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Tushetian Khavitsi Datkhuri-Inspired Curd with Clarified Butter (ხავიწი დათხური)

Make a quick Tushetian datkhuri-inspired khavitsi by warming pasteurized unsalted curd cheese with clarified butter and salt

Georgian home recipeGeorgian dish
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A wide wooden table with a bowl of hot Tushetian curds in golden clarified butter and bread for dipping.
YieldAbout 360 g; 4 small portions of approximately 90 g
Serving basis1/4 of the recipe; bread excluded
DifficultyEasy
Dietary classificationVegetarian and gluten-free by the measured ingredients; contains milk. Bread served alongside may contain gluten
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The dish

About Tushetian Khavitsi Datkhuri-Inspired Curd with Clarified Butter (ხავიწი დათხური)

A quick home version of Tushetian cheese khavitsi

Unsalted curd cheese warms in clarified butter to make a rich, spoonable Tushetian khavitsi to eat with bread. This quick home preparation uses pasteurized curd and skips the several-day warm maturation described in traditional accounts; it does not reproduce that fermentation.

Khavitsi is made in several Georgian regions, with distinct local forms. In Tusheti, the branch called datkhuri is described as unsalted cottage cheese cooked with erbo, or clarified butter, then eaten hot with bread. The curd and butter mixture is also served with roasted barley flour in some local settings.

Traditional descriptions mention holding curd warm for multiple days before cooking. They do not provide a controlled temperature or validated home-fermentation method. This recipe therefore starts with ready-to-cook curd made from pasteurized milk and cooks it right away. The result is a practical datkhuri-inspired preparation, not a claim to reproduce the traditional maturation.

The measured two-parts-curd-to-one-part-butter proportion follows a published regional estimate and is adapted here for a small home batch. Choose unsalted pressed curd cheese or dry-curd cottage cheese; ordinary wet cottage cheese can release extra liquid and may not form the same texture.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

A quick home version of Tushetian cheese khavitsi

For the khavitsi

  • 240 gunsalted, pasteurized full-fat curd cheese, cold; choose pressed curd or dry-curd cottage cheese, not sweetened or seasoned
  • 120 gclarified butter (erbo)
  • 3 gfine salt

To serve

  • Plain Georgian bread or mchadi, as desired; not included in the yield or nutrition estimate
  • Roasted barley flour (qumeli), if available, served separately as a documented regional accompaniment; not included in the measured recipe
Method

Method

  1. Prepare the curd. Check the package for pasteurization and refrigeration instructions. Crumble the cold curd into a bowl. If it is visibly wet, drain briefly in a fine sieve in the refrigerator, then weigh 240 g.

  2. Melt the erbo. Set a small heavy skillet over low heat and add 120 g clarified butter. Warm until melted; do not let it smoke.

  3. Cook the curd. Add the crumbled curd and 3 g salt. Cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring and pressing larger curds with a wooden spoon. Continue until the mixture is hot, soft and cohesive, with the butter evenly mixed through. Do not add flour, corn or potatoes.

  4. Check the temperature. Stir well and place an instant-read thermometer in the centre without touching the pan. Heat evenly to 74 °C. If the curd browns or the butter separates sharply, lower the heat and keep stirring.

  5. Serve at once. Bring the pan to the table while piping hot. Serve with plain bread or mchadi for dipping; offer roasted barley flour separately if using it.

Practical guidance

Success points

  • Use cold, pasteurized, unsalted curd cheese and keep it refrigerated until cooking.
  • If the curd looks wet, let it drain briefly in a sieve in the refrigerator; do not leave dairy warm to ferment.
  • Melt the erbo gently and stir as the curd heats, pressing larger pieces so the cheese and butter combine.
  • Heat the centre evenly to 74 °C before serving. A cohesive, soft curd mixture is the texture cue; the thermometer reading is the safety control.
Practical guidance

Practical guidance

The texture depends on the curd cheese. A dry pressed curd makes a denser mixture; a wetter cottage cheese can turn loose and grainy, so drain it well while cold. This dish is intended to be soft and spoonable, not stretchy like a melting pasta-filata cheese. If the butter pools around the curd, keep the heat low and stir until evenly combined.

Do not follow traditional accounts by holding fresh dairy in a warm place for several days. Perishable dairy must stay refrigerated until cooking. Use cheese with intact packaging and no unexpected mold or off odour; discard product that has been stored unsafely. Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4 °C and use within 3–4 days. Reheat once, stirring, until steaming hot throughout and at least 74 °C.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving size: 1/4 recipe, approximately 90 g; bread and optional barley flour excluded
  • Calories: About 325 kcal
  • Carbohydrate: 3 g
  • Protein: 7 g
  • Fat: 32 g
  • Fibre: 0 g
  • Sodium: About 510 mg

Provisional estimate using generic USDA Foundation Foods values for full-fat cottage cheese as a rough proxy for unsalted curd, generic clarified-butter values and calculated sodium from 3 g added salt. It includes 240 g curd and 120 g butter divided into 4 portions. Actual curd moisture, salt and fat, butter retained, and finished yield can change the result; recalculate from the product labels and weighed servings.

Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk. Use unsalted cheese made with pasteurized milk, keep it refrigerated, and cook it immediately; this recipe does not include the traditional multi-day warm maturation. Heat the centre of the dish to 74 °C, especially for people at increased risk from foodborne illness. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours at or below 4 °C.

At the table

At the table

  • Set the hot skillet on a heatproof trivet and let everyone scoop the curd mixture with torn pieces of bread.
  • Offer roasted barley flour on the side, not mixed into the measured cheese-and-butter preparation.
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