Name: Rachan Khavitsi (clarified-butter sediment porridge)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 500 g unsalted butter, to clarify; reserve about 45 g of the pale peri-and-erbo mixture, including roughly 15 g clarified butter for this dish. Save the remaining erbo for another use; 50 g white bread flour; 2 g fine salt, or to taste

A shallow wooden bowl of hot Rachan khavitsi with torn bread on a simple mountain-style table.

Yield4 small side portions

Active preparationabout 5 minutes

Cookingabout 30 minutes, including gentle butter clarification

Passive timenone

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The dish

About Rachan Khavitsi (clarified-butter sediment porridge)

### ხავიწი რაჭული

Rachan khavitsi is a rich, simple dish from mountainous Racha, built around peri: the pale milk-solid sediment left after butter is clarified into erbo (Georgian clarified butter). Bread flour is stirred into the sediment with a little of the clarified butter and cooked slowly until thick. It is eaten piping hot with bread.

Khavitsi names several Georgian regional dishes, but their recipes are not interchangeable. This measured home version follows the Rachan peri-and-flour branch. This measured rendition uses only the Rachan peri-and-flour branch; cornmeal, potato and stretchy cheese belong to other formulations and are not included. Clarifying 500 g butter makes more erbo than this dish needs; only about 45 g of peri and accompanying clarified butter is used here, while the surplus erbo is saved for another use.

The method is straightforward, but low heat matters: the flour needs time to cook while the milk solids remain pale rather than scorching. Serve the finished khavitsi hot in small portions with bread on the side; bread is not included in the yield or nutrition estimate.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Rachan Khavitsi (clarified-butter sediment porridge)

Peri and erbo

500 gunsalted butter, to clarify; reserve about 45 g of the pale peri-and-erbo mixture, including roughly 15 g clarified butter for this dish. Save the remaining erbo for another use

Flour base

50 gwhite bread flour

Seasoning

2 gfine salt, or to taste

Method

Clarify the butter. Melt the butter gently in a heavy saucepan. Skim the foam and let the milk solids settle without browning. Strain the clear erbo into a clean heatproof container, leaving the pale sediment at the bottom. Measure about 45 g of the peri-and-erbo mixture in total, including roughly 15 g clarified butter, for the khavitsi; save the remaining erbo for another use.
Mix in the flour. Return the measured peri-and-erbo mixture to a small heavy pan over low heat. Sprinkle in the bread flour and salt, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until evenly combined.
Cook slowly. Stir and scrape the bottom for 8–10 minutes over low heat, until the flour is fully cooked and the mixture is thick, smooth and lightly golden. Do not scorch the milk solids.
Serve hot. Spoon into small shallow bowls and serve piping hot with bread on the side. The bread is a separate accompaniment and is not included in this recipe.

Practical guidance

Tips for success

Heat the butter slowly and keep the milk solids pale; browned or scorched sediment tastes bitter and no longer has the intended delicate flavor.
Leave a little clarified butter with the peri so the flour can cook into a cohesive, spoonable mixture rather than a dry paste.
Stir steadily over low heat, scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon so the flour cooks evenly without catching.

Practical guidance

The amount of pale peri varies with butter and clarification technique. Weigh the sediment together with a little clarified butter; if it is very dry, retain a little more erbo so the flour cooks into a soft, cohesive mixture.
Keep the heat low throughout the flour stage. If the mixture becomes stiff before the flour is cooked, keep stirring gently so it cooks evenly without scorching.
Serve promptly. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a shallow covered container at 4°C or colder and use within 3–4 days. Reheat gently in a small pan, stirring, until the centre reaches 74°C; do not scorch.

Nutrition per serving

Estimated nutrition per serving

Approximate values for one quarter of the khavitsi mixture; surplus clarified butter and bread are excluded:

Energy: about 150 kcal.
Carbohydrates: about 10 g.
Protein: about 1 g.
Fat: about 11 g.
Fibre: about 0 g.
Sodium: about 200 mg.
Basis: the batch uses about 45 g of peri-and-erbo mixture (modeled as ghee), 50 g bread flour and 2 g salt. The full batch is estimated at about 590 kcal, 38 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 45 g fat and 800 mg sodium, divided by four and rounded. Actual butter sediment, retained fat and flour labels affect the values; the bread served alongside is not counted.

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk from butter and wheat (gluten) from bread flour. Use clean, dry equipment when clarifying butter, and avoid smoking or scorching it. Cook the flour mixture gently until no raw flour taste remains. Serve promptly or refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a shallow container at 4°C or colder; use within 3–4 days and reheat to 74°C throughout.

Serving and finish

Properly cooked khavitsi is thick and cohesive, with a mild toasted-flour aroma and the pale richness of peri; it should not be burnt or oily.
Serve piping hot in small portions with Georgian or other crusty bread on the side. Bread is not included in the recipe yield or nutrition.

About Rachan Khavitsi (clarified-butter sediment porridge)

Ingredients

Peri and erbo

Flour base

Seasoning

Method

Tips for success

Practical guidance

Estimated nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

Serving and finish

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