How to cook kharcho soup step by step recipe. How to cook kharcho soup at home. Chicken breast kharcho soup

An invaluable gift of wonderful Georgian cuisine is the popular recipes for kharcho soup, which, thanks to their diversity and rich taste, are familiar to virtually everyone. Traditionally, this is a thick, spicy first course that is prepared from any type of meat (beef, lamb, chicken, pork, fish, etc.), with the addition of rice and seasoned with various spices. An unlimited number of recipes for this masterpiece of Georgian cuisine makes it possible for everyone to find their own version that will give an unforgettable taste pleasure.

Translated from Georgian, the name of this dish means “beef soup,” but this does not mean at all that its preparation from other types of meat is impossible. It is not for nothing that when mentioning this dish it is worth clarifying the area of its origin. But it is worth noting that changing the recipe does not in any way spoil the taste of this soup; moreover, it only adds piquancy and introduces new colors, replenishing the taste impressions.

However, it is worth remembering that the main taste feature of the spicy first course is the sour base and the characteristic spicy aroma of the East.

The basis of this soup is a special sour mixture - a Georgian flatbread called tklapi, which is made from unripe berries of the cherry plum tree. Thanks to the technology of its production, tklapi is called cherry plum lavash. The puree prepared from dogwood and plum pulp is placed in special layers and dried in the sun. Also, an excellent alternative to tklapi can be a kind of plum sauce - tkemali with the addition of aromatic garlic and spices. These basic ingredients are the basis of real Georgian food.

This truly deep flavor combination is achieved thanks to some cooking features:

As you know, finding tklapi outside the borders of Georgia is quite a difficult undertaking. But this does not make cooking kharcho soup at home an impossible undertaking. An excellent alternative to replacing the sour component would be adjika, tomato sauce, fresh plum pulp, pomegranate juice, a spoonful of apple cider vinegar, tkemali (store-bought), and lemon when serving.
Hot red pepper will add a spicy kick to the dish. Do not forget that when cutting it can irritate your skin or cause a burn. To avoid this trouble, you should use rubber gloves.
In order to cook delicious kharcho soup, you need to use long white rice, but in no case steamed, you can replace it with round rice. Before using, leave the rice in cold water (about 2 hours), or rinse it thoroughly 5 to 7 times. This will allow you to wash away excess starch, the excessive content of which can simply ruin the taste of the Georgian treat, making it viscous and cloudy.
A simple recipe for kharcho soup includes adding an unlimited amount of greens. You will notice how the specific aroma of cilantro will burst with new notes, adding amazing piquancy to the dish and complementing the bouquet of dill and parsley. A moderate addition of mint leaves will also be completely useful.
The selection of seasonings for this dish is considered purely individual, but the main and mandatory one will be hops-suneli. This seasoning contains dried herbs: dill, mint, red pepper, basil, marjoram, coriander, savory, bay leaf, etc. It is all these components that are responsible for the characteristic oriental spice of the dish. Sometimes in some recipes for true Georgian kharcho the seasoning utskho-suneli is found - this is a specific dried fenugreek that gives the dish a “gentle” nutty aroma.
In some western regions of sunny Georgia, for example, in Megrelia, it is so thick that it seems more like a sauce or a main course than a soup. True Megrelian kharcho is an extremely spicy component of Georgian cuisine. This extreme delicacy is savored by dipping Georgian lavash into it.

Today there are an abundance of different recipes for this delicacy. Each family in Georgia has its own unique secret of preparing this fragrant treat, which they carefully keep, passing on their secret from generation to generation.

Classic recipe for kharcho soup

To prepare kharcho soup at home according to the classic recipe, you will need:

Meat (beef) – 430 g;
Rice (white long grain) – 55 g;
Garden fruits (carrots, hot red peppers, onions, garlic);
Half a glass of tkemali sauce;
A handful of walnuts;
Khmeli-suneli;
Greens (cilantro, dill, parsley).

The cooking process is as follows:

First, start preparing the broth. Immerse a piece of beef in water (about 1.5 liters) and bring to a boil. Just before boiling, do not forget to skim the foam from the broth, this will help make it clear and attractive. Then reduce the heat to low and leave for 2 hours. The water should bubble slightly, but only slightly. After a couple of hours, remove the beef and separate the flesh from it, then cut it into small slices and immerse it back into the bubbling broth.

The next step is to add tkemali to the broth, which is extremely important. Add a few spoons of sauce. At the same time, the use of tkemali is not essential; if this particular sauce is not available, you can replace it with any other sour tomato mass. If you are lucky enough to get hold of a real Georgian layer of tklapi, then you should add it in a piece of about 10 - 12 cm. Cover with a lid until it boils.

After this, cut the vegetables - onions into thin slices, and carrots into strips - and add to the boiling broth. Then toast the walnuts in a heated frying pan. After the appropriate smell appears, use a mortar and mortar to grind it to a fine, homogeneous paste. Add grated garlic there.

After boiling the broth for half an hour over low heat, you can add the prepared rice to it and leave on the fire for another 10 - 12 minutes. The next step is to add the nut-garlic paste. After this maneuver, magical aromas will spread throughout the kitchen, which will be complemented by bay leaves, suneli hops, salt, and black pepper.

