Beef kharcho soup: recipe and ingredients

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Georgian dishes always have a special taste and aroma. When asked what dishes of Georgian cuisine they know, many people will name kharcho soup first. In this they will be right. This soup is the most popular Georgian dish. The beef kharcho recipe is not very complicated, so it will not be difficult for experienced housewives to cook the dish. For beginners, the soup will also seem simple if you follow the step-by-step recipe. There are many recipes for this dish - with various meats, tomatoes and even nuts. The obligatory component of the soup is precisely the spices that are put in it.

Recipe description

Everyone knows that the classic beef kharcho soup comes from Georgia. This soup differs from other first courses in its ingredients. Of course, you won’t surprise anyone with beef or lamb, but you can’t find nuts in every soup. Another feature of real Georgian kharcho is cherry plum puree. This puree is called tkemali. The taste of the dish depends onseasonings added. In principle, each housewife can cook a soup of different taste according to the same recipe.

The recipe for kharcho from beef or any other meat can be slightly adapted to different conditions. So, for example, in places where cherry plum does not grow, tkemali was replaced with tomato sauce. Some chefs use pomegranate juice instead of tomato. Despite the fact that nuts are added to the dish in the classic recipe, many do not use them at all. However, the constant ingredients of this soup are onion and rice.

To get a more piquant taste, sprigs of dill, parsley and various spices are added to the soup. It must have cilantro in it. Suneli hops are added to most Georgian dishes.

Classic recipe

First you need to purchase the necessary products to cook beef kharcho. The classic recipe for the dish requires the following ingredients:

• beef - 0.3 kg;
• 100g rice;
• a couple of onions;
• 150 g sauce;
• walnuts - glass;
• garlic - 2 cloves;
• 3 bay leaves;
• a couple of spoons of suneli hops;
• s alt, spices to taste;
• greens.

The sauce uses tkemali, but it can be replaced with regular satsebeli. As you can see, there is nothing difficult to cook beef kharcho. The classic recipe does not require special (except tkemali) ingredients.

How to cook

When all the ingredients for the soup areprepared, you can start cooking:

1. The first step is to boil the beef. Also add carrots, onions, peppers to the broth. The meat is cooked for quite a long time - at least two hours.
2. In the process of cooking, remove the foam from the broth.
3. While the meat is cooking, you need to chop the onions, carrots and chop the nuts.
4. The next step is to cut the greens, wash the rice.
5. Onion is fried in a pan, tomato paste, suneli hops and garlic are added to it.
6. Cooked beef cut into cubes.
7. Rice and beef are added to the broth. You should also add ready-made frying and nuts to the pan.
8. You need to cook the soup before cooking the rice.

It is recommended to let the finished dish brew, and only then serve.

Spicy soup

There is another recipe for beef kharcho - spicy soup. Fans of spicy food will definitely like this dish. All the ingredients that are needed to prepare the dish can be purchased at any store. So, for spicy kharcho you will need the following products:

• beef - 0.6 kg;
• 100g rice;
• two onions;
• sauce;
• s alt, spices to taste;
• greens;
• garlic - 2 cloves;
• 3 bay leaves;
• tomato paste - a couple of spoons.

It takes 3 hours to cook the soup.

How to cook

Step by step cooking beef kharcho:

1. The first step is to cut the meat into small slices.
2. Put it to boil. You should also add lavrushka and spices to the pan. The cooking time for meat is at least two hours.
3. The next step is to put the rice on to boil. First, it should be washed a couple of times, and then put on fire.
4. Cut the garlic into thin slices, add chili pepper to it and put it in a frying pan with tomato paste, water and spices.
5. Then finely chopped onion. It, along with cooked rice, should be added to the meat pot.
6. The resulting mixture should be boiled for several minutes, then add the frying to it.
7. After the dish is cooked for another 10 minutes.

Before serving, ready-made soup needs 25-30 minutes to infuse.

Dish in a slow cooker

Now many recipes are adapted to the slow cooker. Beef kharcho soup with rice is no exception. A slow cooker is a great helper for every housewife, because you can cook the first, second, and even dessert in it. So, to cook kharcho soup in a slow cooker, you will need the same ingredients as for the classic recipe:

• rice;
• meat;
• sauce;
• s alt, herbs, spices.

The principle of cooking the dish is no different:

1. The first step is to cut the meat into pieces, place it in the bowl, turn on the "Cooking" mode.
2. The second step is to fry the onion, tomato paste and sauce.
3. Ricewashed with water.
4. The next step is to add rice, frying and the necessary spices to the meat in the multicooker bowl.
5. All this must be mixed and set to cook in the "Cooking" mode.

Ready-made beef kharcho soup with rice is recommended to be sprinkled with herbs.

Which meat to choose

It is better to choose fatty meat for first courses, because soups need a thick and satisfying fat. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the meat. It should not have an extraneous smell, spread, be pale in color. Meat must be chosen young and chilled. The best for soups, including Georgian ones, are calf ribs. Beef meat, if necessary, can be replaced with any other.

Some expert advice

To get the most delicious soup, you must follow the recommendations of experienced chefs.

1. Meat for soup can be not only boiled, but also fried in a pan with onions and carrots. In this case, the dish will get a richer flavor.
2. Instead of tkemali, fresh cherry plum can be added to beef kharcho soup. This will give the dish more piquancy.
3. Some do not like greens, and as mentioned above, a fairly large amount of it is always added to kharcho. In order not to spoil the taste of the dish, it is recommended to add greens individually to each plate.
4. When cooking, it is important to ensure that the rice is not overcooked. You need to pay attention to its amount in the soup. If there is too much rice, then the soupturns into mush.
5. To make Georgian-style beef kharcho rich and tasty, meat for the dish should be bought fatty and on the bone. Veal ribs for soup can be replaced with any other fresh meat.
6. If purchased meat is put in the soup, then as soon as the water boils, the broth must be drained from it. So you can get rid of harmful substances that may be contained in the product.
7. To degrease a little dish, add a few slices of lemon or a couple of tablespoons of pomegranate juice.
8. It is recommended to cook the dish in aluminum cookware.

The recipe for beef kharcho is very simple to execute, almost everyone can handle it. Any of the proposed recipes can be adapted to certain taste preferences. For those who like the dish spicier, it is recommended to add more pepper. If you want to cook not too fatty soup, then beef can be replaced with chicken. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment.