Snowblisoba & Tbilisi's deteriorating grandeur

Today, for the first time this winter, I woke up to find our courtyard covered under a tiny layer of snow. By the time I got out of our house, Rustaveli and the streets of Mtatsminda had turned into one big slippery slush fest and my chances of photographing snowy Tbilisi in its full winter glory had gone down the drain. Instead, I decided to wander down the streets of one of my favorite neighborhoods Mtatsminda.

Detail from the entrance hall of a building on Machabeli
(thank the stars its under renovation)

A long time ago, before Communism deemed Art Nouveau a bourgeoisie hobby,  artists and wealthy Tbilisians lived in the beautifully designed an gorgeously ornamented apartments of Mtatsminda. Unfortunately, most of these buildings suffered under the Soviet policy of partitioning wealthy mansions into commie-sized apartments, setting in motion a process of decay that went into full swing during the chaos of the  90s, with its general lack of economic and social stability.

Hallway on Tabidze street. The sign on the left shows the 20 families
who used to live here during Soviet times

Hiding beneath a layer of crumbling plaster, rotting wood and an abundance of cracks, you can easily recognize the former grandeur.  I find the worn out look of these buildings sometimes charming and even typical of Tbilisi.  Beyond my own naivite however, it is clear that if nothing will be done soon some of these beautiful places will rot away completely. If only the government would spend half of what its spending on buildings like this one, on restoring more of Tbilisi's historic heart...

"E. Ter-Akopova". Hallway on Tabidze street.

A recently published book called "Tbilisi Entrance Halls" inspired me to take these pictures and to have a closer look at what's behind Tbilisi's typical entrance doors.  I am trying to map some of Tbilisi's exceptionally beautiful or interesting buildings, entrance halls, monuments, and courtyards. There is much more to see than the recently renovated Kala, and the more foreign visitors and Tbilisians are reminded of these hidden places, the less likely they will be forgotten. However great it is to stumble upon these places accidentally, I could use your help in finding more special places! Please leave a comment or write me a message if you want to help out or get involved. 

Snowy Tabidze

Georgian Khacho Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. After several disappointing and expensive cheesecake encounters in Tbilisi (Batonebi; too dry, PurPur; too much lime, Prosperos; again dry and bland, entree; small and mediocre) I decided to exploit the opportunity of having a gas oven and make my own. If money is not an issue, you could of course get some actual creamcheese and graham crackers at the Populi or Goodwill, and use a simple recipe like this one: http://jennybakes.blogspot.com/2009/04/daring-bakers-challenge-april-2009.html.

Khacho Cheesecake :)

To me it made more sense however, to take advantage of the  availability of home made Georgian style dairy products. Thus, I swung by my local cheeselady and asked for some ხაჭო/khacho (Similar to Cottage and ricotta cheese, also known as Russian tvorog.) 

The result was one very tasty and handsome cheesecake! This is an easy recipe and all you need is a springform (available at Danish House) and a sieve or cheesecloth (My Georgian neighbour told me to ask for it at the pharmacy) for straining the cottage cheese.

Ingredients for a large cheesecake (all at room temperature!!)
750g Khacho (Homemade, not the mass produced packaged kind they sell at the shops)
6 Eggs
130g fine sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 tbsp Semolina (ask for 'mannaya krupa' манная крупа)

Optional
1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
Frozen strawberries/raspberries/forest fruits are available at goodwill

For the Crust 
180g cookies (any kind you like)
110g butter

Optional
1 tsp cinnamon (დარიჩინის Darichinis)
add a bit of sugar

Fresh out of the oven

Instructions 

For the crust:
1: Use butter to grease the springform 
2: Break up/crush the cookies into tiny crummy pieces
3: Melt the butter in a pan
4: Mix butter and cookies to form a stickyish mass (if not sticky enough, add some more melted butter)
4: Use a spoon to firmly press the cookies to the bottom of your springform

For the batter:

1: In order to take out lumps, strain your Khacho by pressing it trough a sieve or cheesecloth 
2: Separate the eggs
3: Beat the egg yolks with sugar and semolina until smooth
4: Add the lime juice to the egg yolk mixture
5: Beat the egg whites until  stiff, firm peaks have formed
6: Gently, with a metal spoon, fold in the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture
7: Poor the batter into the springform

Place your cheesecake into the oven and bake at 175C for about 35 minutes (In order for it to be creamy and smooth, you want the outsides to be firm but the middle to be a little jiggly). Use a knife to test if the cheesecake is baked all the way trough. If you use a gas oven like I did, make sure that you place a heavy tin under the cheesecake to prevent it from burning on the bottom. Since temperature is harder to control, you should check up on your cheesecake more often :)