Ketsi
A ketsi is a Georgian cooking pan traditionally used over hearth embers. Sources document clay pans in Imereti and a Gurian maker of stone or clay examples; they do not describe one standardized design.
Modern method
Gunda's pan-fried Imeretian khachapuri
Imeruli khachapuri · Imeretian khachapuri · Khachapuri
Closed round cheese breads made with sour-cream dough and cooked in a frying pan. This named Gunda version has no added yeast or proofing stage.
One round form within a larger family
Imeretian khachapuri encloses cheese in a round bread. It differs from the open Adjarian boat and the cheese-topped Megrelian form. This sour-cream dough method should remain separate from yeast-raised Imeruli formulas.
The named cheese blend is Imeruli and Sulguni. A documented alternative replaces the entire 800 g filling with 550 g feta and 250 g mozzarella; it is a replacement blend, not an addition.
Sources for this section
History
Gunda's named contemporary pan-fried Imeretian formula, published by Georgia Travel in Jennifer Hattam's article dated 2 March 2023. It is not a reconstruction of an earliest khachapuri.
Ingredients
Yield 4 filled breads · Scaling: source batch only
Strong white bread flourDough.
400 g
Whole-wheat flourDough.
50 g
Sour creamDough.
350 g
Whole milkDough.
50 g
Caster sugarDough.
5 g
SaltAdded during kneading; specified in method rather than ingredient list.
10 g
Imeruli cheeseGrated; filling.
600 g
Sulguni cheeseGrated; filling.
200 g
ButterFor serving; amount unspecified.
Amount not stated
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour
Raw grain flour can carry harmful bacteria.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough. Keep flour away from ready-to-eat foods and clean hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.
Control sourceBrowned surfaces are not proof of safety; three minutes per face is the household recipe instruction, not a validated internal-temperature endpoint. No validated storage limit is supplied.
- Combine flours, sour cream, milk and sugar in a bowl. Knead on a floured surface for about 4 minutes, until starting to stick. Add salt and knead another 7 minutes.
- Divide the dough into four portions of 200 g each as specified by the source, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The listed dough ingredients, including salt, total 865 g; four 200 g portions account for 800 g. The source does not explain the 65 g difference.
- Mix cheeses and divide into four 200 g portions.
- Roll each dough portion to a 30 cm circle. Place cheese centrally, gather the dough over it in folds and pinch closed. Roll the filled round back to the same diameter.
- Heat a 32 cm frying pan over medium-high heat. When moderately hot, cook each bread for about 3 minutes per side until browned.
- Repeat for all four breads and serve warm with butter.
Conditions
Yield4 filled breads
Places
Imereti
Documented preparation · Region evidenceRegional bread identity.
Tbilisi
Modern adaptation · Locality evidenceGunda restaurant's named modern formula; not a birthplace.
Related
Equipment
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Sources
Georgia Travel / Georgian National Tourism AdministrationRecipe · Geography
Rediscovering Khachapuri, Georgia's must-try classicGunda formula, substitution blend, kneading, chilled rest, filling, pan dimensions and cooking; dough portion discrepancy retained.
Cited in: One round form within a larger family
Georgia TravelIdentity · Geography
Imeretian KhachapuriImeretian closed-round identity and distinction from other regional forms.
Cited in: One round form within a larger family
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour hazards and handling.