The famous Georgian kharcho soup: what meat should be added to the dish

Kharcho is a traditional Georgian meat soup. It is very spicy and savory. It tastes perfect when hot - just what you need in the cool autumn weather. Classic kharcho is made from only one type of meat. And if you add all the right ingredients, but change the broth base, it will be a delicious, but completely different soup. Therefore, you need to understand all the intricacies of cooking the dish.

Natalia Voevna told us what kind of meat is used to make traditional kharcho and what other ingredients are important to add to the dish. Published on the Facebook page.

Ingredients:

• beef breast - 500 g
• water - 2 liters
• onion - 2 pcs
• garlic - 4 cloves
• herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil) - a bunch
• oil - 2-3 tablespoons
• tkemali sauce - 2 tablespoons
• hops suneli or utsho suneli - 1 tsp
• hot red pepper or chopped hot pepper - 0.5 tsp
• saffron - a pinch
• salt to taste;
• chopped walnuts - 70-100 g

Method of preparation:

1. Cut the beef into small pieces. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the foam from the surface and reduce the heat to medium.
2. Add the whole peeled onion to the broth. Add salt and cook for 1-1.5 hours.
3. Remove the onion, add the washed rice at this stage, and cook for another 15 minutes.
4. Cut the second onion into small cubes. Chop the garlic and herbs.
5. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat.
6. Fry the onion for 3-5 minutes.
7. Add garlic, tkemali, half of the herbs and spices.
8. Season with salt, stir, remove from heat, and leave under the lid.
9. Add the roast and walnuts to the soup.
10. Stir and cover with herbs.
11. Leave under the lid for 5-10 minutes.

What else can be added to the soup for a refined and savory taste and flavor

Greens.

The broth will be richer if you add

• parsley root,
• 1-2 stalks of celery or cilantro
• half a small carrot.

All these ingredients should be taken out in 1-1.5 hours.

Meat

Kharcho is also cooked with other types of meat:

• lamb
• pork
• chicken.

This will not be a classic kharcho, but the soup is no less delicious.

Cereals

It is best to add rice to this soup. For this volume, about 50-60 grams or a little more will be enough to make the soup thick.

Subtle sourness

You can replace the tkemali sauce with plums of the same name - they are added at the stage of cooking meat. Another classic option is sour tklapi pita bread.

Tklapi is a sun-dried puree of tkemali (cherry plum) that gives kharcho soup its unique flavor You will need a piece about the size of half a palm or slightly larger. The tklapi should first be soaked in a few tablespoons of broth and added to the soup along with the seasonings. Another alternative to add sourness is a grant sauce or juice, and it is better to use freshly squeezed juice. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, canned tomatoes in their own juice, or a fresh tomato to the soup.