Kharcho Soup: 10 Homemade Recipes
One of the most famous Georgian dishes worldwide is the aromatic and rich Kharcho soup. It's not difficult to prepare, but the result is always excellent, and your family and guests will surely ask for seconds. We're sharing the most delicious recipes with you!
1. Kharcho Soup – Classic Recipe
Authentic Georgian Kharcho soup is made only with beef or beef broth, with rice and walnuts.
You will need: 500 g fatty beef with bone, 150 g rice, 150 g Tkemali sauce, 100 g walnuts, 2 onions, 50 ml tomato puree, 1 head of garlic, 2 bay leaves, 5 g each of salt, ground black pepper, and khmeli-suneli, 7 black peppercorns, 1 hot chili pepper, and 1 bunch of fresh herbs.
Preparation: Don't be intimidated by this long list of ingredients. In reality, Kharcho soup is simple and quick to make. First, place the prepared meat with the bone in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Simmer the broth for about an hour over medium heat. Then, separate the meat from the bones and set aside. Strain the broth through cheesecloth, pour it into a clean pot, and add the beef, cut into serving pieces.
Carefully add the rinsed rice, finely diced onion, and herb sprigs to the boiling broth. Cook over low heat until the rice is done. At this stage, pour in the Tkemali sauce and add the raw minced garlic.
When the soup boils, season it with spices, and add the walnuts. Add hot pepper to taste. Let the dish simmer for a couple more minutes, then turn off the stove. Ladle the finished Kharcho soup into bowls, sprinkle each with a handful of fresh herbs, and call everyone to the table!
2. Thick Kharcho Soup with Chicken
This recipe will appeal even to children. Its mild taste and appetizing aroma have never left anyone indifferent!
You will need: 500 g chicken meat, 200 g walnuts, 3 ripe tomatoes, 2 onions, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp wheat flour, seasonings to taste (cinnamon, salt, khmeli-suneli, coriander, chili pepper, peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves), 3 sprigs fresh cilantro.
Preparation: Cover the meat with cold water and cook until half-done. Remove the chicken from the broth and let it dry on a plate. In a suitable pot, sauté the chopped onion in vegetable oil until translucent. Add the chicken pieces on top, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Don't forget to stir occasionally.
Add the sifted flour, mix, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Now pour in the broth, and once it boils, cook the soup for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, pureed through a sieve and cooked. After 5 minutes of boiling, season the Kharcho soup with your favorite spices, salt to taste, add crushed walnuts and garlic pressed through a press. Cover and reduce the heat to minimum, cook for 10 minutes. When serving, be sure to sprinkle the thick Kharcho soup with chopped cilantro.
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3. Kharcho Soup "Gourmet's Dream"
Lamb is considered one of the leanest types of meat. So why not make an amazingly aromatic Kharcho soup with it?
You will need: 2 kg lamb with bones, seasonings and roots for broth, 4 onions, 1 carrot, 3 large tomatoes, 100 g rice, salt and spices to taste, 3 cloves garlic, 1 bunch fresh herbs, 50 g butter.
Preparation: Cover the meat with water, add a whole peeled onion, 1 carrot, 2 bay leaves, and 5-6 black and allspice peppercorns. For an excellent broth flavor, you can also add fresh or dried roots. Salt to taste. Cook over very low heat for 3 hours. It's important to ensure the liquid doesn't boil, but rather simmers gently.
Grate the tomatoes, removing the skin. Finely chop the herbs, press the garlic through a press. Mix with the tomato puree and let it infuse. Dice the onion finely. Rinse the rice and cover with half a glass of water.
Lightly fry the onion in melted butter. Then pour in a little fat from the broth, mix, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tomato mixture, simmer for a few minutes covered, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Now add the lamb from the broth to the tomato mixture, removing the bones. Season with spices to taste. After 10 minutes, pour in the strained broth. Stir, bring to a boil, and add the rice. Let the soup cook for 20-25 minutes over minimum heat, bringing the rice almost to full readiness. Add the garlic with herbs. Stir and turn off the stove, covering the pot tightly.
4. Kharcho Soup with Potatoes
If you find it hard to imagine soup without potatoes, then this adapted Kharcho recipe will definitely become one of the most beloved and revered in your family!
You will need: 800 g veal, 0.5 cup parboiled rice, 4 potatoes, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 ripe tomatoes, 2 sour plums, 1 tsp adjika, salt and spices to taste, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1 bunch fresh cilantro, vegetable oil.
Preparation: Cut the meat into serving pieces, fry in vegetable oil over high heat. Transfer the browned veal to a pot with boiling water and let it simmer over low heat. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables; they need to be peeled. Dice the potatoes and onion, grate the carrot. Add the vegetables to the broth when the meat is cooked through. Cook the soup for about 20 minutes.
Dice the tomatoes and plums finely, lightly fry in a small amount of vegetable oil. Then pour in the adjika, mix, simmer for a couple of minutes, and transfer to the pot with the soup. Next, add the rinsed rice, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes. Finally, add the chopped herbs, bring to a boil, and turn off the stove. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with finely chopped garlic.
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5. Kharcho Soup in a Slow Cooker
If you have a slow cooker, making Kharcho soup will be the easiest. The dish will turn out especially aromatic and divinely delicious.