If desired, you can add pomegranate juice to enhance the acidity, and crushed hot red pepper is useful for spiciness.

The final touch in preparing this Georgian masterpiece is the addition of chopped herbs. Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes and remove from heat as the beef kharcho soup is ready. Let the delicacy brew for 10 - 15 minutes and start eating, adding Georgian lavash to the dish.

The best kharcho soup recipes

There are many different recipes for kharcho soup, they differ in the ingredients that make up the dish. We will look at the most popular and delicious cooking recipes. Let's find out what ingredients we need, and also learn all the intricacies of the cooking process.

Chicken breast kharcho soup

Modern cooking has changed the recipe of this dish almost beyond recognition. By deviating from the traditional cooking recipe, you can prepare a Slavic interpretation of a Georgian delicacy - this is chicken breast kharcho soup.

For this you will need:

Chicken breast;
Rice (round or long grain);
Tkemali, tomato juice or themed paste;
Khmeli-suneli;
Vegetables (carrots and onions);
Butter;
Parsley.

Cooking process:

All ingredients listed are based on 2.5 - 3 liters of water. Let's cook the kharcho soup, starting with preparing the broth with chicken breast.

When the broth is almost ready, add thoroughly washed rice, vegetables, tomato juice or tkemali, salt, suneli hops, and pepper.

At the end you should add grated garlic, oil and crushed herbs. And the chicken kharcho soup is ready.

Young lamb kharcho soup

To make lamb kharcho soup you will need the following products:

Fatty lamb brisket on the bone (0.7 - 1 kg);
Medium grain rice (160 grams);
Medium carrots and onions;
Ripe tomatoes (5 – 7 pieces);
Garlic;
Apple cider vinegar (1 – 1.2 tsp);
Melted butter;
Coriander, black and red pepper;
Cilantro, parsley;
Salt.

How to cook:

How to make kharcho soup from young lamb? First, peel the membranes off the lamb meat. Then divide the brisket so that each piece has 2 ribs. Heat a frying pan and fry the pieces of meat in melted butter until golden brown. In a mortar, grind the coriander, allspice and red pepper, and salt until smooth. Sprinkle the meat with apple cider vinegar, place the onion on top, sprinkle with the prepared fragrant gruel and fry over the fire for about 5 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, you need to grind the tomatoes through a sieve and place them in a boiling frying pan, followed by cilantro and water. Cook everything for about an hour. 10 - 12 minutes before readiness, add the prepared rice and finish cooking after 10 minutes. Send the greens and garlic there, leave for 10 - 15 minutes and enjoy your meal.

Kharcho soup with potatoes

Kharcho soup with potatoes and rice prepared in aromatic, rich broth is a delicious delicacy thanks to its Caucasian origin. To prepare it you need to stock up on the following products:

Meat (any kind on the bone);
Round rice (100 grams);
Potatoes (200 grams);
Onions and garlic;
Tomato paste or adjika;
Butter;
Mixture of dried herbs;
Ground pepper;
Greenery;
Salt.

Cooking process:

Prepare the broth in a familiar way, add potatoes and carrots to it one by one.

Fry part of the onion in cow's butter, and throw the second part raw into a boiling broth.

Add adjika or tomato mass to the fried onions, and then dried herbs. Mix everything thoroughly and sauté until done. Add rice, washed from starch, to the soup, leave on low heat for 10 minutes and set aside for further infusion.

When serving, you can sprinkle with herbs and season with cream.

As you know, the classic version is made from beef, but recipes for this dish that have gone beyond the borders of their homeland at least differ in the choice of meat. True pork connoisseurs also did not miss the opportunity to try preparing this delicacy according to their favorite recipe.

To make pork kharcho soup you need:

Pork on the bone (300 – 350 grams);
Round rice (0.5 cup);
Onions and carrots;
Shelled walnuts;
Tkemali;
Khmeli-suneli;
Sunflower oil;
Salt;
Greenery.

How to cook:

Place rice in boiling pork-based broth. While it is cooking, we fry it from sunflower oil, onions, and carrots. Grind the nuts, tkemali and hops-suneli in a blender. When the rice has boiled over low heat for 10 - 12 minutes, you can add the frying and nut butter with tkemali. Bring the resulting mixture to a boil and turn off. Pour the chopped herbs into the prepared dish and cover with a lid. After steeping for 15-20 minutes, you can start tasting.

Kharcho soup in a slow cooker

That delicacy that we are used to calling “kharcho” definitely has nothing to do with a real Georgian treat. But as they say, “even if you call it a pot, don’t put it in the oven.” But we have exactly the option when you have to put it in the oven, or rather in a slow cooker, where this Georgian spicy broth turns out to be the most aromatic and tasty.

Therefore, to make kharcho soup in a slow cooker, the following ingredients will be useful:

Meat (any) 500 grams;
Vegetables (onions, carrots, garlic, bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes);
Rice (1/2 multi-cup);
Spices, herbs, salt.

