Kharcho in Georgian is a tasty, rich and fragrant soup, which is prepared very easily and simply. It should be noted that this particular dish became the first popular among those who live far beyond the borders of Georgia. In this regard, how to cook kharcho is known not only by the indigenous population of this state, but also by residents of other countries.
general information
Moving from generation to generation, the classic way of making kharcho in Georgian has undergone many changes. As a result, we have several different recipes that differ not only in the set of basic ingredients, but also in the taste of the soup itself. Today, you will be presented with several options for how to cook kharcho at home. Note that the most delicious and satisfying of all such a dish is obtained from beef or lamb. But if you do not have such ingredients, then you can use pork, and even poultry.
Kharcho soup: a classic recipe
Having made soup yourself according to the presented recipe, you will get not just a tasty and fragrant first course, but a real culinary masterpiece. This is due to the fact that the classic method of making kharcho involves the use of fatty beef, rice, onions, prunes, as well as traditional seasonings, which are especially popular in Georgia. It is this set of products that can give your first dish an unrivaled taste and aroma.
So, before you cook kharcho, you must purchase:
- beef brisket - about 300 g;
- round grain rice - about 100 g;
- sharp onions - 2 pcs.;
- medium-sized garlic - 3 cloves;
- pitted prunes with pulp - 3 pcs.;
- hot chili pepper - a small pod;
- tkemapi and hops-suneli - take 1 large spoon;
- tomato paste - about 60 g;
- drinking water - add at discretion (about 7 glasses);
- refined vegetable oil - a large spoon;
- dill and cilantro (fresh), as well as table salt - use to taste.
Ingredient preparation
Before preparing Georgian kharcho, all prepared components should be processed in advance. To do this, wash the beef brisket well and then cut it into small pieces. Next, you need to rinse the rice groats until the water is clear, chop the onions into small cubes and soak the prunes in boiling water. After the dried fruit swells, it should be washed and finely chopped. It is also necessary to chop the garlic and fresh cilantro, and then mix them together with tomato paste, vegetable oil, tkemali and suneli hops. As for hot chili, it is not recommended to cut it. It should be boiled, and then removed and discarded.
Heat treatment
Kharcho in Georgian should be cooked in a large stainless bowl. It is necessary to lay the beef brisket in it and fill it with water so that the liquid only covers the product a little. After boiling, the fire should be reduced, and the meat cook for about 30 minutes. Next, put in a pan a mixture of tomato paste and seasonings and chili peppers. After boiling the ingredients for about 9 minutes, they need to lay out prunes, onions and rice groats. Bringing the ingredients to a boil, it is advisable to simmer for about another 7 minutes. Next, the rest of the drinking water and salt should be added to the pan. After boiling the soup for another quarter of an hour, you need to remove the hot pepper from it, close it tightly and let stand not on the stove for about half an hour.
Correctly serve to the table
Tasty and rich Georgian kharcho should be served to guests in a hot condition. Beef soup needs to be laid out on plates and sprinkled with fresh chopped dill or parsley on top. If desired, lavash or sour cream can be additionally served with such a first dish.
Georgian Kharcho: recipe with a photo of the finished dish
Proper Georgian soup should be moderately fat, and also have a special spiciness. To fulfill the first condition, we decided to use a small piece of lamb on the bone with enough fat. As for the second, for spiciness, you can add burning pepper to such a first dish, as well as a mixture of spices for shurpa or kharcho. Also, to get a reddish soup, we recommend not using ordinary tomato paste, but fresh tomatoes, freshly picked from the garden.
So, we are preparing Georgian kharcho soup. For this we need:
- lamb on the bone with fat - about 300 g;
- round-grain rice - 2 or 3 large spoons (in a saucepan of 3 l);
- sharp onions - 2 pcs.;
- medium-sized garlic - 2 cloves;
- a mixture of spices for kharcho or shurpa - a large spoon;
- hot chili pepper - a small pod;
- fresh tomatoes (medium) - 3 pcs.;
- drinking water - add at discretion;
- vegetable oil - a large spoon;
- dill, cilantro, bay leaf, parsley (fresh), as well as table salt - use to taste.
Component Preparation
Before you cook the kharcho, you should process all of the listed ingredients. To do this, wash the lamb on the bone, and then remove all inedible films and veins from it. It should not be cut, as we will do this after boiling the product.
Round-grain rice needs to be rinsed in a sieve until the water is clear, grate the garlic or finely chop, onion and chop fresh herbs with a knife. As for tomatoes, they must be washed, soaked in boiling water for several minutes, and then carefully peel off. If desired, processed tomatoes can be finely chopped with a knife. But if you have a blender, then it is better to convert them into a homogeneous gruel with this device.
Cooking on the stove
In order for the Georgian kharcho soup, the recipe with a photo of which is presented in this article, to turn out as tasty and aromatic as possible, it should be prepared in stages. First you need to take a large pan, put lamb on the bone, table salt, chili pepper and a bay leaf in it, then pour in drinking water and cook for about an hour. While the meat is being cooked, you can begin to heat-treat the remaining ingredients. To do this, take thick-walled dishes, put sharp onions, vegetable oil and fresh tomatoes in it. After adding a little fat from lamb to the same container, all the ingredients should be stewed for several minutes. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the vegetables are not burnt. So, it is recommended to periodically add lamb broth to them. After the foods are soft, add a mixture of spices for kharcho or shurpa, as well as fresh herbs of parsley, cilantro and dill. Next, turn off the stove and wait until the main broth is cooked.
