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Sinori

Make Georgian Sinori with upright lavash scrolls, fresh curd cheese, butter and garlic in a creamy baked dish

Georgian home recipeGeorgian dish
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Wide view of Ajarian Sinori rolls in a rustic baking dish on a home table, with soft bread and cheese sauce.
Yield1 deep 22 cm baking dish, 6 portions
Serving1/6 dish, about 195 g baked
DifficultyModerate; rolling and arranging the scrolls takes care
DietVegetarian; contains wheat/gluten and milk
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The dish

About Sinori

Sinori: Ajarian rolled flatbread with curd cheese and garlic butter

Sinori is a rich Ajarian dish of thin baked bread rolled into short spirals and covered with a warm curd-cheese, butter and garlic sauce. This home-oven version makes six portions with soft centres and lightly golden tops.

Sinori belongs to Ajarian cooking, especially the mountain communities. Its name is linked to the Ajarian dialect and Laz language. The defining form is not a flat layered pie: thin unleavened sheets are softened, rolled into scrolls, cut short, and packed upright in a deep dish.

Traditional iukha sheets are baked from unleavened dough. Plain lavash is a practical modern substitute where iukha is unavailable. The rolls are covered with a warm sauce of fresh curd cheese, butter and garlic, then briefly baked until the exposed spirals color.

Families and regions use differing dairy products and proportions; matsoni and sweet walnut versions are also documented. This savory home version keeps the scroll shape and fresh-cheese sauce, with whole-milk ricotta offered as a workable stand-in for Georgian nadughi.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Sinori: Ajarian rolled flatbread with curd cheese and garlic butter

Bread scrolls

  • 450 gplain, soft lavash (about 2 large sheets
  • no herbs or flavoring)

Cheese and garlic-butter sauce

  • 500 gfresh curd cheese, preferably Georgian nadughi (whole-milk ricotta is a substitute
  • drain briefly if watery)
  • 100 gunsalted butter (reserve about 5 g from this amount to grease the dish)
  • 12 ggarlic, finely grated (about 3–4 cloves)
  • 100 mlhot water
  • 5 gfine salt
  • 0.5 gfinely ground black pepper
Method

Method

  1. If the lavash feels brittle, wrap it in a barely damp clean towel and leave for 10 minutes until pliable. Heat the oven to 190 °C conventional / 170 °C fan and lightly butter a deep 22 cm baking dish.

  2. Cut the lavash into strips about 5 × 25 cm. Roll each strip from a short end into a loose spiral tube, then cut the tube into 4 cm-high scrolls. Arrange them upright, spiral ends facing up, close together in the dish without crushing them.

  3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant. Fold in the curd cheese, then gradually whisk in the hot water, salt and pepper until warm and pourable; do not let it boil hard.

  4. Spoon the sauce evenly over and around the scrolls until it reaches about two-thirds of their height, leaving the spiral tops visible. Cover the dish loosely with foil.

  5. Bake covered for 12–15 minutes, until the bread has softened and the sauce bubbles gently. Uncover and bake another 5–8 minutes, until the exposed edges are lightly golden while the centres remain moist.

  6. Rest for 5 minutes and serve warm, spooning some of the creamy sauce from the dish over each portion.

Practical guidance

Practical guidance

Keep lavash covered while you work. If it cracks, soften it under the damp towel a little longer. Do not pack the scrolls so tightly that sauce cannot flow between them. Warm fresh curd gently; high heat can make ricotta grainy. Traditional iukha or nadughi may be used when available. The assembled bread absorbs sauce quickly, so prepare the scrolls and sauce ahead but combine them just before baking.

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a shallow covered container at or below 4 °C and use within 3–4 days. Add a spoonful of water or milk, cover and reheat until the centre reaches 74 °C. Freezing is not recommended because the soft bread and fresh-cheese sauce can turn mushy or grainy.

Nutrition per serving

Estimated nutrition per serving

  • Serving: 1/6 dish, about 195 g baked
  • Energy: about 455 kcal
  • Carbohydrate: 49 g
  • Protein: 13 g
  • Fat: 23 g
  • Fibre: 2 g
  • Sodium: about 820 mg
Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Contains wheat/gluten and milk. There is no meat or egg in this version. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4 °C; use within 3–4 days and reheat to 74 °C in the centre.

Serving cues

Serving cues

  • The scroll tops should be lightly golden, with soft bread and creamy sauce between them.
  • Keep the spirals upright and visible; the scroll form is central to Sinori.
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