Pkhali: Georgian Walnut-Herb Vegetable Bites (3 Variations)

Pkhali is the dish that quietly steals the entire supra. While everyone's arguing about khinkali technique and posing with khachapuri, these small, jewel-toned bites of vegetables ground with walnuts, garlic, and fresh herbs sit on the table doing more flavor work per gram than anything else on offer. Every color tells a different story — deep green spinach, vibrant magenta beet, pale jade green bean — and they all share the same walnut soul. Here's how to make all three.

Why Pkhali Is the Most Underrated Georgian Dish

Ask any foreigner about Georgian food and you'll hear khachapuri, khinkali, maybe churchkhela. Ask a Georgian what they want on the table at any proper dinner, and pkhali will be in the first three answers. It's the bridge between appetizer and art — a dish that turns simple vegetables into something you can't stop eating.

The concept is elegant: take a cooked vegetable, grind it with a walnut paste spiked with garlic, vinegar, and Georgian spices, shape it into balls or patties, and crown each one with pomegranate seeds. The walnut paste (nigvzis pasta, ნიგვზის პასტა) is the same base that drives badrijani nigvzit, satsivi, and half the cold dishes in the cuisine. Master it once, and you've unlocked a dozen Georgian recipes.

Pkhali is also a fasting champion. Georgia's Orthodox calendar includes over 200 days of fasting — no meat, dairy, or eggs. Georgian cooks didn't just survive these periods; they created some of their best dishes during them. Pkhali, lobio, badrijani — these aren't "substitute" foods. They're the main event.

The Three Classic Variations

While you can make pkhali from almost any vegetable — cabbage, nettles, leeks, even radish tops — three versions dominate every Georgian table. A proper pkhali platter serves all three together, and the color contrast is half the point.

The Walnut Paste — Foundation of Everything

Before we get to individual vegetables, you need to master the walnut paste. This is the DNA of pkhali — the same base (with minor tweaks) works for all three variations. Make it once and divide it three ways.

Preparing the Vegetables

Each vegetable needs different treatment before it meets the walnut paste. The goal is always the same: fully cooked, well-drained, finely chopped or ground.

Step-by-Step: Making Pkhali

Step 1: Make the Walnut Paste

Grind the walnuts using a meat grinder, food processor, or (traditional method) a mortar and pestle. You want a coarse paste, not walnut butter — some texture is good. Add the garlic, cilantro, blue fenugreek, khmeli suneli, ground coriander, salt, and cayenne. Pulse or pound until combined. Add the vinegar and mix. Taste it — it should be intensely savory, garlicky, and bright from the vinegar. Adjust salt and vinegar as needed.

Step 2: Prepare Each Vegetable

Spinach: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spinach and blanch for 1–2 minutes until just wilted. Transfer immediately to an ice bath. Once cool, gather the spinach into a ball and squeeze out every drop of water. This is the single most important step — wet spinach makes watery, sad pkhali. Squeeze it in a clean towel if needed. Finely chop.

Beetroot: Boil whole, unpeeled beets in salted water for 40–60 minutes until a knife slides in easily. Cool, peel (the skin should slip off), and grate on the fine side of a box grater. Let the grated beet drain in a colander for 10 minutes — beets hold a surprising amount of liquid.

Green beans: Trim the ends, boil in salted water for 5–7 minutes until fully tender (not al dente — this isn't Italian cooking). Drain and let cool. Chop finely or run through a meat grinder.

Step 3: Combine

Divide the walnut paste into three equal portions. Mix each portion with its respective vegetable. Work the mixture with your hands until evenly combined. Taste each one and adjust salt — the beetroot version usually needs a touch more vinegar to balance the sweetness, and the green bean version might want extra garlic.

Step 4: Shape

Wet your hands slightly (to prevent sticking) and shape the mixture into small balls, about the size of a large walnut (3–4cm diameter). Some families press them into patties instead, and some mold them in small bowls for a dome shape. All are correct — pick whatever looks best on your plate. Place each ball on a serving platter.

Step 5: Garnish and Serve

Press 3–4 pomegranate seeds into the top of each ball. The red against the green, magenta, and jade is the entire visual identity of pkhali. Some cooks add a single cilantro leaf next to the pomegranate, others dust with a tiny pinch of ground coriander. Serve at room temperature — never hot, never fridge-cold.

Tips for Perfect Pkhali

Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Beyond the Big Three: More Pkhali Variations

Once you've mastered the spinach-beet-green bean trinity, you can make pkhali from almost anything. Georgian grandmothers have been doing exactly this for centuries — whatever grows in the garden becomes pkhali.

The Georgian Spice Pantry for Pkhali

Two spices define pkhali and you likely don't have them in your kitchen: blue fenugreek (utskho suneli) and khmeli suneli. They're the reason Georgian food tastes like Georgian food and not just "Mediterranean with walnuts."

Where to Eat the Best Pkhali in Tbilisi

Nutrition Facts

Storage and Make-Ahead

How Pkhali Fits the Georgian Table

Pkhali is always a cold appetizer, served at the start of a meal alongside other small dishes. On a proper Georgian supra (feast), pkhali shares the table with badrijani nigvzit (eggplant walnut rolls), lobio (bean stew), jonjoli (pickled bladderwort), pickled cabbage, fresh herbs, cheese, and bread — all before the hot dishes even arrive.

The three-color platter is traditional and practical: arrange all three varieties on one plate, alternating colors, with pomegranate seeds scattered across everything. Serve with shotis puri (Georgian bread) or mchadi (cornbread). A glass of amber or white wine — something crisp to cut through the richness of the walnuts — completes the picture.

Frequently Asked Questions