Name: Tatara
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 5 h
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 1.5 L unsweetened red grape juice, preferably pasteurized; 150 g plain wheat flour, sifted; 30 g finely chopped walnuts, optional for serving

Wide Kakhetian harvest table with a plate of grape tatara, grapes and walnuts

Yield6 portions

Serving~155 g

Difficultyeasy; steady stirring

Dietvegetarian; wheat, optional walnuts

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The dish

About Tatara

Tatara: Kakhetian Grape and Wheat Pudding

Reduce sweet grape juice, cook it with wheat flour, then let this Kakhetian tatara set on a plate with a light walnut topping.

Tatara is a Kakhetian dessert made by thickening grape must with wheat flour. Once spread on a shallow plate and cooled, it becomes a soft, sliceable pudding with a deep grape flavour.

This home version starts with unsweetened red grape juice and reduces it to concentrated badagi before flour is added. That keeps the grape flavour full while making the texture thick enough to set.

Dessert tatara is thinner and softer than the flour mixture used to coat churchkhela. Western Georgian pelamushi is another related grape dessert, but it is thickened with cornmeal.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Tatara: Kakhetian Grape and Wheat Pudding

Tatara

1.5 Lunsweetened red grape juice, preferably pasteurized
150 gplain wheat flour, sifted
30 gfinely chopped walnuts, optional for serving

Method

Rinse a shallow plate about 20 cm wide with water and set it by the stove. Sift the flour and finely chop the walnuts if using.
Pour the grape juice into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer uncovered until reduced from 1.5 L to 750 ml, about 35 minutes. Skim foam if it forms.
Ladle about 150 ml of the reduced juice into a bowl and let it cool until warm. Whisk in the flour until smooth with no lumps.
Return the remaining reduced juice to a gentle boil. Whisk in the flour mixture gradually, then cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the base and corners.
The tatara is ready when glossy and thick, with no raw-flour smell. Spread it at once on the rinsed plate and sprinkle with the optional chopped walnuts.
Cool at room temperature for no more than 2 hours, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut or spoon into six portions and serve cool or at room temperature.

Practical guidance

Stir without stopping once the flour goes in; the thick pudding can catch on the pan base. Measure the juice after reduction rather than relying only on the clock. Use pasteurized juice. Cool within 2 hours, keep covered at 4°C or colder, and use within 3 days.

Nutrition per serving

Estimated nutrition per serving

Serving size: ~155 g
Energy: ~280 kcal
Carbohydrate: 57 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 4 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sodium: ~13 mg

Approximate values for this batch divided by 6 and rounded, using generic USDA FoodData Central values for grape juice, wheat flour and walnuts. Products vary; not a laboratory analysis.

Allergens and food safety

Contains wheat (gluten); contains walnuts only if the optional topping is used. Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, covered at 4°C or colder, and use within 3 days.

Serving cues

Cool at room temperature for no more than 2 hours, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut or spoon into six portions and serve cool or at room temperature.
Stir without stopping once the flour goes in; the thick pudding can catch on the pan base. Measure the juice after reduction rather than relying only on the clock. Use pasteurized juice. Cool within 2 hours, keep covered at 4°C or colder, and use within 3 days.

About Tatara

Ingredients

Tatara

Method

Practical guidance

Estimated nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

Serving cues

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