Cooking in a slow cooker:

Cut the meat into small pieces and fry in sunflower oil in the “Baking” mode for about 20 – 25 minutes. Then add chopped onions, green peppers, carrots and tomatoes to it. Sauté for another 20 – 23 minutes. Turning off the “Baking” mode, place potatoes and rice in the container with the meat, rinse them thoroughly before doing this. Add your favorite spices and salt to everything. Set the “Extinguishing” mode and wait 1 – 1.5 hours.

Before serving, squeeze out the garlic and sprinkle with herbs.

Considering the excessive calorie content of kharcho soup, many figure-conscious gourmets will appreciate a truly dietary concoction without any meat in it. After all, it is completely unnecessary to cook this delicacy in fatty meat broth. You can replace it with vegetable, and believe me, it will not lose its taste.

To perform the Lenten version you will need:

Rice (1 – 1.5 cups);
Garden fruits (tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, carrots, onions);
Tkemali or spicy adjika;
Vegetable or butter;
Spices;
Fresh herbs;
Salt;

Preparation:

Prepare vegetables and rinse rice. Fry the onion in oil and add water, bring to a boil and add rice. Then place tomatoes, green peppers, tkemali or adjika, spices and salt into the mixture with onions and rice.

Boil and leave for 12 - 17 minutes. When serving the lean broth, sprinkle it with herbs.

Kharcho with wine and smoked ribs

For real gourmets, we offer a recipe for a truly delicious soup with wine and smoked ribs.

You will need:

Smoked lamb ribs (0.5 kg);
Vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots);

Then add water (2 liters) and potatoes and boil again. After boiling for twenty minutes over moderate heat, add rice, salt and place in the oven. After 15 - 17 minutes, remove from the oven and add the aroma of garlic and herbs to the dish.

Kharcho soup with red fish

It is difficult to imagine such an intriguing delicacy as kharcho with red fish. But once you taste this truly amazing treat, you will no doubt add it to your personal list of favorite dishes.

To execute it you will need:

Chilled red fish (500 grams);
Round rice (55 grams);
Garden fruits (onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots);
Spices;
Tkemali;
Pressed garlic;
Salt;
Parsley.

How to cook:

Boil all the prepared vegetables in 2 liters of water, add the onion whole so that it is easy to remove later. Place chopped fish in vegetable broth.

Boil and put rice there. Boil the rice for 10 minutes, then add pressed garlic, salt and spices to the mixture. After turning off, add parsley.

As you can see, preparing kharcho soup is quite simple and quick. Probably, no soup in the world has as many analogues as this magnificent Georgian dish. And these are not all of his versions.

Kharcho soup is considered a traditional Georgian dish. Generous housewives serve it to the table, wanting to please their guests. The recipe for the first course has spread across many countries and is firmly rooted in the kitchen books of many families. Traditionally, kharcho is prepared using beef with the addition of chili pepper. However, for those who do not like spicy food, you can omit the hot component. Housewives use pork, chicken and lamb as meat, it all depends on personal preferences. Let's look at popular cooking technologies in order.

Features of preparing kharcho soup

Kharcho is translated from Georgian as “beef”. It is easy to guess that the soup is prepared using cow meat. However, there is no canon as such. When mentioning kharcho soup, it is often explained what kind of meat the dish is based on. Many housewives vary the recipe at the discretion of the family, which does not make the soup any less tasty.
As a rule, the first dish is characterized by sourness and spiciness, which is achieved by adding chili pepper. The so-called “tklapi” is used as an acidic component. It is prepared from unripe cherry plum, often growing in the southern regions. Due to the unique technology for producing tklapi, the composition is also called cherry plum-based lavash. Plums and dogwoods are pureed, then laid out in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. After this, the composition is dried in the oven or under the sun.
An alternative option for adding sourness to a kharcho dish is to add tkemali, a cherry plum sauce. It is generally difficult to obtain basic components in other countries. In most cases, the ingredients can be purchased in traditional Georgian stores or kneaded yourself. If it is not possible to use an acidic component, replace it with tomato paste, cherry plum pulp, lemon (put into the soup when serving), pomegranate juice, adjika, or store-bought tkemali.
Chili peppers will help give the soup a spicy kick, and both the dried, crushed mixture and a fresh copy will do. In the latter case, you should be careful. The moment you start chopping a vegetable, inflammation may appear on your hands. For this reason, it is recommended to carry out manipulations with gloves.
If kharcho is prepared on the basis of rice, it is preferable to use a composition made from long rather than round grains (not forbidden). It is important that the rice is not steamed. Before cooking, pour cold water over the cereal and let it sit for about 3 hours. During this period, the liquid will suck out the starch. If you don't have time to soak, rinse the product 10 times. This move will ensure that the soup does not have a cloudy, but a translucent consistency without a whitish tint.
Georgian chefs are very generous; they never spare food. In kharcho soup, you cannot skimp on meat and herbs; other behavior indicates the greed of the hostess. It is preferable to use fresh bunches of dill, parsley, and celery. Some cooks prefer to provide the dish with mint leaves (in moderation).
If we talk about seasonings, they are added taking into account personal wishes. A mandatory spice is suneli hops. The bulk composition includes dried laurel leaf, red pepper (chili), lemon balm, fenugreek, etc. Some recipes involve the addition of suneli-utskho. After adding the seasoning to hot dishes, the characteristic aroma of nutmeg appears.
If we talk about the consistency of kharcho soup, it is so thick that the product is more likely to be classified as sauces or other main courses. As a rule, according to tradition, pita bread is dipped into the composition. If we talk about tomatoes added to kharcho, they are first peeled (the procedure is called blanching). To do this, make a cross cut on the surface of the tomato, then scald the vegetable with boiling water.
As mentioned earlier, kharcho is prepared using beef. However, experienced housewives prefer to replace it with pork, chicken, and lamb. Choose meat with layers of fat to make the dish rich. Traditionally, garlic is added to kharcho. It can be passed through a press or used whole, it all depends on individual preferences.

