For a long time, the first dishes are considered an integral part of any menu. Each kitchen in the world has its own favorite recipe for a traditional first course, but only borsch is considered the king of soups, as it can be found both in Russian cuisine, and in Ukrainian, Belarusian and even Central Asian. All cooking options for borscht are tasty and very useful in their own way, since fresh meat and a large number of vegetables are used in its preparation. From this article you will learn a step-by-step recipe for Ukrainian borsch, as well as other cooking options for this beloved soup.
Options for cooking borsch
There are a lot of recipes for borsch with sour cream, it all depends on the regions in which they are cooked. So, in Ukraine, borsch is not conceived without the addition of beets, and in Siberia it is customary to cook borsch from two varieties of meat: beef and pork. In sunny Tajikistan, borsch is cooked on a fry and added to it, in addition to traditional ingredients, chickpeas or beans. Vegetarians cook borsch without adding meat, and those who follow their figure, but can not imagine their life without meat, cook borsch from chicken meat. By the way, it doesn’t matter which recipe you choose, the main thing is to serve the finished borsch with sour cream.
Ukrainian borsch
There are a lot of options for cooking borsch. Each mistress has her own, some favorite recipe, which distinguishes her dish from others. But despite this, Ukrainian borsch is considered the most delicious. If you do not know how to cook this delicious, rich soup, then a step-by-step recipe for Ukrainian borsch will help you with this. For cooking you will need:
- Beef brain bones.
- Beef meat (pulp) 500 g.
- Sunflower oil 30 ml.
- Vinegar 3% 1 tsp
- Potato 300 g
- Carrots 200 g
- Beets 100 g.
- Onion 150 g.
- Cabbage 300 g
- Tomato paste 1 tbsp. l
- Garlic to taste.
- Greens (dill, parsley).
- Spices (bay leaf, salt, pepper).
- Water 3 l.
So let's get started. First, chop the bones, cut the meat into portioned slices and fill them with water. Boil the bones with meat for at least 1 hour, remembering to remove the foam from the surface of the broth. After the meat is ready, put coarsely chopped potatoes and finely chopped cabbage in a pan.
In a small saucepan, cook the beets until tender, and then peeling, grate it on a coarse grater. So that later the beets do not turn brown, add 1 tsp. 3% vinegar.
Separately, fry the onions and carrots, diced, in a pan. Wait for the vegetables to start juice, become soft and turn golden in color, add tomato paste to them. Add the fried vegetables and prepared beets to the pan with the future borsch, stir, salt and pepper. At the final stage, at the very end of cooking, remove the potatoes from the borsch and make mashed potatoes from it (if desired). Put the finished mashed potatoes back into the borsch. Send there lavrushka, garlic and herbs. Remove the finished borsch from the stove and cover with a towel. Let the borscht infuse for at least 30 minutes, although ideally it is customary to eat borscht the next day. Perhaps this recipe is the most delicious borsch in the world, and it is justified.
Central Asian borsch
Delicious borsch can be found not only in Russian or Ukrainian cuisine, the option of cooking Tajik borsch, which they call karam shurpa (cabbage soup), is no less tasty and nutritious. To cook Tajik borsch, you will need:
- Beef pulp 300 g.
- Beef Bone 300 g
- Beef Fat 50g
- Cottonseed oil 50 g.
- Onions 100 g.
- Carrots 100 g.
- Bell pepper 50 g.
- Tomato 100 g.
- Tomato paste 1 tbsp. l
- Cabbage 300 g
- Chickpeas 50 g
- Potato 200 g
- Spices (salt, pepper, bay leaf).
- Garlic 2-3 cloves.
- Fresh herbs (dill, parsley, basil).
- Water 2 l.
First, heat the cottonseed oil and fry on it the beef pulp, previously diced, and the bones. After the meat has a golden hue, add onions, chopped into strips. Wait until the onion turns light golden and add the Bulgarian pepper, chopped into strips, and the carrot, diced, to the meat and onion. After the vegetables give the juice, add finely chopped tomatoes and tomato paste to the cauldron, mix thoroughly the frying and fill with water.
Wait for the water to boil, and put in a cauldron shredded straw, potatoes, diced, presoaked peas and chickpeas, and beef fat, diced in small cubes. In the cooking process, salt and pepper the borscht to taste, and 5 minutes before cooking, put bay leaf, finely chopped garlic and basil in the soup. After the soup is ready, remove the bay leaf from it. Let the borsch rest for half an hour. And only after that serve Tajik borsch with sour cream. By the way, for lack of sour cream, borsch can be served with fat yogurt.
Calorie borsch
The calorie content of borsch is small, it all depends on the fat content of the meat and the amount of oil added to the borsch. So, the calorie content of borsch with beef and sour cream is 80 kcal per 100 g, and in 100 g of chicken borscht - 30 kcal. In vegetarian borscht, 22 kcal per 100 g, and in Tajik - 95 kcal. According to what recipe to cook borsch, you decide, for sure each of them will be to your taste.
Cooking secrets
The secrets of cooking borscht are not so many, they can even be counted on the fingers:
- For a more rich broth, use fatty meats and brain bones. For a diet, on the contrary, it is better to use beef tenderloin without a splash of fat.
- Add bay leaf at the very end of cooking (5 minutes before the end of cooking), and immediately after the borscht is ready, remove it, otherwise an unpleasant bitterness will appear in the dish.
- It is advisable to finely chop the garlic and herbs and chop with the addition of salt, and only then add to the borsch.
- Be sure to serve borsch with sour cream, this will give it tenderness and some sourness. Although, if necessary, sour cream can be replaced with fatty kefir.
- Do not cook cabbage for too long; it should crack slightly on the teeth.
Cooking borsch is not too difficult, and you can certainly cook a tasty and rich first course at home. And our simple tips will help you with this.