Ingredients:

• Beef – 450 gr
• long rice - 1/2 cup
• potatoes - 4 pcs.
• onion - 1 piece
• garlic - 3 cloves
• carrots - 2 pcs.
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.
• ground black pepper - 1 teaspoon
• peppercorns - 7-10 pcs.
• ground red allspice - 1 teaspoon
• khmeli-suneli - 1 teaspoon
• salt and herbs (parsley and dill) - to taste.

Cooking method:

We prepare all the necessary products, wash and peel the potatoes and carrots.

We wash the meat in running water, cut it into portions and put it in a saucepan on the stove to boil.

To make the dressing, grate the carrots on a coarse grater.

Peel the onion, cut into small pieces and fry in a frying pan in vegetable oil.

Meanwhile, the meat has already boiled and it is necessary to remove the foam. If you wish, you can drain the first broth. Add 7-10 grains of peppercorns.

Place grated carrots in the pan with the onions and continue sautéing

Pour hot water over the tomatoes and leave them for 3-5 minutes so that you can easily remove the skin.

After the time has passed, drain the water from them and separate the skin, cut into small pieces, and send to the dressing. We continue to simmer, while reducing the temperature a little.

Pour half a tablespoon of khmeli-suneli, 1 level teaspoon of red and the same amount of black pepper into the almost finished vegetable dressing. Pour in 2 scoops of broth, mix, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

We take out an almost finished piece of meat from the pan, cut it into small pieces and send it back to the broth. There we also put potatoes cut into small squares and stewed vegetables. Salt to your taste.

Bring to a boil and add long grain rice, previously washed in cold water. Cook for 17-20 minutes over medium heat.

Finely chop the garlic and herbs.

We check the rice for readiness and if it is cooked, then add chopped garlic, herbs and bay leaf.

Turn off the stove and let our soup brew for 7-10 minutes.

Pork kharcho soup - step by step recipe with photos

Ingredients:

• Pork – 550 gr
• water 2.5 liters
• potatoes - 3 pcs.
• onions - 2 pcs
• garlic - 1 head
• rice - 100 gr
• tomatoes - 4 pcs or tomato paste 2 tbsp. spoons
• vegetable oil - 30 g
• khmeli-suneli seasoning - 1/2 tbsp. spoons
• salt and herbs - to taste

Cooking method:

We have prepared all the necessary products and now let’s start cooking.

We wash the meat and cut it into cubes about 3 by 3 cm. Then put it in a deep saucepan, fill it with cold water and let it boil. Remove the foam and cook over low heat for 40 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and cut into squares.

When the meat is cooked, add washed rice, potatoes and onions. Cook for at least 20 minutes.

Now we need to boil the kettle and pour boiling water over the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes. Then drain and add cold water, leave for 5 minutes. Then we easily remove the skin from them and finely chop them with a knife or grate them.

Heat a frying pan, pour vegetable oil into it and lay out the tomatoes. Simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the finished tomatoes to the soup - salt, pepper and add the necessary spices. Cook for five minutes.

Wash and finely chop the greens, peel and finely chop the garlic. Pour into the pan, cover with a lid, turn off the stove and remove from heat. Let it brew for 10-15 minutes.

Pork kharcho soup is ready.

Awesome lamb kharcho soup recipe

Ingredients:

• Aranines with seeds – 750 g
• onions - 2 pcs
• carrots - 2 pcs.
• garlic - 6 cloves
• tomato - 1 piece
• celery - 1 stalk
• spicy herbs (paprika and coriander) - 1 teaspoon each
• tkemali - 1 tbsp. spoon
• tomato paste - 2 tbsp. spoons
• chopped greens - 2 tbsp. spoons
• salt and pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

Cook the broth from washed lamb meat with bones over low heat for about one hour. Then add the peeled onion, carrots, celery and cook for the same amount, do not forget to skim off the foam.

The onion and garlic cloves need to be finely chopped and lightly fried in a separate pan until golden brown, after which we add coarsely grated carrots, tomato paste, herbs, spices and mix. We continue to simmer.

After scalding the tomato with boiling water, immediately place it under cold water and remove the skin. Cut into small cubes and transfer to cook with vegetables in a frying pan. Next add the washed rice, mix everything and simmer for another 10 minutes.