Kharcho soup: a classic of the genre

onions - 3 pcs.
rice (preferably long grain) - 60 gr.
beef meat - 550-600 gr.
carrots - 1.5 pcs.
walnut - 45 gr.
fresh dill - 40 gr.
fresh parsley - 20 gr.
tkemali - 40 gr.
garlic - 5 cloves
seasonings
chili pepper - 1/3 pod
fresh mint - 1 sprig

First you need to prepare the broth. To carry out the procedure correctly, wash, dry and chop the brisket into cubes (size approximately 3*3 cm). Make sure that there are no individual fatty pieces in the soup.
Place the product in a container, fill it with filtered cold (!) water, and bring the mixture to a boil at low power. Cook the soup for about two hours.
At this time, start processing vegetables. Chop the onion into thin half rings, then chop into small slices. Peel the carrots and cut into thin strips.
Do not rush to add onions and carrots to the broth; tkemali is poured in first. Scoop out 40 grams. sauce, stir, wait 10 minutes. Place the chopped vegetables into the pan, cover with a lid, and cook for half an hour.
Take walnuts and fry them in a hot frying pan without adding vegetable oil. The duration of heat treatment is usually 5-7 minutes. After this, the kernels need to be passed through a blender, making flour out of them.
Pass the garlic cloves through a press, combine with nuts, and add to the soup. Send washed or soaked rice here and cook until the grains swell. As soon as this happens, add your favorite spices.
Assess the taste of the soup, add salt and pepper if necessary, add more suneli hops. Add a third of the chili inside and simmer for 5 minutes. If the kharcho is not sour enough, add pomegranate juice or tomato paste.
Wash and chop the greens, season the soup with it. Do not rush to turn off the burner, otherwise the kharcho will quickly turn sour if there are fresh herbs. Continue heat treatment for 5 minutes. After the expiration date, add a sprig of fresh mint, cover with a lid, and let sit for half an hour.

Kharcho soup with fish

peppercorns - 5 pcs.
laurel leaf - 6 pcs.
onions - 1 pc. (large)
salt - to taste
parsley root - 1 cm.
celery root - 1 cm.
Long grain rice - 160 gr.
sea fish (any) - 350 gr.
garlic - 3 cloves
tkemali - 45 gr.

Fish for kharcho soup is cooked in vegetable broth; choose sea creatures with the maximum degree of fat content. Pour 1.5-2 liters into the pan. filtered water, add peppercorns, salt. Grate the celery root and parsley, mix into the total mass.
Place the bay leaf and garlic through a crusher into the pan. Peel the onion, cut it into 2 or 4 parts, and add to the broth. Cook the mixture on medium power for about 25 minutes.
While the broth is ready, gut the fish, cut off the fins and remove the scales. Wash, chop into large slices, place in broth. Depending on the size, the fish needs to be cooked for 20-30 minutes.
10 minutes after you start processing the fish, add the washed or soaked rice to the pan. Cook the kharcho soup until the rice grains are ready. Complete the procedure by adding tkemali (5 minutes before turning off the burner).
Experienced housewives prefer to decorate fish kharcho with mint leaves and fresh herbs. Absolutely anything will do: cilantro, dill, parsley, celery.

boneless chicken - 350 gr.
onions - 2 pcs.
garlic - 4 cloves
walnuts (peeled kernels) - 120 gr.
tomatoes - 6 pcs. medium size
salt - to taste
seasonings - at your discretion
fresh parsley - 30 gr.
fresh dill - 40 gr.

