About Tashmijabi
Tashmijabi: Svanetian Potato and Cheese Mash
Tashmijabi is a hot potato-and-cheese dish from Svaneti, where it is also known locally as shusha or mertsvi. Fresh cheese is worked through warm mashed potatoes until the mixture turns thick, smooth and stretchy. Six portions use 1 kg of floury potatoes and 500 g of fresh cheese. A little milk and butter helps the mixture combine smoothly while keeping it thick. Serve it as soon as the sulguni melts into elastic ribbons. The dish firms as it cools, so make it just before the meal.
Tashmijabi belongs to Svanetian cooking. In Zemo Svaneti, shusha and mertsvi are also local names. It is sometimes described as Svan Elarji because both dishes become stretchy when cheese is worked into a hot starchy base; Elarji itself is made with cornmeal and belongs to Samegrelo.
The defining texture comes from young, fresh cheese melting into potato rather than sitting in separate shreds. Floury potatoes help the mash stay thick, while careful draining keeps it from becoming slack.
Drain the potatoes well and let steam escape, then peel them while warm with a clean towel. Do not rinse them in cold water; it can make the flesh firmer.
