Kharcho soup: recipe with rice

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

Georgian cuisine is diverse. But there is one thing that is characteristic of all her traditional dishes - these are juicy and rich names. Here, for example, kharcho. Hearing this word, many imagine a rich, thick and fragrant beef or lamb soup with the addition of tomatoes or tomato paste. There is a classic kharcho soup recipe, and there are many other rather unusual ways of preparing this dish.

Cooking Features

According to the rules, the kharcho soup recipe implies the use of beef meat. However, no one forbids taking lamb, chicken, pork, turkey or duck. Each region of Georgia is distinguished by its specific intricacies of preparing a traditional dish. So, Imereti soup is prepared without the addition of walnuts. In turn, the Mingrelian kharcho soup recipe has no right to exist without them.

Traditional Georgian cuisine implies a mustthe addition of an important ingredient - we are talking about sour tklapi (this is a marshmallow made from cherry plum or dogwood, which is dried in thin sheets). It is the combination of tender meat broth and natural sourness of tklapi, seasoned with the aroma of fresh herbs and astringency of walnuts, that creates the unique taste and aroma of kharcho soup. Its recipe allows replacing tklapi with tkemali or fresh tomatoes.

Real Georgian spices for real Georgian soup

It is important to remember that any tklapi substitutes (with the exception of juices) should be added to the dish 15 minutes before it is ready. This applies to fresh tomatoes and tkemali.

The kharcho soup recipe is an abundance of greens. There is really a lot of it there - traditionally a lot of cilantro, parsley and basil, as well as garlic and hot peppers are put in the dish. Bay leaves with black pepper will also be useful. Harchos-suneli is a spicy zest of the soup, which creates a unique flavor. No one forbids to conjure over a pot with rich soup - using the trial method, you can make your own combination of spices and spices, the aroma of which will not leave indifferent any connoisseur of Georgian cuisine.

What is kharcho?

It should be said that no one still knows how spicy and rich soup with the addition of hot spices and spices appeared in Georgian cuisine. Only one thing is known - earlier kharcho was called beef cooked in a sauce of walnuts and the thinnest slices of plum puree (this is tklapi).

A little laterkharcho soup recipe began to contain rice, fresh tomatoes and other ingredients. Even now in the Caucasus, it is traditionally believed that the true dish is made from beef, rice, tklapi and walnuts. Plum puree can be replaced with fresh cherry plum or tkemali sauce.

It is allowed to add other ingredients, because in different regions of Georgia, kharcho is cooked in its own way. But one thing remains unchanged - the delicate aroma of beef broth and the finest notes of plum sourness, seasoned with the piquancy of walnuts and natural Georgian herbs and spices. Traditionally, the recipe for kharcho soup with rice involves the use of beef. Therefore, it is worth talking about how to prepare the meat.

Beef or lamb?

This question cannot be ignored. Yes, of course, you can cook kharcho from chicken, but this will not be a real dish of traditional Georgian cuisine. Still, it is the beef broth that determines the main taste qualities of the soup. The recipe for kharcho soup with rice involves the use of beef. You can replace it with lamb or pork. There are recipes that allow the use of chicken meat, but we will talk about this a little later.

To make soup, it is best to use pork or beef on the bone, pork loin or ribs, lamb brisket, neck or shoulder. Any meat must be carefully prepared - wash well, remove all tendons and films. Some housewives prefer to get rid of bones and fat, but they make brothrich.

The meat is cooked with bay leaves and a few black peppercorns. As soon as the broth is ready, the meat is removed from it, freed from the bones, cut into small pieces. Then the broth is filtered, and the pieces of meat are again sent to the pan. This is the basis that is important for making a real Georgian dish.

Recipe for beef kharcho soup with photo

Rice (pre-washed and peeled) of any kind is put into the prepared beef broth. Do not use crushed or steamed. Round rice is ideal for soup, which looks very appetizing when boiled.

