Chvishtari is a cheese cornbread from Svaneti, a mountainous region of Georgia. Fine cornmeal is scalded with boiling water and warm milk, then kneaded with coarsely grated sulguni cheese. The dough is shaped into thick, palm-sized patties and fried in a buttered skillet until a crust forms. The cheese melts but stays stringy instead of running out; the crust is crisp, and the center is soft and salty. Eat it hot; it firms up as it cools.
Grate the sulguni using the large holes of a box grater. Finely grated cheese disappears into the dough; coarsely grated cheese stays in strings.
Put the cornmeal and salt in a wide bowl. Slowly pour in the boiling water and warm milk while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The dough will look lumpy and moist; cover it and let it rest.
When the rested dough is cool enough to handle, add the cheese and knead for 4 minutes. The cheese should be evenly distributed throughout. If the edges crack when you squeeze a handful, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of hot water and keep kneading.
Wet your hands and divide the dough into 8 equal portions; each one weighs 130 g. Shape each portion into a thick, oval patty 10 cm long and 2 cm thick. Smooth any cracks along the edges with a wet finger.
Heat half the butter and half the oil in a wide skillet over medium-low heat until foaming. Arrange four chvishtari in the skillet and fry for 6 minutes per side, until a firm, deep-golden crust forms. Do not raise the heat; the cornmeal crust burns quickly, while the center needs this time to heat through and melt the cheese. Fry the second batch in the remaining butter and oil, and serve hot.
After scalding the cornmeal with boiling liquid, let it rest for 10 minutes before adding the cheese. If it does not rest, the cornmeal will not absorb the liquid, the dough will stick to your hands, and the patties may fall apart in the skillet.
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