Borano: Adjarian Cheese in Butter, with a Step-by-Step Recipe
Quick answers
The recipe was checked against Georgia Travel on 20 October 2026. The heritage agency’s announcement of 13 March 2019 describes the tradition’s status. The restaurant price example below was checked on 21 October 2026.
- Borano is a hot dish from mountainous Adjara, made with two ingredients: cheese and clarified butter, known locally as iaghi.
- Use Adjarian braided cheese, preferably aged. One serving takes around 100 g of cheese and 50 g of salted butter.
- Soften the cheese in boiling water, heat the butter until dark golden, then add the cheese and cook gently over a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately, piping hot, with mchadi corn bread and a tomato and cucumber salad.
- The tradition of making borano has held the status of a monument of intangible cultural heritage in Georgia since 2019.
- You can try it in restaurants in Batumi and mountainous Adjara. Look for “borano” or “ბორანო” on the menu.
Sources: Georgia Travel recipe, checked on 20.10.2026 and reopened on 21.10.2026 · Heritage agency announcement of 13.03.2019.
How to find borano on a menu and check the price
Step M1. Open the specific menu
For an example, open the Makhuntsetis Karibche menu and find “აჭარული კერძები”, meaning “Adjarian dishes”. Check the restaurant’s name at the top: a price in one menu does not describe every restaurant in the region.
Step M2. Find the dish
Search for “ბორანო” or “borano”. On a computer, press Ctrl+F and paste “ბორანო”; on a phone, use the browser’s find-in-page function. This menu shows 25₾ beside “ბორანო”. If you cannot find it, check the menu language and section, or ask the restaurant.
Step M3. Check the service charge and availability
Scroll down to the line “მომსახურება 10%”, meaning “10% service charge”. Before ordering, ask whether borano is available that day and what the total will be. If the page will not open, ask the restaurant for its current menu. An old screenshot does not confirm today’s price.
A sample bill
| Item | Amount | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Borano on the menu | GEL 25 | One menu, Makhuntsetis Karibche, checked on 21.10.2026 |
| Service charge | 10% | The line “მომსახურება 10%” at the bottom of the menu |
| Example: 25 × 10% | GEL 2.50 | Service charge calculated for one dish |
| Example: 25 + 2.50 | GEL 27.50 | Borano and 10% only; confirm the total with the restaurant |
Important
The menu price and the kitchen’s availability are separate things to check. This example uses one published price and excludes drinks and other dishes.
A common mistake
Treating GEL 25 as the average price of borano in Batumi, or overlooking the service charge.
A useful tip
Show the word “ბორანო” on the menu. Before ordering, check the portion size and the ingredients in that restaurant’s version.
What is borano?
Borano is cheese heated in clarified butter. Simple and very filling, it comes from the mountain villages of Adjara, where winters are cold and work is hard: mowing, harvesting, and gathering hay and firewood. It cooks quickly, earning it the affectionate nickname of the Adjarian table’s “emergency service”: a host can feed unexpected guests in minutes.
Borano, an Adjarian dish of cheese and clarified butter
The dish has several names: bora, borao, borani and borano. Borani and borano are the most common. The name is associated with frying, as the cheese is fried in butter.
Borano is made all year round. Today it is cooked at home in Adjara and served in restaurants in Batumi and other parts of the region. It also appears on menus in Tbilisi and other cities.
Borano recipe for one serving
The recipe and quantities follow the Georgian National Tourism Administration’s description on Georgia Travel, checked on 20 October 2026. This is one recipe for a single serving; restaurant portions may differ.
The cheese cooks gently in butter for 10-15 minutes
Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adjarian braided cheese | About 100 g | Preferably aged; according to the official description, other Adjarian cheeses are not suitable |
| Salted butter | About 50 g | Heated to make iaghi |
| Cornmeal or wheat flour, and an egg | Optional | Used in modern versions; if the dish is too runny, add around 50 g of wheat flour |
Sources: Georgia Travel recipe, checked on 20.10.2026 and reopened on 21.10.2026.
Method:
- Crumble the cheese and cover it with boiling water to soften it. If it is very salty, change the water several times.
- Once the cheese is soft, drain it, squeeze out the water and set it aside.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and heat it until dark golden.
- Add the cheese to the hot butter.
- Cook gently over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese turns golden.
- Transfer to a deep dish and serve immediately.
Sources: Georgia Travel recipe, checked on 20.10.2026 and reopened on 21.10.2026.
At home, borano is cooked in an ordinary frying pan. Restaurants often serve it in a clay dish called a ketsi.