We take out the finished lamb, strain the broth and pour it into the fried vegetables and cook for about a quarter of an hour over low heat.

Five minutes before the end of cooking, add the meat cut into small pieces and tkemali.

The soup is ready, serve it to the table with chopped herbs.

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 method:

Boil the chicken broth and strain it.

Peel the onions, wash and finely chop. Place in the prepared broth, place on low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Place a frying pan on the stove, pour oil into it and add tomato paste. And 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 to let it brew.

The process of preparing kharcho soup in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

• Beef – 600 gr
• tkemali - 150 gr
• long grain rice - 1/2 cup
• black allspice - 10 peas
• tomato paste - 2 tbsp. spoons
• walnuts - 0.5 cups
• garlic - 5 cloves
• onions - 3 pcs
• flour - 2 tbsp. spoons
• bay leaf - 2 pcs
• parsley - 1 bunch
• khmeli-suneli - 1 teaspoon
• ground hot red pepper - 0.5 teaspoon
• salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

Fry the walnuts in a dry frying pan, stirring. Then pour them into a blender bowl or mortar. Crush the allspice peas with the flat side of a knife and transfer to the nuts. We also mash the garlic a little and put it in a bowl and thoroughly chop the whole mass.

Cut the beef into small pieces and finely chop the onion.

Now turn on the multicooker to the “Frying” mode for 20 minutes, pour about two tablespoons of vegetable oil into the bowl, pour the onion into it and fry for 7 minutes.

In the meantime, thoroughly rinse the rice in water, passing it between your fingers.

After seven minutes, open the lid, place the chopped meat in the multicooker, stir and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

We dilute flour in a small amount of water, I did this in a glass, then pour it over the meat and simmer for 1 minute and add tomato paste.

Add tkemali, ground walnuts, pepper and garlic. Add two liters of water.

Add spices, rice and bay leaf, salt and mix. We set the “Soup” program for 1 hour 30 minutes, and we ourselves go about our business, and our multicooker will do the rest itself.

A couple of minutes before the end of cooking, chop the parsley and after the signal, open the lid, sprinkle in the soup and let it brew for another five minutes.

The kharcho soup is ready, put it in plates and serve.

Georgian kharcho soup (video)

Bon appetit!!!

Kharcho soup is fantastically tasty and irreparably healthy. Ideal food when, in cold weather, you want something liquid and hot.

Nowadays, kharcho soup is almost any rice soup. But that's not true. A real kharcho, hearty, rich and most importantly healthy soup with a unique taste.

Rice soups are found in the cuisines of different countries of the world, but I consider Georgia to be the birthplace of kharcho. Although, even there, in different regions, this soup is prepared differently.

I always cook it with beef and tkemali sauce ().

One of the features of Georgian cuisine is a large amount of greens. My kharcho recipe is no exception; it contains cilantro, similar parsley and fragrant basil.

Ingredients:

Beef – 600 g (I cut off all visible pieces of fat).

Onions – 2 pcs. (medium size).

Tomatoes – 4 pcs. (medium size).

Brown rice - a little more than half a glass.

Peeled walnuts – 100 gr.

Bay leaf – 3 pcs.

Tkemali sauce – 2 tbsp. spoons.

Hot pepper – 1 pc.

Ground black pepper - to taste.

Khmeli-suneli - 0.5 teaspoon.

Garlic – 2 cloves.

Parsley, basil, cilantro - to taste.

Kharcho soup, step by step recipe:

1 - Wash the meat thoroughly and cut it into pieces, approximately 2 by 3 centimeters.

I pour two liters of cold water into the pan, put a bay leaf in it, and put the chopped meat in it. I cook it for about an hour and a half, periodically removing the foam from the broth with a slotted spoon.

2 - Remove the cooked beef from the pan into a dish and set it aside. I strain the broth and put it on the fire again, bringing it to a boil.

3 - Add rinsed brown rice to the pan and return the pieces of meat.

4 — Meanwhile, I peel and finely chop the onions. I put it in a frying pan and instead of the usual oil, add a little broth.

