Name: Meskhetian Kada
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 600 g all-purpose wheat flour, plus a little for rolling; 330 ml lukewarm water; 12 g fine salt; 150 g rendered pork fat, melted and cooled until fluid but not hot; 90 g all-purpose wheat flour; 80 g clarified butter (erbo/ghee); 3 g fine salt; 1 large egg (about 50 g), beaten; 30 g matsoni or plain unsweetened yogurt, stirred into the egg

A stack of layered savory Meskhetian kada, with one cut open to show its salted flour-and-erbo filling.

Yield8 pastries, about 150–170 g each before baking

Prep60 minutes

Cook35 minutes

Passive1 hour 45 minutes

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The dish

About Meskhetian Kada

ქადა მესხური · 8 pastries · Moderate · 3 h 20 min

Meskhetian kada is a festive pastry associated with Meskheti in Samtskhe-Javakheti. Accounts describe a firm, unleavened dough rolled very thin, coated with cooled pork fat, stretched and folded into layers. Families make the filling salty, sweet, or leave it out; this recipe follows one documented savory home version.

The filling is a loose mixture of flour cooked gently with clarified butter (erbo) and salt. It should remain crumbly rather than turn into a paste. The layered dough is wrapped around the filling, flattened into a compact pastry, glazed with egg and matsoni, then baked. Other households use sweet fillings or yeast-raised dough, so this is not presented as a single canonical formula.

Serve the pastries warm as a substantial snack or alongside a meal. Their surface should be golden and crisp, while the inside shows distinct dough layers and a soft, savory filling. The method makes eight individual pastries so they bake evenly on a preheated heavy tray or stone.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Meskhetian Kada: Layered Savory Georgian Pastries

Dough

600 gall-purpose wheat flour, plus a little for rolling
330 mllukewarm water
12 gfine salt

Lamination

150 grendered pork fat, melted and cooled until fluid but not hot

Filling

90 gall-purpose wheat flour
80 gclarified butter (erbo/ghee)
3 gfine salt

Glaze

1large egg (about 50 g), beaten
30 gmatsoni or plain unsweetened yogurt, stirred into the egg

Method

Mix and rest the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the lukewarm water gradually, mixing until no dry flour remains. Knead for 8–10 minutes until firm and smooth. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Make the filling. Warm the clarified butter in a small skillet over low heat. Stir in the 90 g flour and 3 g salt. Cook gently for 4–6 minutes, stirring, until the raw-flour smell fades and the mixture looks like loose crumbs. Do not brown it. Transfer to a plate and cool.
Divide and rest. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 118 g each. Shape into balls, cover, and rest for 15 minutes.
Layer the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece as thinly as you can. Brush with some cooled pork fat. Gently stretch the dough outward from the edges, then fold opposite sides inward and fold crosswise into a compact parcel. Cover while you repeat with the remaining pieces. Rest the parcels for 60 minutes.
Fill and shape. Heat the oven to 220°C conventional, with a heavy baking sheet or stone inside. Flatten one parcel into a small square or round. Place one eighth of the cooled filling in the centre, gather the edges over it, and pinch closed. Turn seam-side down and gently flatten to about 1.5–2 cm thick. Repeat. Whisk the egg with the matsoni and brush over the tops.
Bake. Arrange the pastries on parchment and transfer them to the hot baking surface. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until well risen in layers and golden. Check the centre of a thick pastry with a thermometer; because the glaze contains egg, it must reach 71°C. Bake longer if needed. Rest briefly on a wire rack.

Excerpt

These Meskhetian kada are made from firm unleavened dough, layered with pork fat, filled with salted flour and clarified butter, and baked until crisp and golden.

Practical guidance

Practical notes

Keep the pork fat cool enough to stay fluid but not so warm that it melts into the dough. If the dough resists stretching, cover it and let it relax for a few minutes. The flour-and-erbo filling should be cool before shaping, so it does not soften the dough layers. Baking time varies with pastry size and oven performance.

The stated times include 30 minutes for the first dough rest, 15 minutes after dividing, and 60 minutes for the folded parcels. The yield is eight pastries. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4°C and use within 3–4 days, or freeze. Reheat until steaming hot. This recipe is for baked pastries, not room-temperature storage.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition

Approximate values per pastry; yield is 8.

Energy: 584 kcal
Fat: 30.3 g
Saturated fat: 13.8 g
Carbohydrate: 66.0 g
Fibre: 2.3 g
Protein: 9.8 g
Sodium: 749 mg

Values are calculated from standard food-composition data proxies for all-purpose flour, lard, ghee, whole egg, and plain whole-milk yogurt, with sodium from added salt included. Matsoni is represented by plain yogurt; rendered fat and dairy labels vary, so the estimate needs product-label review.

Allergen and safety

Contains wheat/gluten, milk, and egg. Check labels for cross-contact statements. Keep the egg glaze refrigerated until use, wash hands and utensils after handling raw egg, and bake the centre of a thick pastry to at least 71°C. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4°C; reheat to 74°C.

Serve and store

Serve warm, when the layered crust is crisp and the salted filling is fragrant.
Cool leftovers promptly; refrigerate for 3–4 days or freeze, then reheat until steaming hot.