Shurpa in translation from Turkic simply means “soup”. With the Ottoman conquest, this dish “advanced” (along with the Turkish army) far to the north and deep into Europe. Thanks to this, regional varieties appeared: shorpo, sorpa and others. And even in Moldova there is its own “chorba” - it is cooked on kvass like okroshka. However, nowhere has the dish reached such culinary heights as in Central Asia. There are several of its species - with lamb, beef, fish. We offer you a recipe for Shurpa soup with photographs of finished products.
The main feature of the dish is its richness, density and aroma. To "stand the spoon", do not spare vegetables, meat, chickpeas. For the smell, use traditional oriental spices and herbs: cilantro, zira, red pepper, as well as basil, parsley, dill. Sometimes a recipe recommends putting quince or cherry plum paste in Shurpa soup. Lamb is traditionally used for meat - its characteristic smell will give the dish an additional oriental flavor. Technologically, the main difference between shurpa and European soup is that in Asia, all the ingredients are first fried in a cauldron in fat, and then filled with water. Here, if you remember, meat is boiled in water, and then vegetables are added to the broth.
So, the soup “Shurpa from lamb” is a recipe for Uzbek cuisine. We can not do without a cauldron. If you don’t have one, start cooking soup in a large frying pan with high edges. From lamb (brisket, neck, but other pieces of carcass can be cut), cut off fat, and cut meat (about 400 g) into large cubes. Melt lard in a cauldron until a gray haze appears, fry the lamb in it until golden brown. Finely chop the half of the onion, and carrots in large circles. First we put onion in a cauldron for meat, and when it is browned, add carrots and a generous pinch of zira. Fry until a tasty smell appears, fill with water and cook for about an hour, like an ordinary broth.
If you want to put chickpeas in Shurpa soup, the recipe recommends soaking Turkish peas in the evening in cold water. In the morning, drain the liquid. Chickpeas are put in a cauldron immediately before pouring meat and frying with water. While preparing the broth, peel and coarsely cut 4 potatoes. Ten minutes after laying them, add half the bell pepper and tomato to the soup. These vegetables are also cut into large slices or cubes. We also add a spoonful of tomato paste, and even better “Krasnodar sauce”.
Five minutes after laying vegetables in the Shurpa soup, the recipe prescribes to salt the dish and add a clove of garlic, crushed with a knife, a whole chili pepper and a leaf of laurel into it. You need to cook until the potatoes and meat are ready. Do not forget to remove the pepper from the cauldron, otherwise after a while it will give the shurpa incredible sharpness. Sprinkle the finished dish with chopped herbs: basil, cilantro, dill. Shurpa is eaten very hot with tandoor cakes or pita bread.
You can cook a slightly different soup "Shurpa." The recipe for Crimean Tatar cuisine suggests skinning a tomato. It is easy to do this by scalding the tomatoes with boiling water, and then transferring them to ice water - the peel will slide off by itself. Then the tomatoes need to be finely chopped and added to the onion with carrots and meat. Tomatoes will give juice. Before pouring the cauldron with water, let the mass simmer a little under the lid together with tomato paste.