Dizzy in Dashbashi

Georgia Diary - 3

Dizzy in Dashbashi

L: Gorge in Dashbashi canyon R: View through glass floor of the bridge

Last Saturday I had shared with you the details about our trip to Gudauri and Kazbegi. We decided to keep the next day’s outing short so that we had more time to rest our tired limbs and sort out the memories.

So, our destination was Dashbashi Canyon (Tsalka Municipality), also called Tsalka Canyon, a deep mountain gorge about 100 kms from Tbilisi.

We drove for two hours through mountainous roads and green valleys, dotted with grazing sheep and cows. Shepherds had erected small temporary tarpaulin shelters on the grassy land, to rest. Small shops in villages on the way had placards announcing ‘Halal’ meat. Preparing for winter, farmers had cut the grass and bales of hay lay in the sunlight to dry or were being loaded into trucks.

Bottom L: Bales of hay R: The blue on the hay is because the photo was taken through the windshield 

As we had done the previous day, we feasted our eyes on apple, fig, plum, peach, pomegranate trees and grape vines laden with colourful fruit growing in small villages or orchards. A cool breeze, quiet lush green mountains and meadows, the atmosphere was so peaceful that I felt like it was feeding my heart and soul.

We crossed Tsalka village to stop at the famous Diamond Bridge complex.  

We bought our tickets and walked a few metres reaching the largest and tallest hanging structure in the world, a 240-meter-long glass and wood bridge.

It is not your regular bridge. In the middle of the gorge, 280 meters above the ground level, there is an all-glass cafe constructed in the shape of a diamond.

As soon as I stepped on to the bridge, I forgot about the mesmerizing scene below and around. The wooden planks seemed safe but every time a glass stretch came, I turned into a foolish child taking each step with extra caution.

The pit in my stomach was filled with fear and nausea - what if the glass panel broke and I was the last person to walk it. I forgot that the bridge, a proof of Georgian-Israeli engineering brilliance, was safe and hundreds of people had walked across it in all weather conditions, since it was opened in 2022. Don’t laugh, some others too seem to be going through the same emotions.     

If you think Mani was supportive, crush those thoughts. Instead, grinning, he pointed to the pair of men, zip-cycling across the canyon, and said, “You like cycling, you should try that.” I am only thankful the scene has not haunted me in my nightmares.

Top Photo -Tripadvisor Bottom photo: Wion TV

The lowest floor of the cafe has glass floor and walls. You can have a coffee and drink in the heart-stopping panoramic view of the gorge and the surroundings. Soak in your memory the scene, covered in vegetation which stays green and beautiful whole year long, the gorge, and the water falls looking like threads of rushing water from that distance.

Trust me, it was with a sense of relief that I came back to the hard ground.

Some people could be seen walking the narrow road in the gorge below, leading to a perennial waterfall. It is a nearly one and a half hours long hike/walk. You can also rent a car. But only one carrying about eight passengers, can go on that narrow road at a time; you have to wait for it to come back. Thus, the waiting time is nearly 45 minutes. The only alternative left for us was to turn around and drive back to Tbilisi, enjoying the blessings of nature on that beautiful drive.

Food

A large percentage of Indians when they go abroad, have a tough time with food. They are either vegetarians or have a limited choice when it comes to eating non-vegetarian food. They end up looking for Indian restaurants for sustenance, even though more often than not, the food served there is nothing like what we have here.

But not so in Georgia. It seemed to me that Georgia is basically a vegetarian country. There is a large variety of familiar vegetables including eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, cucumbers, capsicums, French beans, cabbage, onions, mint, beetroot, mushrooms, spinach, coriander besides of course, onions and garlic, available and you have an equally long list of luscious fruit to choose from. Georgians also use a lot of walnut in cooking for sauce, gravy, dips and in salads and their own spice mixes.

Russian poet Alexander Pushkin had commented ‘every Georgian dish is a poem.’ See if you like the idea of knowing of some of the dishes we tried and enjoyed during our stay.

Khachapuri is a cheese stuffed tandoori roti (roti baked in oven).

Crispy lavash bread and cheese preparation, so soft that it melts in the mouth, is called sinori.

Ajapsandali is something between baingan tamatar (tomato & eggplant) and baingan bharta (spiced roasted smoky mashed eggplant) made in most Indian households. Enjoy the eggplants with capsicums (green peppers), tomato and coriander.

Lobio or red kidney beans (rajma) with walnuts and tomatoes tasted exactly like in any Indian household. Then there was lobiani, a roti stuffed with red bean paste and baked. Lobiani stuffed with ham and beans, is also there to ask for.

You can ask for your choice of filling from among chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, mushrooms for Khinkali, rather large stuffed soupy dumplings. You pick one up with hand or by sticking your fork into it, take a bite, suck in the soup and then eat the rest. They are bigger and thicker than Asian momos or dim sums and have heavier topknots, and once you have tried them, you don’t want to stop.

Kharcho is a chicken/beef curry spiced with the Georgian five-spice blend, cooked with walnuts and plums. The tender meat falls off the bones. It was served to us with ghomi, a porridge of cornmeal although ghomi is also served with cheese.

Schekmeruli is a hearty dish of fried chicken marinated in salt, pepper, minced garlic, and milk. The chicken gets so tender and succulent, you’d forget malai tikka kebab.

Gozinaki made with peanut, sunflower or sesame is like our own chikki/gazak.

My favourite accompaniment was simple tomato salad-chopped large, red, sweet, juicy tomatoes mixed with coriander and a touch of spice.

Unless you are the extreme sort, who has problem with vegetarian and non-vegetarian food being cooked in the same kitchen, you can do without your parathas, theplas, poori etc. and will enjoy the food in Georgia.

Wine

Surprisingly, Georgia is among the oldest wine-producing countries, and winemaking started here several centuries ago. The recipes and methods have been passed down for generations. A large variety of red, rose, white, amber, sweet, semi-sweet, and sparkling wines are made commercially in modern wineries, in small batches by small farmers, monks in monasteries or even in homes.

The climate - sunny and warm summers, frost-free winters and mineral rich water from springs, provide the ideal conditions for cultivation of grapes for wine-making.

Different shades of red, white and amber wines using from among nearly 500 varieties of grapes, with varied levels of acidity and alcohol, blended with flavours of pomegranate, pear, apricot, green tea, black cherry, raspberry, spices, spoil a connoisseur for choice from among the red Akhasheni, red semi-sweet Kindzmarauli, straw-coloured Tsinandali and several more I do not remember the names of.

Wine-lovers across the globe are said to look for dry red Saperavi, being produced in Georgia since 1886 while Kisi has a spot among the top five Georgian wines. The sommelier at a restaurant told us that Kisi with flavours of ripe fruit, is made from Kisi grapes grown in Kakheti region and aged with the skin on.

Wines made at home are stored in earthenware jugs called kvevri. These are buried for the juice to ferment and wine-tastings are occasions for celebration. 

As I recall all these, there spring so many beautiful images of great Georgian food and wine in my mind that I can feel their taste. I only hope the dull, bland dal-chawal I have cooked, would now taste better than it usually does.

Photo L: delicious.com R: Olive Magazine

                                                                                                      - Anupama S Mani