Chicken fillet can be replaced with legs to ultimately get a rich broth. Some housewives prefer to cook kharcho based on domestic duck or broilers. Choose parts that have the maximum amount of fat streaks.
Wash the meat, cut it into small cubes, marinate in salt and spices. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan and fry the chicken until golden brown. After this, pour some filtered water into the pan and simmer the product for another 10 minutes.
The broth can be prepared after pre-frying. To do this, move the entire contents of the frying pan into a thick-bottomed saucepan, add water, and cook for 35-60 minutes. The duration of simmering depends on the shape of the meat; “homemade” specimens take longer to cook.
Chop the onion into half rings or small squares. Pass the garlic through a press and add to the onion. Fry over low heat until brown. Make sure that the composition does not burn.
Make an X-shaped cut on the tomatoes, place them in boiling water and leave for 40 seconds. After this period, remove the skin, chop the tomatoes into cubes, and add to the broth.
Fry the walnut kernels in a dry frying pan for 7 minutes. After this, grind the mixture into dust using a blender or garlic crusher. Add the nut to the soup; after 10 minutes, add salt and seasonings to the first dish.
Chop fresh herbs, it is not necessary to use parsley and dill. Cilantro, celery, etc. are also suitable. After adding the greens, cook the soup for another 3 minutes, turn off the stove and let the kharcho brew for half an hour. Serve with a mint leaf.

Kharcho soup with lamb

lamb (brisket) - 550 gr.
parsley root - 20 gr.
onion - 1 pc.
ground black pepper - to taste
salt - to taste
rice - 145 gr.
tkemali - 35 gr.
adjika liquid - 30 gr.
tomato paste - 20 gr.
garlic - 4 heads
fresh parsley - a third of a bunch
fresh dill - 1 bunch
dry chili pepper - on the tip of a knife
olives or black olives (for decoration)

Lamb-based kharcho soup is prepared from lean tenderloin; brisket is best. Rinse the product with running cold water, dry with napkins or towels, chop into small pieces (size 3*3 cm).
To prevent the meat from losing juice during cooking, fry the pieces in a frying pan with the addition of vegetable or butter. 5 minutes of heat treatment is enough (during this period the lamb will become crusty).
2 minutes before readiness, add parsley root, after grating it on a fine grater. Place the meat in a saucepan, add warm drinking water and place on the stove. Chop the onion and add it to the meat.
Salt and pepper the dish, add dry chili pepper, stir. Cook the broth for 1 hour, then add the washed or soaked rice. Pour in liquid adjika, tkemali, and tomato paste.
Pass the garlic through a crush, mix with chopped dill, parsley and cilantro (optional). Cook until the rice is ready, then let the soup simmer, covered, for another half an hour. Serve with a wedge of lemon and olives.

rice (any kind, but not steamed) - 140 gr.
pork pulp - 550 gr.
walnuts (peeled kernels) - 80 gr.
onions - 3-4 pcs.
tkemali - 50 gr.
garlic - 4 cloves
dill (fresh) - half a bunch
parsley (root) - 10 gr.
seasonings - to taste

Wash the pork, dry it with paper towels, and chop the meat into cubes. Select an enamel pan, place the meat in the cavity and pour 2 liters. water. Simmer the tenderloin over low heat for 2 hours. Throughout the simmering, remove the foam with a slotted spoon.
After the specified period, remove the meat, pass the broth through 2 layers of gauze, then boil again. Place the pork inside and add pre-soaked or washed rice. Chop the onion, grate the parsley root, and add the vegetables to the broth.
After 10 minutes, add seasonings. Fry the walnut kernels in a dry hot frying pan and mash in a mortar. Mix the mixture with tkemali sauce and add to the soup. Cook for a quarter of an hour, then add the pressed garlic.
Kharcho will be ready in 10 minutes. Chop the greens, sprinkle them over the finished dish, and let it sit for half an hour. Some housewives prefer to add mint leaves and a slice of chili pepper to the pork soup.

Kharcho soup: recipe for a slow cooker

garlic - 7 cloves
carrots - 1 pc.
vegetable oil - for frying
red bell pepper - 2 pcs.
onion - 1 pc.
chicken fillet - 0.5 kg.
long grain rice (not parboiled) - 150 gr.
potatoes - 3 tubers
fresh parsley - 1 bunch
fresh dill - 1 bunch
bay leaf - 5 pcs.
ground black pepper - on the tip of a knife
salt - to taste

Wash the chicken, dry with paper towels, remove the film. Chop the fillet into small cubes, peel and chop the onion into half rings. Chop the carrots into strips and do the same with the bell pepper. Peel the potatoes and chop into cubes approximately 1.5*1.5 cm in size.
Rinse the rice 7-10 times until the water becomes completely clear. If desired, you can pre-soak the grains by leaving them in cool water for 4 hours. Pour vegetable oil into the multicooker bowl, add onion half rings, chopped carrots and bell peppers into the cavity.
Turn on the “Roasting” mode and set the timer for 10 minutes. Stir the mixture constantly to prevent it from burning. When the vegetables are fried, remove them and do the same with the chicken pieces (processing time is 25 minutes).
Mix chicken with vegetables, add chopped potatoes and rice. Fill with warm filtered water, set the “Stew” function, cook the soup for 1.5 hours. An hour after the start of cooking, add chopped herbs and garlic, salt and pepper, and add spices.

Kharcho soup is rightfully considered a traditional Georgian dish. It is served at family celebrations and prepared as a main dish for lunch or dinner. Consider recipes based on pork, beef, lamb, fish, chicken. Add chili pepper at your discretion, replace tkemali with pomegranate juice, sour tomato paste or cherry plum sauce. Add your favorite seasonings; marjoram, saffron, suneli hops, bay leaves, and ground black pepper are considered the most suitable.

