Kharcho soup: a simple recipe for cooking at home

Classic recipe for Georgian kharcho soup with beef and rice

This soup is very tasty, not like your usual everyday soups. A rich and spicy soup of Georgian cuisine, which is prepared exclusively from beef. Characteristic of it is the sour tkemali sauce, prepared on the basis of plums. And another important component is walnuts, which need to be chopped into fine crumbs. Plus, the presence of garlic, bright spices and, naturally, cilantro is very important.

Ingredients:

Beef – 500 gr.
rice – 50 gr.
nuts – 100 gr.
tkemali sauce – 3 tbsp. l.
onion – 1 pc.
sweet pepper – 1 pc.
ground red pepper – 1/2 tsp.
hops-suneli - 1 tbsp. l.
garlic – 4 cloves
salt - to taste
tomato paste – 60 gr.
cilantro - 3-5 sprigs
bay leaf – 2-3 pcs.

Cooking process:

To prepare a classic soup, we take beef on the bone. The broth will be richer and more delicious. Place the washed beef in a saucepan and fill it to the top with water. Send to the fire.

After boiling, reduce the heat to low, skim off any foam that has formed and continue cooking at low simmer for 1-2 hours. While the meat and broth are being prepared, you need to start preparing the vegetable dressing. To do this, you need to peel and finely chop the onion. And also chop the red pepper.

Fry the onion in a frying pan until golden brown. Ideally, do this with beef fat, but due to its absence, you can use vegetable fat. Then add tomato paste and stir.

Lightly dry the peeled walnut grains in a dry frying pan, then grind in a coffee grinder and combine with garlic crushed in a mortar. And add the nut-garlic mixture to the pan. Stir and remove from heat.

Remove the cooked meat from the pan. Strain the broth through a fine sieve. Cut the cooled meat into small portions and return to the broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat and add rice. Place the finely diced peppers into the pan. Place the pan back on the stove and continue cooking over low heat.

After 10 minutes, add tkemali sauce, vegetable dressing with nuts, ground red pepper, suneli hops, salt and finely chopped cilantro into the soup. Boil for another 5 minutes and remove from heat. Return the meat and let the soup rest for 10-15 minutes with the lid closed.

Before serving, it would be nice to garnish the plate with fresh, finely chopped cilantro. Bon appetit.

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 way to add 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.

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Recipe for beef kharcho soup with rice and potatoes

A culinary masterpiece with Russian notes – a more familiar version of kharcho for those who don’t really like experiments, but love a tasty and satisfying meal. In the recipe we use beef meat; if you have it on the bone, you shouldn’t cut it, the bone will give more fat.

Ingredients:

beef – 500 g.
tkemali sauce – 3 tbsp. l.
potatoes – 3-4 pcs.
rice - 1/2 cup.
onion – 1 pc.
tomato paste – 1 tbsp. l.
parsley – 1 bunch
sunflower oil – ½ tbsp. l.
garlic – 1 clove.
salt and pepper - to taste.

Cooking process:

Fill a 3-liter saucepan 2/3 full with water and add pieces of beef, cut into large cubes, bay leaves and 1 tsp. salt. Cook after boiling over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Peel and wash the potato tubers, chop them into cubes. Wash and chop the parsley, add finely chopped garlic to it. Peel the onion and chop finely.

Remove the beef from the pan and strain the broth into another container. Wash the pan, return the broth to it and put it on the fire. Add potatoes and rice.

In a hot frying pan with hot oil, fry the onion and beef pieces for 3 minutes, stirring.

Add the contents of the frying pan to the soup, add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add parsley and garlic, salt and pepper if necessary.

Kharcho soup should sit for 10-15 minutes after cooking to become richer. Pour into deep bowls and enjoy!

Kharcho soup with pork

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 in 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.

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Video on how to cook real Georgian kharcho with tkemali

Even a traditional recipe for Georgian soup can differ from one housewife to another in the general composition of the ingredients. And each will claim that she has the real recipe. And for those who love video recipes, I found wonderful, detailed and understandable material.

Ingredients:

beef - 600 gr.
onions - 2 pcs.
tomatoes - 4 pcs.
rice - 6 tablespoons
walnut - 100 gr.
hot pepper - 1 pc.
parsley - 1 bunch.
tkemali sauce - 2 tablespoons
garlic - 3 cloves
allspice - 1 teaspoon
khmeli-suneli - 1 teaspoon
dried basil - 1 teaspoon
dried cilantro - 1 teaspoon

Cooking process:

Now look at the method of preparing this Georgian dish.

Nuances of preparation

How to cook kharcho soup? At first glance, everything is elementary, but everywhere there are secrets.

You can put any rice into the already cooked broth, but not steamed or crushed. For example, short-grain rice will retain its attractive appearance even when boiled.

It is during the cooking of rice that fried onions, laurel leaves, slightly crushed black peppercorns, chopped walnuts, cherry plum or tklapi are added to the soup. Very rarely, but still, tomatoes are added to kharcho, but they must be without peel.

All spices and herbs are added at the very end of cooking. Be it red pepper, saffron, suneli hops, adjika or coriander.

