Kharcho – Georgia’s famous soup

Russian emigre writers Genis and Vail on how to cook kharcho – Georgia’s famous soup

 Try to make kharcho- that same kharcho served in any ordinary cafeteria. But do it right, and you will see that this is like no soup you've ever tried.

How to cook it:

First of all, kharcho is not made with lamb, but beef. 

General speaking, Georgians prefer beef to all other forms of meat (its only rival is chicken). 

So, take 2 pounds/900gr of lean beef. Cut the meat into 1-inch/2.54cm cubes, pour 3 liters of water on top and cook for about an hour and a half. 

Take the meat out, strain the liquid through a colander, bring it to a boil, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of rice evenly over the surface. 

Add salt and put the meat back in. 

After about 10 minutes, it's time for the first set of spices.

For the first set finely chop 4 medium-sized onions and fry them with 1 tablespoon of flour, one parsley root, a bay leaf, and a dozen crushed peppercorns. 

After 5 minutes, pour in half a cup of freshly-crushed walnuts.

The second set of spices is added after 5 more minutes and consists 

- 2 tablespoons of [chopped] parsley greens, 

- 1 teaspoon of dried basil, and 

- 1/2 teaspoon each of red pepper and cinnamon. 

Only then add the acid. 

Georgians use tklapi/Tkemali (dried tkemali plums/чернослив). 

But we don't have tklapi, so you should pour 1/2 a cup of pomegranate juice, or, in a pinch, 1/2 a cup of [not condensed] tomato paste. 

For the classical variant, you need khmeli-suneli, but we don't have that either. 

Russian stores usually have adjika, but if you decide to use that [sauce], skip the red pepper.

In 5 minutes, turn off the flame. 

Add 

- 5 cloves of crushed garlic, 

- 2 tablespoons of cilantro greens, and 

- 1/2 tablespoon of basil or celery leaves, and let it stand for about 5 minutes.

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