Video: principles of cooking kharcho

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than cooking for yourself))

Mar 28 2014

Content

If soup is an integral part of your diet, treat yourself to a new dish. Prepare kharcho soup the way it is done in its homeland, Georgia. Our step-by-step guide will help you with this.

Kharcho is a thick, rich and aromatic soup with meat. It is considered a traditional dish of Georgian cuisine. Even a child in Georgia knows how to prepare this dish. To make it you will need beef, tklapi - a special dressing made from dried plum puree, and prunes. You will also need: rice, onions, garlic, spices and suneli hops.

The basis of kharcho is always tkemali or cherry plum - sour varieties of plums. In Georgia, the pulp of the berry is dried in the form of round cakes - lavash, which is popularly called tklapi.

The choice of meat and rice is of great importance. It is believed that the best dish is made from steamed fatty beef on the bone. Rice should be whole, long-grain or round. Parboiled and broken rice should not be used.

How to cook classic kharcho soup: step-by-step guide

You will need:

300 g fatty beef brisket;
100 g whole round rice;
2 medium-sized onions;
3 cloves of garlic;
1 hot pepper;
3 pcs. prunes;
1 tbsp. khmeli-suneli;
7 tbsp. water
30 g tklapi;
30 g vegetable oil
2 tbsp. tomato puree;
salt to taste;
fresh herbs to taste (cilantro, dill, parsley).

Cooking method:

Having separated the meat from the bones and cleaned it from the films, cut it into small pieces across the grain. Place it in a saucepan and add water. Bring the water in a saucepan to a boil over high heat and cook the meat for about 50 minutes over low heat.
Cooking rice. To do this, carefully sort and wash it. Then soak the rice for 15 minutes until it turns white.
Finely chop the onion, prunes, cilantro and garlic. Mix them with tomato paste, vegetable oil and hops-suneli. Add tklapi and finely chopped hot pepper to the sauce.
Place the resulting mixture on high heat and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add rice to almost cooked meat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add prunes and prepared sauce. At this stage, do not forget to add salt.
Cook the soup for another 10 minutes over high heat.
Before turning off, add finely chopped parsley and dill to the kharcho.
The finished soup should sit for another 15 minutes.

Advice. If you are unable to find tklapi, then this seasoning can be replaced with tkemali sauce, which is sold in any supermarket. If you don't have tkemali on hand, use pomegranate juice as an alternative.

Among all the culinary instructions, tomato kharcho occupies a special place. Its main advantage is its accessibility. This soup does not use the famous tklapi sauce. It is replaced by tomatoes and popular seasonings. Soup according to this recipe is also loved by many.

Chicken kharcho has a slightly different taste, but it is also popular among lovers of similar soups. The process of its preparation differs slightly from the classic version.

To prepare chicken kharcho you will need the following ingredients:

500 g chicken or turkey meat;
200 g shelled walnuts;
2 onions;
40 g wheat flour;
0.5 cups of cherry plum puree or 3 ripe tomatoes;
3 cloves of garlic;
2 tsp crushed cilantro seeds;
1 tsp khmeli-suneli seasoning;
salt;
greenery;
spices to taste - cinnamon, hot pepper, black pepper, cloves, allspice, Imeretian saffron, bay leaf.

In the process of preparing the chicken variation of the dish, there are several points that you should know about.

Only fatty pieces of chicken are used for soup.
Cilantro is not recommended as greens. It is better to replace it with parsley, dill or celery.
At the end of preparing the sauce, flour is added.
Otherwise, you should follow the recipe for preparing classic kharcho.

How to prepare pork kharcho

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Kharcho soup is a traditional Georgian dish that tirelessly delights lovers of spicy first courses around the world. Not only its unusual taste speaks in its favor, but also the abundance of aromatic spices, the smell of which instantly gathers the whole family at the table. Every housewife can prepare kharcho, regardless of nationality, since it contains familiar and affordable products.

Kharcho soup is prepared using meat broth. It can be boiled on the pits, or you can use the pulp. In the classic recipe, preference is given to beef, but if desired, it can be replaced with any other type of meat. The caloric content and cooking time of the dish will largely depend on this.

Another mandatory ingredient of kharcho is rice, which is pre-washed and left to swell in cold water. This allows you to make it more crumbly. Quite a lot of rice is added to the soup, because the kharcho should turn out much thicker than the usual first courses.

Kharcho must have some sourness, which is why it contains Georgian sauces tkemali or satsibeli. You can replace them with a mixture of spices with fresh tomato puree, tomato paste or lecho. Also, the soup often includes other vegetables, for example, onions, garlic, potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, etc.

To ensure the fullness of taste and aroma, a variety of spices are used in kharcho. The most popular of them: suneli hops, bay leaves, fresh and dried herbs, paprika, saffron, various peppers, etc.

Serve the dish slightly cooled, allowing it to brew after cooking.

This soup will be a real treat for those who like to experiment with first courses. Even this extensive list of ingredients can be supplemented with several products. For example, prunes, satsibeli sauce or walnuts will give a pleasant taste. It is recommended to immediately immerse lamb in boiling water, and not in cold water.