5 - I cut the hot pepper, take out the seeds and finely chop. I add it to the onions in the pan.

6 - Then I add black pepper and suneli hops.

I mix everything and add more broth if necessary.

7 - Wash the tomatoes, make a cross-shaped cut on the skin, and pour boiling water over them for a couple of minutes. After this procedure, the skin is very easily removed.

Then I cut the “naked” tomatoes into large cubes and add them to the frying pan with other vegetables and spices. I simmer for about three minutes.

I transfer the entire contents of the frying pan into a pan with rice and meat.

8 - When the almost finished kharcho soup boils, add tkemali sauce and very finely chopped garlic.

I let the soup cook for another ten minutes and turn off the heat.

9 - I chop the greens at random and add them to the soup.

10 - Now it's time for the walnut.

You need to sort it out well, select light and smooth pieces, and crush them in a mortar. If you don’t have a mortar, you can grate it on a coarse grater.

Walnuts can be added to the kharcho soup as soon as it is ready, but the appearance of a floating nut, in my subjective opinion, spoils the appearance of the dish.

It looks like frozen pieces of fat. This can be seen in the photo.

Therefore, I suggest putting the nut directly on the plate. A small pile in the very middle. Since it is customary to add sour cream to borscht. And the one who will eat the soup should mix it himself.

Fair enough, the question arises: “should I then put walnuts in the soup?”

Necessary!

Without tkemali sauce and walnuts, you will not get kharcho soup, but ordinary rice soup.

This is how, after spending two hours, you can prepare the most unforgettable kharcho soup, all your family will be delighted.

Kharcho soup is a traditional dish of national Georgian cuisine. And translated from the native language it means “beef soup.” Therefore, in its traditional version, it is prepared exclusively from beef. Although there are recipes where it is prepared from lamb, chicken, and even fish. For example, I once managed to eat a soup with the same name made from sturgeon. By the way, a very worthy and tasty soup.

Essentially, this dish is a rather thick, spicy spicy soup of meat, rice and walnuts, with lots of spices, garlic and various vegetables, which each housewife adds to her own taste. Although there are recipes,... And it seems, what kind of soup could this be without carrots, potatoes, bell peppers?!

So - it can! And it turns out incredibly tasty.

One of its distinctive features is that it is prepared with dried tkemali plums, or as it is called in Central Asia - cherry plums. That is, the base of the soup is sour.

The plums are dried in thin layers, the required amount for soup is broken off and soaked. However, not everyone has the opportunity to use it, so the plum is replaced with tkemali sauce, fresh sour plum (these include cherry plum and sloe), tomato paste, tomatoes and even pomegranate juice.

There are many ways and options for preparing kharcho. Starting from whether the meat is fried or boiled, and ending with whether vegetables are added or not, the fact that the soup must contain three ingredients remains unchanged in the classic version of preparation: beef, tkemali plum and grated walnuts.

Today I propose to look at some of these classic recipes.

This is the recipe I use to make soup most often. I usually add a lot of vegetables to all the soups I make. I like this recipe precisely because it contains no carrots, no bell peppers, no potatoes. And despite this, it tastes simply amazing.

We will need (for a three-liter pan):

• beef meat - 600 gr
• onion - 2 pcs
• rice - 5 - 6 tbsp. spoons
• walnuts – 100 gr
• garlic - 1 head
• tkemali sauce - 3 - 4 tbsp. spoons
• tomato paste - 1 tbsp. spoon
• paprika - 1 teaspoon
• hops - suneli - 1 - 2 teaspoons
• hot red pepper - to taste
• black peppercorns - 10 - 12 pcs
• greens - basil, cilantro, parsley, optional - a bunch
• salt - to taste
• bay leaf - 1 - 2 pcs

Preparation:

1. To prepare the soup, take a piece of beef. I use brisket. It is quite fatty, and there are bones on it, which means that the broth will be quite rich, satisfying and nutritious.

Wash the meat, cut it into large pieces, add water and cook. I will cook in a three-liter saucepan; I fill the pan full of water. While the meat is cooking, the water will boil away, and just make room for the remaining ingredients.

It is not recommended to add water to the pan during cooking!