What to serve with borano
Serve borano very hot. The classic accompaniments are hot mchadi corn bread and a tomato and cucumber salad. White wine goes well with it.
Borano is served hot with mchadi
This is a rich, high-calorie dish: one serving uses around 100 g of cheese and 50 g of butter. If you are trying it for the first time, ordering it to share is a practical option. Eat it with mchadi instead of bread.
Borano’s intangible cultural heritage status
On 13 March 2019, Georgia’s National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation granted the practice and tradition of making borano the status of a monument of intangible cultural heritage. The agency’s announcement describes it as a traditional Adjarian dish rooted in dairy farming: cheese steeped in iaghi.
Where to try borano
Borano is served in many restaurants in Batumi and Adjara, as well as Georgian restaurants in Tbilisi. Look under “Adjarian dishes” for “borano” or “ბორანო”. The Georgian-language menu for Makhuntsetis Karibche on webmenu.ge lists borano at GEL 25 with a 10% service charge, checked on 21 October 2026. This is one menu example, rather than an average price for Adjara. Check the price and availability with the restaurant before visiting.
Find places in Batumi in the “Batumi restaurants” directory category, and elsewhere in the “Adjara restaurants” category. If you visit mountainous Adjara, including Keda or Khulo, ask your guesthouse hosts about borano: it is a home-cooked dish.
Before cooking or ordering
- At home, have Adjarian braided cheese, salted butter, water for soaking, a frying pan and a deep serving dish ready.
- Check the quantities: around 100 g of cheese and 50 g of butter per serving.
- Make sure the soaking water has been drained from the cheese.
- Have the mchadi and salad ready when the borano is served.
- At a restaurant, check the menu, availability, portion size and service charge.
Sources: Georgia Travel recipe, checked on 20.10.2026 and reopened on 21.10.2026 · Specific restaurant menu, checked on 21.10.2026.
Frequently asked questions
A hot Adjarian dish made from Adjarian braided cheese heated in clarified butter, or iaghi. It is eaten with mchadi corn bread.
It is a filling hot dish, with around 100 g of cheese and 50 g of butter per serving. In mountainous Adjara, it was made to sustain people doing hard physical work and as a quick meal for guests.
Adjarian braided cheese, preferably aged. According to the Georgian National Tourism Administration’s official description, other Adjarian cheeses are not suitable for borano.
The Adjarian name for clarified butter. For borano, salted butter is melted and heated until dark golden.
The cheese cooks gently in hot butter over a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Including soaking the cheese, the whole process takes about half an hour.
To soften it and remove excess salt. Very salty cheese needs several changes of boiling water.
Yes. Some families add cornmeal, while modern versions use flour and an egg. If the dish is too runny, add around 50 g of wheat flour.
Hot mchadi and a tomato and cucumber salad. White wine goes well with borano.
Yes. The Georgian National Tourism Administration’s recipe uses an ordinary frying pan, and the finished dish is transferred to a deep plate.
The names bora, borao, borani and borano are associated with frying: the cheese is fried in butter.
Yes. On 13 March 2019, the tradition of making borano was granted the status of a monument of intangible cultural heritage in Georgia.
In restaurants in Batumi and mountainous Adjara, and Georgian restaurants in Tbilisi. Look for the “Adjarian dishes” section on the menu.
It depends on the restaurant. Makhuntsetis Karibche’s menu on webmenu.ge lists borano at GEL 25 with a 10% service charge, checked on 21.10.2026. Confirm the total bill and availability before ordering.
Read also
- Sinori: an Adjarian dish made with lavash and curd cheese
- Georgian cheeses: what to try
- Ketsi: a clay frying pan
- Adjarian dishes
- Vegetarian Georgian dishes
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Автор так живо описывает историю борцано и его особую текстуру — мягкую, тягучую, с насыщенным молочным вкусом — что я уже представляю, как сижу в кафе на набережной Батуми у Чёрного моря, укутавшись в тёплый платок, а передо мной тарелка только что поданного борцано с хрустящим лавашом.
Очень ценно, что в рейтинге есть советы от местных: где искать настоящее борцано, как его сочетают с другими блюдами Аджарии и почему лучше подавать его тёплым, чтобы сыр плавился до совершенства.
Отдельно вдохновили отзывы путешественников, которые пробовали борцано в семейных двориках в Хелвачах или на рынке в Кобулети — они говорили, что это одна из тех вкусовых находок, которые остаются с тобой надолго.
Спасибо автору за такой насыщенный и дружелюбный материал!
А вы уже пробовали борцано в Аджарии — больше понравился классический вариант у моря или в уютном деревенском кафе? 🧀🌊✨