It is important to remember that if children will also enjoy the soup, then there is no need to overuse hot spices.

After removing the soup from the heat, add finely chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, parsley, cilantro, and celery.

It is also interesting that in each recipe not only the composition is different, but also the cooking time, as well as the sequence of adding certain products. In Russia and Belarus, potatoes, carrots and bell peppers are added. In Italy they do not skimp on olives and fresh basil. And in France they modify the classic recipe to suit themselves and do not prepare soup without Parmesan and cashew nuts.

Kharcho is not eaten immediately after cooking; it needs time to brew - from half an hour or more.

A simple and delicious recipe for kharcho soup with tomato paste

Here is another recipe for preparing this wonderful dish from Georgian cuisine, but it’s true that this recipe has already been slightly altered to suit Russian tastes. But you shouldn’t replace tomato paste with store-bought ketchup. Various additives in its composition can significantly change the taste of the soup.

Ingredients:

beef, lamb or pork 500-600 gr.
rice 200 gr.
2 medium onions
tomato paste 5-7 tablespoons
garlic 3-5 cloves
salt, black pepper to taste
seasonings and spices to taste

Cooking process:

Rinse the meat and cut into small pieces. For greater richness, leave the veins and bones.

Fill the meat with cold water (2-2.5 liters), add a pinch of salt. Place it on high heat (reduce it after boiling). Cook until tender (about 40 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Peel the onion and cut into rings. Fry in vegetable oil with the addition of tomato paste and spices. Rinse the rice and add it to the prepared broth.

The more spices you add, the more aromatic and rich the dish will be. You can also add chopped walnuts for taste. In the classic kharcho recipe, this is an irreplaceable and mandatory ingredient.

Cook the rice for 8-10 minutes, and then add the cooked onion and tomato paste to the pan. If you are preparing a dish with walnuts, then add them at the same stage.

Cook for a few more minutes until the rice is completely cooked. 1-2 minutes before turning off, add the garlic and remaining spices.

To make the kharcho with tomato paste as rich as possible, let the soup sit for a few minutes under a closed lid. That's it, the dish is ready. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top if desired.

You can increase the thickness and richness of the soup with the help of fresh tomatoes and bell peppers. Cut both into small cubes and fry together with onions and tomato paste.

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.

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Kharcho with lamb in a slow cooker

Properly prepared lamb soup is a flavorful, spicy dish that can warm you up on the coldest winter day.

Ingredients:

lamb - 1 kg;
onion - 2 heads
parsley root - 1 pc.
coriander seeds - 1 tbsp. l.
corn flour - 1 tbsp. l.;
rice - ½ cup;
parsley, cilantro, fresh basil - 1 bunch each;
tkemal sauce - to taste;
garlic - 3 cloves;
bay leaf, black pepper;
hops-suneli - 1 tbsp. l.;
cinnamon - on the tip of a knife;
hot pepper - 1 unit;
saffron - a pinch.

Cooking process:

1. Pour a little oil into the multicooker bowl and fry the onion in the “Fry” program. Fry until translucent and lightly coat with cornmeal and stir. Transfer the finished roast to a separate bowl.

2. Place the washed meat tenderloin into the bowl and lightly fry on all sides for a couple of minutes. Pour in heated water and cook the broth in the “Soup” mode for 1 hour.

3. After the allotted time, open the lid, collect the foam and remove the meat. Rinse the rice and add to the broth. Extend the program for 10 minutes, then add the roast, add ground pepper, coriander, bay leaf, chopped root, set the program for another 10 minutes.

4. While the spices are cooking with the rice, cut the boiled meat tenderloin into small pieces. Meanwhile, chop the greens and place each one separately in bowls.

5. Add tkemali, whole hot peppers, suneli hops, saffron, parsley, and salt to taste to the rice. Add chopped lamb. Taste a little to feel the sourness, add a little more sauce if necessary. Extend the program by 5 minutes.

6. Lightly chop the garlic, and then grind it into a paste using a mortar. Turn off the multicooker, add cilantro and basil, crushed garlic. The video clip can be classified as additional materials. As they say, it's better to see once.

Homemade tkemali

When Georgian women are asked how to prepare kharcho soup (the recipes are different, sometimes changed beyond recognition, and besides, each family, as you know, has its own), they always answer that nothing will work without tkemali. How is this famous Georgian sauce prepared?

Ingredients:

dark plums - 500 grams;
cherry tomatoes - 5 pieces;
garlic - 4 cloves;
cilantro - stem;
salt - optional;

Preparation

Pour boiling water over plums and tomatoes and simmer until soft. Then they are ground through a sieve and placed back into the pan. Suneli hops, garlic, cilantro and salt are added to the puree. Let it boil and puree it with a blender. The resulting mass is poured into a convenient container and stored in the refrigerator.

Chicken kharcho recipe: Learning to cook delicious soup at home

This is a dish of Caucasian cuisine and is usually prepared from lamb or beef. But, of course, you can make excellent soup from chicken. Aromatically filling and very tasty!