Watch when the broth starts to boil. At the same time, foam will begin to form, which must be removed carefully. Do not let the water begin to boil too much. Otherwise, all the foam will go into the broth and float there in the form of flakes.

I already talked about it in one of my articles.

2. As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat and cook the meat until cooked for at least 1.5 - 2 hours, avoiding boiling too intensely. The water should only gurgle slightly. The lid should be covered, but a crack should be left so that again there is no strong boiling.

3. Peel the onion and cut crosswise into thin pieces. Try to take smaller onion heads so that they are thinner and more tender.

There are recipes where onions are fried, but we will not fry anything in this version of the soup. Therefore, it is important that the onion feathers are not rough.

4. When the meat is cooked, take it out and strain the broth through two to three layers of gauze. To prevent small bone fragments from getting into the soup.

5. Then put the chopped onion in the pan. Cut the beef into portions, remove the bones, and return the meat to the broth.

Cook for 40 - 45 minutes.

6. As soon as you put the onions in the pan, immediately rinse them in several waters and soak the rice in warm water. I use rice of the “Krasnodar” variety; this variety has a high gluten content and boils well, which is excellent for this soup.

This will make the soup thick and rich.

Prepare either 5 or 6 tablespoons of rice - this is for a three-liter pan, depending on the consistency of the soup you would like to get. I'll add 5 tablespoons.

7. When the onion has boiled for the required amount of time, add tkemali sauce, tomato paste, a piece of hot red pepper to the broth, let it simmer for 5 minutes, then add rice to the broth. Cook for 10 minutes.

If you don’t have whole red hot peppers, you can add ready-made ground red peppers at the end of cooking. You should add both according to taste, some like it spicier, others the opposite. But you still need to add a little, it’s absolutely necessary for the taste.

Whole peppers have varying degrees of bitterness depending on the variety, so they should be added with caution.

8. While it is boiling, sort out the nuts, removing the partitions and shells, and crush them.

Peel the garlic, chop it, add it to the nuts and continue grinding until you get a homogeneous mass.

9. Separately, crush the black peppercorns in a mortar.

You will also need to add salt to the broth. Then taste, and if it’s not spicy enough, add ground red pepper to taste.

11. Let it boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then put a bay leaf and add pre-chopped herbs. You can use cilantro or parsley, but today I used basil.

Not everyone likes to use cilantro because of its specific smell. And although it will be practically “inaudible” in the soup, I must say about it.

12. After it has simmered for another 2 minutes, turn off the soup, close the lid tightly and let it stand and rest for at least 15 - 20 minutes.

13. Chop fresh herbs and onions as desired. Place salt and pepper on the table. I cook medium-spicy kharcho, because our granddaughter loves it very much, and she won’t eat anything very spicy. But my husband, on the contrary, eats very spicy soup. For such a case, we put on the table what may be needed.

14. Sprinkle the soup poured into bowls with fresh herbs and add fresh chopped onions if desired. Enjoy eating!

This is the version of kharcho soup we got. As you probably already understood, and I already mentioned this, we cooked it without using such a preparation stage as frying. But the next recipe will be just with frying. And it is also a classic.

Video on how to prepare Georgian soup kharcho

Despite the fact that the topic of our article involves preparing beef soup, I want to offer you a recipe with lamb that is almost identical to the first one.

In it you can see all the stages of preparation. And also how it turns out in the end.

Although the translation of the words “kharcho” means that it must be made from beef, it is also incredibly good from lamb. For example, my husband really loves it in this version. And if there is a choice, he always chooses this option.

And as a rule, if you decide to cook it from lamb, then take ribs. They have meat, a bone, and a good layer of fat.

Kharcho soup with beef at home

We will need:

• beef meat - 800 gr
• onion - 2 heads
• tomato - 1 pc.
• rice - 0.5 cups
• walnuts – 100 gr
• tomato paste - 1 tbsp. spoon
• paprika - 1 teaspoon
• tkemali sauce - 2 tbsp. spoons
• garlic - 1 head
• cilantro - bunch
• red hot pepper - to taste
• salt, red and black ground pepper - to taste
• vegetable oil - 3-4 tbsp. spoons

Preparation:

1. Wash beef and brisket with small layers of fat and cut into fairly large pieces. Dry with paper towels.

2. Heat half the oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped pieces in it. There is no need to fry too much; the meat should only brown slightly.