You will need: 700 g any meat, 0.5 cup rice, 0.5 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice, 0.5 cup crushed walnuts, 2 onions, 1 tbsp flour, 1 bunch fresh herbs, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, 5 cloves garlic, salt and spices to taste.
Preparation: Turn on the slow cooker to "Sauté" mode, put a little fat at the bottom of the bowl, and fry the meat pieces in it. Add the chopped onion. Put flour in a cup, pour in a little cold water, stir, and pour into the meat with onion. Add the tomato paste. Pour in two liters of water and pomegranate juice. Add the rinsed rice, walnuts ground with seasonings. Add the bay leaf and salt. Now close the slow cooker lid, set to "Soup" mode, and go about your business for an hour and a half. Before serving, add crushed garlic and chopped herbs to the soup. Let the dish steep for a few minutes, then ladle into bowls.
6. Kharcho Soup "Golden Fish"
Don't like meat? Then we recommend you try making fish Kharcho soup. Believe us, it's very tasty!
You will need: 500 g any fish, roots for broth, 2 large onions, 0.5 cup white rice, 100 g walnuts crushed in a blender, 2 tbsp adjika, 2 cloves garlic, 1 bunch fresh herbs, salt and spices to taste.
Preparation: Place the roots, bay leaf, and a few black peppercorns in a pot, cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for 15-20 minutes over the lowest heat. The resulting aromatic liquid needs to cool slightly, then strain it through a sieve back into the pot. Carefully add the fish, cut into serving pieces.
After 15 minutes of boiling, remove the fish pieces from the broth. Add sautéed onion and rinsed rice to the boiling liquid and cook until done. Return the fish to the soup, cook for another 10 minutes. Ladle the hot Kharcho soup "Golden Fish" into bowls, sprinkle with chopped herbs and minced garlic.
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7. Kharcho Soup with Beans and Ginger
If you love spicy and unusual meat-free dishes, then this soup is made especially for you!
You will need: 0.5 cup white rice, 50 g fresh ginger root, 3 red bell peppers, 3 carrots, 300 g frozen green beans, 1 cup tomato juice, 1 tsp each of cumin, curry, and masala, vegetable oil for frying, salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Preparation: First, boil 3 liters of water in a pot. Add the finely diced ginger root to the boiling water. After half an hour, add the rice. Cook over very low heat for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, cover the beans with boiling water and let them boil for 3-5 minutes. Drain the water. Cut the bell pepper into thin strips, and grate the carrot.
Place a thick-bottomed pan on the stove, pour in vegetable oil, and heat thoroughly. Then add and lightly fry the spices. Add the carrots and peppers. After a short frying, pour in the tomato juice over the vegetables. Simmer covered for about 5 minutes. Transfer the sautéed vegetables to the main pot, add the beans and bay leaf. Cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes. The spicy and aromatic soup is ready!
8. Kharcho Soup with Turkey
This soup can be prepared at any time of year, as the vegetables for it can be fresh or frozen.
You will need: 500 g turkey meat, 0.5 cup rice, 1 red bell pepper, 2 medium tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 3 tbsp adjika, salt and spices to taste.
Preparation: Start cooking the broth. Meanwhile, grate the carrot on a coarse grater and fry in vegetable oil. Add the diced onion; when it becomes translucent, add the bell pepper. At this stage, you can add chili pepper if you want the soup to be spicy. Then add the finely diced tomatoes to the vegetables. Add adjika, seasonings, mix, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
When the broth is cooked, salt it to taste and add the rice. Add the vegetable sauté to the soup when the rice is almost done. Now it's time for the minced garlic and chopped herbs. As soon as it boils, remove from heat and serve.
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9. Kharcho Soup with Pearl Barley
Don't turn up your nose! It's pearl barley that gives Kharcho soup a special flavor.
You will need: 0.5 kg beef, 0.5 cup pearl barley, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 4 tbsp adjika, dried herbs, salt and spices to taste.
Preparation: Place the meat in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste. Cook the beef until half-done. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Dice the peeled potatoes, press the garlic through a press, and finely chop the onion.
Fry the garlic for a minute in a heated pan with butter. Add the onion; when it becomes translucent, add the adjika and dried herbs. Mix and simmer for a couple of minutes. Carefully add the potatoes and rinsed pearl barley to the broth with the meat. After 5 minutes of boiling, add the vegetable sauté. Cook the soup until done. Then ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chopped herbs, and serve.
10. The Fastest Kharcho Soup
It will take no more than half an hour to prepare this recipe, but the taste will be remembered for a long time!
You will need: 300 g ground meat, 2 fresh tomatoes, 3-4 tbsp white rice, 2 onions, 4 tbsp Georgian adjika, 3 meat bouillon cubes, a couple of garlic cloves, khmeli-suneli and salt to taste.
Preparation: Dissolve the bouillon cubes in 1.5 liters of water according to the instructions. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in vegetable oil, then add the adjika. When the sauce boils, add the ground meat, stirring constantly, and fry for 5-7 minutes.
Transfer the meat mixture to a pot with the broth, add the tomatoes cut into small wedges, and place over medium heat. When the liquid boils, reduce the heat to minimum, and simmer the soup for about half an hour.
Rinse the rice, drain it in a colander, and add it to the pot with vegetables and meat. Cook until the grain is done. Season the soup with spices and garlic pressed through a press. Let it boil for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Serve, sprinkled with chopped herbs.
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