Ingredients:

chicken broth - 1.5 liters
long rice - 4 tbsp. spoons
onion - 1 large
tomato paste - 1 tablespoon
Refined sunflower oil - 30 ml
garlic - 3 cloves
bay leaf - 1 pc.
hops-suneli - 1 tbsp. spoon
parsley - to taste
salt and ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking process:

We cut up a piece of meat, put it in water and cook for 30-40 minutes in lightly salted water. It is advisable to use a domestic village chicken. Boil the chicken broth and strain it.

Peel the onions, wash them and chop them finely. Place in the prepared broth, place on low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Next, add the washed rice and cook until the rice is ready.

Place a frying pan on the stove, pour oil into it and add tomato paste. Lightly fry, stirring constantly.

We transfer the finished paste, plus suneli hops and bay leaves into the pan, do not forget to add salt and pepper. Continue cooking for another 5-7 minutes. And add chopped garlic and finely chopped herbs to taste to the finished dish.

Turn off the stove, cover the soup with a lid and let it sit for a while until it infuses.

Subtleties of preparation and serving

To make kharcho soup tasty and rich, follow the rules for preparing it:

Use beef for this dish. In extreme cases, it can be replaced with chicken, pork or turkey.
Adjust the spiciness and piquancy of the dish to your taste by adjusting the amount of added spices and herbs.
Use tklapi sauce, or if it is not available, tkemali sauce, pomegranate juice or tomato paste.
Do not use steamed rice for kharcho soup.
Serve the finished dish in portioned plates with sour cream and herbs. Instead of bread, use pita bread stuffed with soft cheese and herbs.

To prepare kharcho soup at home, choose the appropriate recipe, prepare the necessary ingredients, and learn the cooking procedure. Following all the recommendations, cooking a delicious dish of Georgian cuisine will not be difficult.

Spicy Megrelian kharcho

This recipe is also from the cuisine of the western region of Georgia - Megrelia, but this applies more to second courses than to first courses. The dish is very spicy, not for everyone. So if you are not too keen on spiciness in your food, you can turn down the pepper slightly.

Ingredients:

1 kg of beef - 1 kg.
onion - 7 heads
butter - 30 gr.
dry red wine - 150 ml.
tomato juice - 5 tbsp. spoons
mashed tomatoes in their own juice - 400 ml.
parsley - 30 gr.
1 tbsp. Imeretian saffron - 1 tbsp. spoon
coriander seeds - 10 gr.
khmeli-suneli - 2 tsp.
adjika - 3 tbsp.
mixture of five peppers - 1 tbsp.
ground walnuts - 80 g
vegetable oil
salt

Cooking process:

We prepare the meat: cut off the film, fat and cut into 5-6 cm cubes, with a cross-section of 1.5 x 1.5 cm. For this recipe, it is better to take beef entrecote. Sliced meat, pepper and grease with vegetable oil, mix and leave for a while.

In a heated frying pan, place the meat in one layer and fry on all sides, without oil. It is very important that the meat is in one layer, so we fry it in several batches. Transfer the finished meat to a bowl.

Cut the onion into cubes (6-7 mm), sauté in a mixture of oils - butter and vegetable. When the onion acquires a beautiful golden color, pepper and add red wine.

Add the meat to the onion with wine, add salt and mix. After evaporating the wine, season with tomato juice and grated tomatoes in their own juice. Mix everything and simmer for 20 minutes.

Trim the leaves from the stems of the parsley and chop finely. Crush the coriander seeds with a knife and chop.

When the meat is stewed, add saffron, coriander, suneli hops and adjika to it. You need to be careful with adjika, it is very spicy, so we regulate the spiciness of our dish with the amount of it.

Add ground nuts and mix everything. At the last minute, add parsley and remove from heat. Let it brew.

Lamb kharcho

As practice shows, not a single man can remain indifferent to this culinary product. A good meat dish is the strong point of the people of the East, and the lamb kharcho soup that we will prepare is proof of this.

Ingredients:

Lamb – 500 g.
Rice – 4 spoons.
Onion – 2 heads.
Tomatoes – 4 pcs.
Garlic – 3 cloves.
Peppercorns, parsley, dill, basil.
Cilantro, bay and vegetable oil.

Preparation:

Start cooking by preparing the meat. Wash the lamb, cut into cubes, place in a small saucepan and add two liters of water.
The duration of cooking the broth is one and a half hours. After an hour, add the greens to the pan. While preparing the broth, constantly skim off any foam. Cook over low heat.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the tomatoes. Rinse them with clean water and place in a container with boiling water. Remove the skins and chop the vegetables themselves as you wish.
Chop the onion and place it in a frying pan with hot oil. When it turns golden, pour a couple of tablespoons of broth into the frying pan and simmer over low heat. After 5 minutes, add chopped tomatoes, stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Place the contents of the frying pan into the pan with almost cooked meat. After the broth boils again, add the rice. After five minutes, add the laurel to the kharcho along with peppercorns and basil.
The finishing touch remains. Add cilantro to the dish along with dill, parsley and garlic. After two minutes, turn off the heat and let the soup brew for an hour. Start tasting.

If the kharcho seems too small, cook the lamb in the oven. It is suitable for the role of a second course.