When frying, the heat should be high so that the meat is quickly “sealed” into a golden brown crust and retains its juice inside.

3. Place the fried pieces into a saucepan and fill them with hot water.

Bring to a boil, carefully skimming off the foam. During the intense appearance of foam on the surface, it is better not to leave the stove, remove it until there is no foam left in the pan.

Cook the meat until cooked for 1.5 -2 hours over low heat, but there should not be intense boiling.

4. Cut one onion into thin half rings and fry it in a frying pan until golden brown in the remaining oil.

5. Add tomato paste and a little broth, 3 - 4 tablespoons will be enough. Simmer for 3 - 4 minutes.

6. Then add paprika and tkemali sauce. If you don’t have sauce, then limit yourself to just tomato paste.

7. Rinse the rice and soak in warm water for 40 - 45 minutes.

8. When the meat is ready, add the fried onions with tomato dressing.

Send soaked rice there, the water from which must first be drained. Stir, let it boil and reduce heat again.

9. Cut the tomato into small cubes and add to the broth. You can first remove the skin from the tomato, but you can add it along with it.

Cook for 15 minutes.

10. Cut off the stems of the cilantro and chop the leaves.

Peel and chop the garlic. Chop red hot pepper into pieces.

11. Place everything in a bowl or mortar and grind. Leave some of the cilantro for serving.

12. Grind the nuts separately.

You can also put all of the above ingredients into a blender bowl and grind there.

13. Add the resulting mass to the boiling soup. Also add hops - suneli. And cook for another 5 - 7 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste.

14. Then turn off the heat, cover the soup with a lid and let it brew for 15 - 20 minutes.

15. Cut the remaining onion into thin half rings and mix with the reserved cilantro.

16. Pour the kharcho soup into bowls and sprinkle with onions and herbs. Enjoy eating!

This recipe can also be used to make soup using chicken. In this case it will cook much faster. And it will be no less tasty.

And of course, it goes without saying that you can also cook it with lamb and pork.

But today we have the theme of classic kharcho, so we cook exclusively from beef.

Classic recipe for soup with vegetables and nuts (without rice)

And we will make this recipe using vegetables, from which we will make a dressing. And in this recipe we will use boneless meat. Although cartilage may be quite acceptable.

We will need:

• beef meat - 600 gr
• onion - 1-2 pcs
• carrots - 2 pcs.
• tomatoes - 3-4 pcs.
• walnuts – 100 gr
• hot capsicum - to taste
• allspice - 2 - 3 peas
• cloves - 2-3 buds
• khmeli-suneli - 1 heaped teaspoon
• vegetable oil - 4 tbsp. spoons
• greens, onions, garlic - for serving

Preparation:

1. Wash the meat, dry it and cut it into small pieces measuring approximately 5 x 5 cm. It is best to use young veal for this recipe. You can also take brisket, where instead of bones it still has cartilage.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the meat in it. The heat should be high so that the meat quickly “grabs” into a crust. This way we can keep all the juice inside.

3. Cut the onion into cubes, maybe not very small ones, and add to the meat. Fry everything together until the onion is soft and golden.

4. Grate the carrots and add to the frying pan.

As a rule, carrots are not used in the traditional classic cooking method. But there are recipes where it can be added to soup. And this food doesn’t get any worse. On the contrary, it makes the dish brighter and adds another note - a sweet note.

5. Fry everything together for 5 - 6 minutes, or even a little less. But make sure that nothing starts to burn. This will make the broth cloudy.

6. Transfer the contents into a saucepan and add cold boiled water. Boil. As we can see, the carrots have given color and the broth has become a nice warm color.

7. Cut the tomatoes into cubes and fry in the remaining oil. Tomatoes need to be chosen red and juicy, always ripe. They will add color and taste.

If you are preparing kharcho in winter and it is difficult to find ripe, juicy tomatoes, then you can use store-bought ones and use them together with juice. Or maybe you have your own supplies of such tomatoes. Or you can use tomato juice.