While the rice is cooking, you can cook the onions. It must be crushed and fried in a pan until golden brown. Along with it, bay leaves, crushed walnuts and slightly softened black peppercorns, as well as pieces of cherry plum or plum puree are sent to the pan (it can be replaced with tomatoes, pomegranate juice or prunes). It is best to use cherry tomatoes for kharcho.

Often there is a recipe for kharcho soup with potatoes. This is a Russified version of a traditional Georgian dish. Potatoes are added to beef broth instead of rice.

At the very end, suneli hops, red capsicum, coriander, adjika, saffron and any other fragrant spices are sent to the pan.

Kharcho soup: classic recipe with photo

Initially, you need to prepare beef broth. It should be cooked without onions, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes. Forcooking broth is enough two liters of water and 400 grams of beef on the bone. Together they go to the pot, where they will cook for two hours.

After that, you need to strain the broth, separate the meat from the bone, cut it into small pieces and send it back to the pan. Rinse the rice thoroughly and put 4 tablespoons into the soup. Together with him, you can put a sprig of cilantro and parsley in the pan. At the end, they will need to be removed. Once the rice is cooked, you can add chopped walnuts (half a glass will be enough).

At the very end, they usually add a head of garlic and the rest of the greens (hops-suneli, tklapi or plum puree, tkemali, etc.).

Chicken Kharcho

Beef is a favorite of few, and fresh lamb is not so easy to find in the market or in the store. Therefore, many housewives use chicken meat with great pleasure. The recipe for chicken kharcho soup with rice is simple - it will take no more than 1.5 hours to cook the dish. You will need the following ingredients:

• Round rice - two tablespoons.
• One chicken breast.
• One medium onion.
• One head of garlic.
• Half a can of tomato paste.
• Cilantro, suneli hops, bay leaf, s alt, black pepper.

Preparing the dish is quite simple and fast. It can be made even by a young hostess who cannot boast of a solid culinary experience.

How to cook?

First of all, you need to put a pot of water on the stove and boilchicken breast. In parallel, you can thoroughly rinse the rice so that the soup does not turn into porridge.

As soon as the meat is cooked, it must be removed from the pan, strain the broth. Then put it back on the fire and put the rice in the pan. While it is cooking, you can chop the onion and lightly fry it in a pan until golden brown. As soon as the onion has become transparent, you need to add two tablespoons of tomato paste and a few tablespoons of chicken broth to the pan. This is a simple recipe for kharcho soup, so cooking it is a pleasure.

Now you need to add the mixture from the pan to the pot of soup, leave over medium heat until boiling. Now you just need to add chopped garlic, suneli hops, s alt and other spices.

Lamb kharcho

Before you get acquainted with the step-by-step recipe for lamb kharcho soup, you should prepare all the necessary ingredients. For 4 servings you will need:

• Lamb brisket - 300 grams.
• Two tablespoons of round rice.
• One medium onion.
• Vegetable oil.
• Tomato paste or sauce - two tablespoons.
• A tablespoon of tkemali.
• Three cloves of garlic.
• Hot pepper.
• Cilantro, parsley, suneli hops, adjika, cinnamon and water.

How to cook real Georgian kharcho soup? Step-by-step recipe with photo - in front of you:

1. First of all, you need to cut into pieces and boil the lamb brisket.
2. While the meat is cooking, you need to chop the onion, add a pinch of ground black pepper and mash it with your hands.
3. In a frying pan, simmer two tablespoons of tomato paste in a little oil.
4. Chop greens together with garlic and mix thoroughly.
5. By this time, the broth should already boil with might and main. Onion is sent to the pan along with black pepper, pre-washed and soaked rice, as well as browned tomato paste.
6. It remains only to bring the dish to readiness.
7. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add spices and spices.

The soup is almost ready. It is advisable to let it brew for a few more minutes. Serve fragrant kharcho with greens.