After the meat is cooked, it should be removed, cooled and cut off the entire meat portion. The finished broth needs to be filtered and carefully poured into the pan along with tomatoes and onions. Bringing the soup to a boil, put the cereal in it, which should be cooked for about 15 minutes. In conclusion, in kharcho with rice, it is required to omit all chopped meat and chopped cloves of garlic. After mixing the ingredients, they should be boiled for 1-3 minutes, and then removed from the stove, cover and let stand for about 14-17 minutes.
How to serve a Georgian dish to the table
A rich and tasty mutton-bone-kharcho soup should be served to the guests in a hot condition along with pita bread or regular bread. If desired, a couple of dessert spoons of sour cream and fresh chopped greens can be added to the finished dish. Bon Appetit!
Georgian Chicken Dish
If you want to tasty and satisfying feed your family, then be sure to cook them a kharcho soup. A simple recipe involves the use of regular chicken. But such a bird should not be broiler, but soup.
So, to make a delicious Georgian dish yourself, we need:
- soup chicken - ½ carcass;
- round grain rice - 2-3 cams;
- sharp onions - 2 pcs.;
- medium-sized garlic - 2 cloves;
- salted tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
- hot chili pepper - a small pod;
- tkemali and hops-suneli - take a dessert spoon;
- drinking water - add at discretion (about 7 glasses);
- dill, cilantro and parsley (fresh), as well as table salt - use to taste.
Ingredient preparation
A step by step recipe for kharcho with chicken recommends strictly adhering to all the rules for preparing such a dish. After all, the only way you can get a very tasty and rich soup, which no member of your family will refuse.
Thus, ½ part of the carcass of a bird should be completely thawed, washed thoroughly, and divided into portioned portions. It is not recommended to remove the skin from the bird, as the dish may turn out to be lean.
After the chicken has been processed, it is necessary to grate the garlic on a small grater, finely chop the onions, rinse the rice groats, and also chop the fresh herbs. As for salted tomatoes, they should be peeled and then chopped into gruel using a regular spoon or blender.
Cooking kharcho on the stove
After processing all the ingredients, you should boil the drinking water in a large saucepan, and then put the chicken soup there. After 10 minutes, it must be salted and cooked for about a quarter of an hour. Next to the bird you need to add the burning chili pepper, chopped onions and gruel from salted tomatoes. Bringing all the ingredients to a boil, they should be cooked on very low heat for about half an hour. During this time, the bird should be fully prepared. It is necessary to remove it, and add rice groats, tkemali and hops-suneli, fresh parsley, dill and cilantro to the broth. Boil all of the listed ingredients preferably about a quarter of an hour. At the end, grated garlic should be added to the dish. Next, in the pan you need to again put the meat, and then remove the dishes from the stove and let stand under a closed lid for 10-12 minutes.
Serving to the table
It should be noted that chicken kharcho turns out to be no less tasty and fragrant than a similar dish made from beef or lamb. Serve it to the table with lavash, sour cream and fresh herbs.
Pork soup
A Georgian dish called kharcho can also be made from pork. But such meat should not include too much fat. It is advisable to acquire it on the bone.
So, for cooking the soup we need:
- pork on the bone without fat - about 300 g;
- round-grain rice - 2-3 large spoons;
- sharp onions - 2 pcs.;
- medium-sized garlic - 2 cloves;
- ketchup - a large spoon;
- drinking water - add at discretion (about 7 glasses);
- adjika - a small spoon;
- hops-suneli - dessert spoon;
- dill, cilantro and parsley (fresh), as well as table salt - use to taste.
Ingredient Processing
To prepare such a soup, thoroughly wash the meat on the bone and round-grain rice. Next, chop onions and fresh herbs.
Heat treatment
After preparing the main ingredients, you need to fill the pan with water, put the pork on the bone in it and bring to a boil over a fast fire. Further, it is necessary to remove the foam from the broth using a slotted spoon, salt and cook over low heat. After a quarter of an hour, add onions, adjika and ketchup to the meat. After the pork is completely cooked, it must be removed from the broth, cooled and carefully cut all the flesh. Next, put in the broth hops-suneli, round-grain rice and herbs. After boiling all the ingredients for another 15 minutes, add grated garlic cloves and chopped pulp to them.
In conclusion, all components must be mixed with a large spoon, brought to a boil, closed with a lid and removed from the stove. After keeping the kharcho in this state for about 10-15 minutes, it should be distributed on the plates. If desired, guests can serve sour cream, fresh pita bread and chopped greens along with soup.
To summarize
As you can see, cooking Georgian kharcho soup is not so difficult. The main thing is to use the right meat on the bone with a small amount of fat, as well as aromatic spices, herbs and tomatoes (pasta, fresh tomatoes, adjika, ketchup, etc.). To make such a dish even tastier, finely chopped garlic cloves should be added to the broth at the very end. It should also be noted that, if desired, burning red pepper, carrots cut into circles, and bell pepper can be added to Georgian soup.