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Mchadi, Georgian cornbread cakes
Mchadi is the simple cornbread of western Georgia: little flat cakes of maize flour, water and salt, cooked in a pan until crisp outside and soft inside. It is the bread for lobio, cheese and every sauce on the table.
- 30 minutes
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 300g fine cornmeal or maize flour (fine polenta works), labelled gluten free
- Half a teaspoon fine salt
- 300ml warm water, plus a little more if needed
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil, for frying
Let's cook
- Mix the cornmeal and salt in a bowl. Pour in the warm water and mix with your hand or a spoon into a soft, slightly damp dough that holds together when squeezed. Add a spoonful more water if it cracks.
- Leave the dough to rest for 5 minutes so the cornmeal soaks up the water.
- Wet your hands and divide the dough into 8 pieces. Pat each one into an oval cake about 1.5cm thick, smoothing any cracks at the edges.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan on a medium heat. Lay in the cakes, leaving space between them; cook in two batches if needed.
- Fry for 8 to 10 minutes on the first side, until a deep golden crust forms and the cake lifts easily. Turn carefully and cook the other side for 6 to 8 minutes, turning the heat down if they brown too fast.
- The cakes are done when crisp and golden on both sides and they sound hollow when tapped. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.
Tips
- Mchadi is best eaten warm on the day. Leftovers keep wrapped for 1 day; split and toast them in a dry pan.
- Fine cornmeal gives a soft cake; coarse polenta gives a gritty one, so choose the finest you can find.
Swaps
- Cheesy: knead 75g grated mozzarella into the dough (this adds milk).
- Less oil: bake the cakes on a lined, oiled tray at 220C (200C fan) for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.
Tags
None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Maize is naturally gluten free, but some cornmeal is milled beside wheat, so buy one labelled gluten free if that matters.
Check every packet for allergens.