Ingredients:

1.2 kg lamb ribs;
2.8 liters of water;
200 g rice;
3 onions;
2 tomatoes;
1 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
2 tsp. khmeli-suneli;
5 black peppercorns;
2 bay leaves;
2 tsp. paprika;
1 pinch of saffron;
1 pinch of coriander seeds;
1 pinch of dried basil;
5 cloves of garlic;
½ bunch of parsley;
Salt.

Cooking method:

Rinse the meat and rice well.
Bring water to a boil, place meat in it.
Add black peppercorns, bay leaves and one whole peeled onion to the same saucepan.
Cook the lamb for 1 hour over medium heat, then add a tablespoon of salt.
Remove the onion from the broth and cook for another 1 hour.
Chop the garlic and parsley with a knife, cut the remaining onion into thin half rings, and the tomatoes into slices.
Strain the finished broth through a sieve into a clean pan, after removing the meat from it.
Add rice, suneli hops and, if necessary, salt to the broth.
Cook the rice over medium heat until done.
Separate the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces.
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until golden brown.
Place the chopped lamb on the onion, add paprika and fry for 5 minutes.
Place the remaining spices in a blender bowl, add tomatoes and puree.
Pour the resulting mass into a frying pan with meat and onions and simmer for 6 minutes.
Place the entire contents of the frying pan into the pan with the rice, stir and boil.
Cook the kharcho for 5 minutes, then add the herbs and garlic.
Let the soup brew for 10-15 minutes.

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Although almost any type of meat is suitable for kharcho, the traditional Georgian dish is prepared with beef. The soup turns out to be very nourishing and aromatic, thanks to its rich composition and a large number of spices. For lovers of spicy dishes, you can add ground hot pepper.

Ingredients:

300 g beef;
4 tbsp. l. rice;
3 onions;
4 tomatoes;
3 bay leaves;
2 cloves of garlic;
3 black peppercorns;
1 tsp. khmeli-suneli;
Greenery;
Salt.

Cooking method:

Rinse the beef, remove films and veins, cut into cubes.
Place the meat in a saucepan, add water, add peppercorns, bay leaf and salt to taste.
Cook the beef over low heat until half cooked.
Rinse the rice several times, pour into the broth and cook until tender.
Cut the onion into small cubes and fry in vegetable oil for 10 minutes.
Remove the skins from the tomatoes and chop finely.
Chop the herbs and garlic, add to the tomatoes and stir.
10 minutes before the rice is ready, pour tomato dressing into the soup, add spices and onions.
Let the kharcho stand under the closed lid for 10 minutes.

A simple recipe for a complex dish that can be easily brought to life using a slow cooker. Using this kitchen assistant allows you to perform all processes in one container, which significantly reduces time costs. You won’t get a very rich broth with chicken, but the main flavor notes of kharcho are fully respected in this dish.

Ingredients:

500 g chicken;
2 onions;
2 carrots;
2 tomatoes;
2 bell peppers;
3 potatoes;
1 cup rice;
Bay leaf;
Greenery;
Salt pepper.

Cooking method:

Cut chicken, onions, bell peppers, potatoes and tomatoes into small cubes into different containers.
Grate the carrots and rinse the rice in several waters.
Grease the multicooker bowl with vegetable oil, add the chicken and fry for 20 minutes in the “Baking” mode.
After 5 minutes, add the onion, then, after the same time, the carrots.
After another 5 minutes of frying, place the tomatoes and bell peppers in the bowl and continue cooking for 20 minutes.
Add potatoes, rice and spices to taste.
Cook the soup in the “Stew” mode for 1 hour, add salt 15 minutes before the signal.
After the end of the program, add bay leaf and finely chopped herbs.
Leave the kharcho in the “Warming” mode for 10 minutes.

Kharcho with pork is certainly not a dietary dish, but there is hardly anyone who can resist it. The dish turns out to be very appetizing, nutritious and, moreover, emits an amazing aroma. For an even greater flavor palette, it is recommended to add a teaspoon of Svan salt.

Ingredients:

500 g pork;
3 onions;
150 g rice;
1 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
1 tbsp. l. khmeli-suneli;
100 g walnuts;
1 tsp. pepper mixtures;
4 cloves of garlic;
3 tomatoes;
3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
3 liters of water;
Bay leaf;
Greenery;
Salt.

Cooking method:

Rinse the meat, cut into medium-sized cubes and place in a saucepan.
Pour water over pork and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam that has formed, turn the heat down, and add salt.
Cut the onion into half rings, pour half of the onion into the broth, cook until the meat is cooked.
Fry the rest of the onion in vegetable oil until golden brown.
Peel the tomatoes, cut into cubes and add to the onion.
Add tomato paste to the same pan, stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
In a separate saucepan, cook the rice until half cooked, pour into the saucepan with the already cooked meat.
Then pour the contents of the frying pan.
Chop the nuts and add to a common pan.
Add spices and salt to taste to the kharcho, bring the soup to a boil again and cook for 8-10 minutes.
Pass the garlic through a press and throw it into the pan along with the bay leaf.
Remove the soup from the heat and leave covered for 15 minutes.

