes it from the milk of her six cows, which she still milks in the traditional way.
Lilly also prepares Swanetian salt, which she uses to season the food. The basis for the Svanuri marili is garlic, coriander, dill, paprika and the 'foreign spice' - pimento. Lily gathers most of the herbs herself not far from the house or grows them in her garden. She is happy to give information about the ingredients of Svanuri marili, but not about the respective quantities. That remains her secret.
Despite material hardship, people in Svanetia always celebrate opulent meals - supra is a feast in the midst of everyday life. The table is overloaded with all kinds of food and drink. But there is more to it than just satisfying hunger and thirst. The ancestors and the living are remembered, and the community is sworn in. Johnny asks for blessings for family and friends, for all who attend Supra. He asks for a healthy life and for peace in the world - and then he raises his glass. Supra - which translates as "To the table ..." - begins.
At our Neighbour's Table - Svaneti | Season 2019 - Episode 239
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