Lenten kharcho soup

This dish is no less tasty and satisfying. Yes, of course, this is not homemade pork kharcho soup. The recipe for a lean dish is suitable for those who follow their figure and fast. For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice.
• 3 plums.
• The same amount of prunes.
• One medium onion.
• One carrot.
• 1/2 cup walnuts.
• One head of garlic.
• Cherry tomatoes (2-3 pieces).
• Pinch of saffron.
• Teaspoon of paprika.
• Suneli hops, coriander, s alt and sugar.
• Lemon juice, water and fresh parsley.

Step by step cooking recipe

First of all, you need to cook the vegetable broth. To do this, boil 2 liters of water and send pre-peeled and chopped vegetables there.(celery, carrots and onions). Saffron is enough just to pour warm water and let it brew. Gradually (through a sieve) pour the saffron infusion into the vegetable broth. Send thoroughly washed rice there and put the pan on the fire. Then bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.

Walnuts should be dried in the microwave and chopped with a blender.

Plums pour over boiling water and remove the peel. Do the same with tomatoes. Prunes should be soaked in warm water. Grind everything and fry in a pan for a few minutes.

Send walnuts and plum-tomato puree into a pot with vegetable broth and rice, after which the soup needs to be cooked for another 7 minutes. It remains only to add s alt to the soup and season with fragrant spices.

Real Georgian kharcho

This dish is for real men who love spicy, hearty and rich food. This soup has an incredible palette of flavors and aromas. Spicy, with spicy notes and a spicy aftertaste will certainly appeal to every connoisseur of Georgian cuisine. To create a culinary masterpiece, you will need the following products:

• 1 kilogram of lamb.
• 1/3 cup barley.
• Red boiled beans (half cup).
• 1/3 of a cup of round rice.
• Two medium onions.
• Hot red pepper (2 pods).
• Sweet pepper (2 pieces).
• 3 sprigs of oregano (can be substituted with 1 teaspoon dry mix).
• Fresh mint (2 sprigs) or dry (half a teaspoon).
• Tomato ketchupor pasta (3 tablespoons).
• 1 cup walnuts.
• Teaspoon of coriander.
• 3 garlic cloves.
• Pinch of Imeretian saffron.
• Corn flour (tablespoon).
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar.
• A couple sprigs of fresh cilantro.

How to cook?

Lamb should be washed, cleaned of tendons and films, cut into small pieces and sent to a pot of water. After boiling, s alt the broth and continue to cook over low heat, regularly removing the foam from the surface. The broth will be ready in about 2 hours.

During this time, you can prepare the dressing. To do this, mix butter and vegetable oil and fry finely chopped onion, sweet pepper pulp and chopped red hot pods in this mixture. Oregano and mint leaves should also be sent there. It is advisable to lightly s alt the vegetables and season with two tablespoons of tomato ketchup or paste. From time to time, you can add broth from the pan to the pan.

As soon as the meat is cooked, it must be removed from the dishes, cool, strain the broth and return to the stove again. Put pearl barley in a saucepan, after 60 minutes - washed rice and cook until all the cereals are ready. After that, reduce the heat and add boiled red beans to the dish along with vegetables from the pan. As soon as the soup boils again, you can put boiled lamb in the pan.

Now you only need to prepare dressing for kharcho. For thisyou need to chop the walnuts and mix them with coriander seeds, lightly fry in a dry frying pan, pound in a mortar along with saffron, garlic, cornmeal and chopped hot pepper pod. Dilute all this with a few spoons of broth, add wine vinegar and send to a pot with soup.

Georgian Kharcho is ready! It remains only to pour the fragrant soup into bowls and decorate with cilantro. Bon appetit!

It doesn't matter which cuisine is preferred in a particular family. The culinary traditions of Georgia have long found their place in the hearts of true gourmets. Every housewife should learn how to cook real chicken kharcho soup. The recipe for this beef or lamb dish also deserves the highest praise.