Depending on the power of the multicooker, the cooking time may decrease slightly. Just check the rice for doneness. Before serving, it is best to let the soup brew overnight, or at least 1 hour in the “Warm” mode. If you don’t have lecho on hand, you can replace it with fresh tomatoes.

Ingredients:

800 g pork;
1 onion;
1 carrot;
50 g cilantro;
3 potatoes;
1 cup rice;
1 tbsp. l. Sahara;
1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
100 g tomato lecho;
Salt pepper.

Cooking method:

Cut the onion into rings, then into quarters.
Cut carrots, meat and potatoes into cubes.
Chop the herbs and garlic.
Fry the onions and carrots in vegetable oil in the “Frying” mode until golden brown.
Without changing the mode, add meat to the multicooker saucepan and cook for another 7 minutes.
Add lecho, potatoes, rice and sugar to the meat and vegetables, add salt and pepper to taste.
Fill the multicooker with water to the top line.
Cook for 1.5 hours in the “Stew” mode.
15 minutes before readiness, add chopped garlic and cilantro.

Now you know how to cook kharcho soup according to the recipe with photo. Bon appetit!

Kharcho soup is an incredibly tasty and aromatic dish that has entered our diet from Georgian cuisine. All products for it are easy to find in our region, and the cooking process itself is unlikely to seem too labor-intensive to anyone. Experienced chefs will tell you how to cook this unusual kharcho soup:
Steamed long-grain rice, without excess gluten and starch, is best suited for kharcho;

To prevent the meat for soup from turning out too tough, it is better to add salt not at the beginning of cooking the broth, but approximately in the middle;

As soon as the soup broth begins to boil, be sure to remove the foam from it and reduce the heat;

When grinding tomatoes in a blender, it is not necessary to remove the skin. If you decide to use a knife, then first remove the skin by scalding the tomatoes with boiling water;

It is very important to let the soup sit after cooking to better infuse the flavors of the spices;

It is recommended to cut the meat into small pieces to make it more tender;

The bones can be used for broth, but they must be removed before preparing the soup.

What kind of rice, how much and when to add to kharcho
Standard proportions are 1.5 tablespoons of rice per 1 liter pan. For real kharcho soup, round grain rice is used; it must be added to the soup 25 minutes before the end of cooking the soup.
Kharcho can turn out too thick mainly due to the large amount of rice. If this happens, you should take a slotted spoon and scoop out the excess rice. It can be used in meatballs or meatballs. Another option would be to cook more broth in a separate pan and put some of the grounds into it. Then the soup can be frozen. But it is not recommended to leave kharcho soup too thick - by the morning after cooking, the soup will swell to the consistency of porridge.

What is traditionally put in kharcho soup?
- spices - suneli hops, coriander grains, hot pepper, saffron, barberry;
- walnuts crushed in a mortar (50 grams of peeled);
- instead of tomatoes, pomegranate juice (ideally fresh squeezed, without sugar), fresh cherry plum (half a glass), tkemali from sweet varieties of plums or tklapi (3 tablespoons) - cherry plum pastille - are added to the classic kharcho soup. As a last resort, add chopped prunes (8-10 pieces).
- from greens, parsley (greens and roots), marjoram, basil, mint, coriander and/or cilantro are added to kharcho soup. It is believed that there is no such thing as too much greenery in kharcho.
- Additionally, you can add a quarter cup of soy sauce to the soup to give the kharcho some spice.

What else can I add?
- for flavor when cooking meat, it is recommended to add 2-3 onions to the soup, and after the meat is cooked, remove the onions from the broth.
- for greater satiety, you can fry the onion and add 1 tablespoon of flour to the onion while frying - then the soup will be a little higher in calories.
- although you don’t put potatoes in real kharcho soup, you can add a couple or three to make it more filling. As a result, the soup will no longer meet traditions, but will become very nutritious. Add diced potatoes 20 minutes before the end of cooking the soup.
- if the kharcho is too sour, you can add salt, pepper, herbs or sugar.
- a classic version of serving kharcho soup - with a lot of lavash or other Georgian bread.

About the consistency of kharcho
- Onions in classic kharcho are cut along the growth of the onion to maintain its shape and prevent it from turning into porridge during cooking.

Too spicy kharcho soup can be diluted with boiled water or broth, or provide a large portion of sour cream, bread and drinks each time you serve kharcho. It will be more labor-intensive to strain the rice, select it and return everything else to the kharcho, and cook new rice in the kharcho.

What kind of meat is kharcho soup made with?
- Traditionally, kharcho soup is cooked with beef meat (ideally, with beef brisket on the bone or on the marrow), it is allowed to use lamb, pork on the bone, and chicken (fatty parts).

If lamb ribs are used for kharcho, it is recommended to fry them a little in butter with the addition of a couple of tablespoons of dry white wine.

The cost of ingredients for cooking classic kharcho soup is from 400 rubles, for cooking simple kharcho soup - 300 rubles. (average for Moscow as of July 2019).

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