Tatara (ტატარა)

Tatara are Georgia's answer to the universal human craving for hot fried dough — small puffs of yeasted wheat dough, deep-fried until golden and hollow, then drenched in local flower honey and sometimes sprinkled with crushed walnuts. They appear at weddings, fairs, and after Sunday churchgoing, made by grandmothers in vast oil-filled cauldrons. The name may share roots with Central Asian cultures who brought similar traditions along the Silk Road to the Caucasus.

Serves: 4–6 (makes about 20 pieces)

Ingredients

Dough:

• 300g (2⅓ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 7g (2¼ tsp) instant yeast
• 1 tsp (5g) sugar
• 1 tsp (5g) salt
• 180ml (¾ cup) warm water
• 1 tbsp (15ml) vegetable oil

Frying and finishing:

• Vegetable oil for deep-frying (at least 1 litre / 4 cups)
• 100g (3½ oz / 5 tbsp) Georgian or other dark flower honey, warmed
• 40g (1½ oz) walnuts, roughly crushed (optional)
• Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add warm water and oil. Mix to a soft dough, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky.
2. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled.
3. Punch down the dough. Divide into 20 equal pieces (about 25g / 1 oz each). Roll each piece into a smooth ball, then flatten slightly.
4. Cover with a clean cloth and rest 15 minutes.
5. Heat oil in a deep pan to 175°C (347°F). Fry tatara in batches of 4–5, turning once, for 3–4 minutes total until deep golden brown and puffed. Maintain oil temperature between batches.
6. Drain on a rack. While still hot, arrange on a serving plate.
7. Drizzle warm honey over the top in generous streams, ensuring each ball is coated. Scatter crushed walnuts and a dusting of cinnamon if desired.
8. Serve immediately — tatara are best eaten the moment the honey begins to soak into the hot crust.

Cook's Notes: The double fat in the dough (oil) and the frying fat creates a particularly crisp shell that holds up against the honey without turning soggy immediately. Georgian honey has a distinctively herbal, floral complexity — substitute a dark buckwheat or wildflower honey for the best flavour.