🥩

georgiandinner

Ojakhuri

Name: Ojakhuri
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: georgian
Ingredients: 500 g pork shoulder (cubed); 600 g potatoes (peeled, cut into wedges); 2 large onions (thickly sliced); 2 red bell peppers (sliced); 4 cloves garlic (thinly sliced); 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tsp paprika; 1/2 tsp blue fenugreek (utskho suneli) (or ground fenugreek); 1/2 tsp dried summer savory (optional); 60 ml vegetable oil; 1 small bunch fresh coriander and parsley (chopped); Pickled vegetables, to serve

Pork and potatoes pan-fried with onions and peppers — Georgia's most beloved family-style dish, named for its purpose: shared.

Prep

15 min

Cook

30 min

Servings

Difficulty

Easy

★★★★★

4.7(234 ratings)

#ojakhuri#georgian#pork#potato#family-style#tavern

Share:Pinterest X WhatsApp Facebook

About This Recipe

Ojakhuri literally means 'family-style' — a one-pan dish of pork (sometimes chicken or beef), potatoes, onions and peppers, fried hard until everything is crispy at the edges. It's the dish ordered for the whole table at Georgian taverns, eaten directly from a hot ketsi (clay pan). Simple, satisfying, deeply Georgian.

Ingredients

Serves 4

500 gpork shoulder(cubed)
600 gpotatoes(peeled, cut into wedges)
2 largeonions(thickly sliced)
2red bell peppers(sliced)
4 clovesgarlic(thinly sliced)
1 tspsalt
1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
1 tsppaprika
1/2 tspblue fenugreek (utskho suneli)(or ground fenugreek)
1/2 tspdried summer savory(optional)
60 mlvegetable oil
1 small bunchfresh coriander and parsley(chopped)
Pickled vegetables, to serve

Instructions

1
Pre-fry potatoes
Boil potato wedges 8 min until just tender. Drain and pat dry. Fry in 30ml oil 8 min until golden and crisp. Set aside.
2
Fry pork
In the same pan, heat remaining oil. Add pork cubes and brown well 10 min.
3
Add aromatics
Add onions, peppers and garlic. Fry 8 min until softened and starting to caramelise.
4
Combine
Return potatoes to pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, fenugreek, summer savory. Toss everything together.
5
Crisp up
Cook 5 min on high heat to crisp edges and unify flavours.
6
Finish
Sprinkle with chopped herbs. Adjust salt.
7
Serve
Bring the whole pan to the table. Serve with pickled vegetables and crusty bread.

Pro Tips

→
Get the pork well browned before adding vegetables — that's where the depth comes from.
→
Serve straight from the pan — the dish is meant to be communal.

Variations

•
Chicken ojakhuri: use 500g chicken thighs, reduce browning to 6 min
•
Beef ojakhuri: use beef chuck, increase browning + 200ml broth, simmer 30 min
•
Add mushrooms in step 3 for an earthy version

Storage

Refrigerate 3 days. Reheat in a hot pan to re-crisp.

History & Origin

Ojakhuri grew out of Georgian tavern (samikitno) culture — a hearty one-pan meal designed for groups. The traditional version is cooked in a ketsi, an unglazed clay pan that retains heat dramatically. It's a fixture on every Georgian restaurant menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do it all in one pan?

Yes but pork releases water that prevents potato crisping. Pre-frying potatoes separately is the trick.

Authentic spice blend?

Khmeli suneli — a Georgian spice blend of marigold, blue fenugreek, coriander, summer savory, dill — is the most authentic. One tablespoon replaces individual spices.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving · 4 servings total

Calories540kcal

Protein32g

Carbohydrates38g

Fat28g

Fiber5g

Protein32g

Carbs38g

Fat28g

Time Summary

Prep time15 min

Cook time30 min

Total time45 min

Have Questions?

Ask our AI cooking assistant anything about this recipe — substitutions, techniques, scaling.

Chat with AI Chef →

More Georgian Recipes

🛶

Khachapuri Adjaruli

48 min · Medium

🥟

Khinkali

72 min · Hard

🐔

Shkmeruli (Garlic Cream Chicken)

45 min · Easy

🍆

Badrijani Nigvzit

35 min · Easy

Community

Join the conversation

About This Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

500 gpork shoulder(cubed)

600 gpotatoes(peeled, cut into wedges)

2 largeonions(thickly sliced)

2red bell peppers(sliced)

4 clovesgarlic(thinly sliced)

1 tspsalt

1 tspfreshly ground black pepper

1 tsppaprika

1/2 tspblue fenugreek (utskho suneli)(or ground fenugreek)

1/2 tspdried summer savory(optional)

60 mlvegetable oil

1 small bunchfresh coriander and parsley(chopped)

Pickled vegetables, to serve

Instructions

Pre-fry potatoes

Boil potato wedges 8 min until just tender. Drain and pat dry. Fry in 30ml oil 8 min until golden and crisp. Set aside.

Fry pork

In the same pan, heat remaining oil. Add pork cubes and brown well 10 min.

Add aromatics

Add onions, peppers and garlic. Fry 8 min until softened and starting to caramelise.

Combine

Return potatoes to pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, fenugreek, summer savory. Toss everything together.

Crisp up

Cook 5 min on high heat to crisp edges and unify flavours.

Finish

Sprinkle with chopped herbs. Adjust salt.

Serve

Bring the whole pan to the table. Serve with pickled vegetables and crusty bread.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do it all in one pan?

Yes but pork releases water that prevents potato crisping. Pre-frying potatoes separately is the trick.

Authentic spice blend?

Khmeli suneli — a Georgian spice blend of marigold, blue fenugreek, coriander, summer savory, dill — is the most authentic. One tablespoon replaces individual spices.