If you use fatty meat for cooking, and the broth turns out to be very fatty, then it is best to remove this fat, pour it into a frying pan and fry the tomatoes in it. This way the soup won't be too greasy.

8. Cut the hot capsicum into pieces. Kharcho soup is a spicy soup, but adjust this aspect yourself to your taste. The taste of the dish as a whole will depend on how much pepper you add.

Once chopped, add it to the tomatoes. Salt the tomatoes and stir. Simmer until the tomatoes become soft.

9. Grind the nuts in a blender, or grind in a mortar.

10. When the meat is completely cooked, add chopped nuts to the broth. Add allspice and cloves, as well as hops - suneli.

11. Without waiting for it to boil, add the stewed tomatoes and peppers. Let it boil, and after cooking for 1 - 2 minutes, turn off the gas. Then let the kharcho brew for a while.

12. Serve with chopped herbs, onions and fresh garlic.

This is such a beautiful, aromatic and tasty soup we got. Eating this is pure pleasure!

Today we looked at various recipes for preparing traditional Georgian soup kharcho. As you can see, they are all different. Each housewife has her own ways of preparing this delicious dish.

In addition, these methods also depend on which locality in Georgia it is prepared. For example, it is not prepared with nuts everywhere. There are recipes where they are not added to the soup. But nevertheless, the soup still has a name we know.

Kharcho is not always prepared with rice. It is also prepared with the addition of other cereals. It can be millet or pearl barley.

There are recipes where this soup is prepared with mushrooms, with the addition of black olives or olives and lemon. Bell pepper is also added. And all these recipes have a right to exist.

And as I already said today, you can make soup with other meats - pork, lamb, chicken or turkey, and even fish!

This soup is so loved in all corners of our Earth that people want to cook it in many different versions and combinations. And that's great! Let them cook as they like!

And today we have prepared three very tasty options, on the basis of which you can prepare any kind of kharcho soup, adding to it the ingredients that you love, or which you have in your refrigerator.

And if you liked them, then share the recipes on social networks. And write your favorite recipes in the comments.

Bon appetit!

Classic Georgian soup kharcho with beef.

• 500 g beef (I used a spatula)
• 150 g onion
• 100 g carrots
• 100 g walnuts
• 100 g rice (preferably long grain)
• 100-150 g tkemali sauce
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp. l. khmeli-suneli
• a bunch of parsley (or cilantro, dill)
• salt
• pepper

Kharcho soup is a very popular Georgian dish. Initially, kharcho was cooked from beef (in Georgian “Dzrokhis Khortsi Kharshot” means “beef soup”), later it was also cooked from lamb. The composition must include dried plum pulp, called tklapi, or ready-made tkemali sauce, which is a sweet and sour sauce made from the same plums. Chopped walnuts and spices are also added to taste, most often suneli hops and garlic, also optional red hot pepper. This version of kharcho soup, which I prepared, is typical of the classic version of the dish, but as we understand, there are a lot of options for kharcho, each housewife prepares it to her own taste. Kharcho soup turns out to be very satisfying, thick, rich, and has a characteristic sourness due to the addition of tkemali. I used tkemali, which contains hot pepper, so I didn’t add it additionally. If your tkemali is not like that, add a little red hot pepper. If you don’t sell tkemali, you can replace it with tomato paste, although of course it won’t be as traditionally Georgian.

Preparation:

Cut the beef into large pieces.

Place in a saucepan, add 2.5 liters of water, bring to a boil. Cook for 1.5-2 hours over low heat, covered, periodically skimming off the resulting foam with a slotted spoon.

Peel the onion and cut into very thin half rings.

Peel the carrots and cut into thin slices.

Chop the walnuts very finely in a food processor or chopper until they release their oil.

Add tkemali to the broth (add a little less at first, then you can add more to taste).
Salt and pepper.
Add onion.

Then add carrots.
Cook for 30 minutes until the onions and carrots are completely soft.

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 with beef and 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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).
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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)

1. 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).
2. 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 quite enough (during this period the lamb will become crusty).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. 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, pepper, and add spices.

Kharcho soup is rightfully considered a traditional Georgian dish. It is served at family celebrations and prepared as a main course 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