Is it possible to consider lamb kharcho classical?

In our understanding, there are some stereotypes that speak only of the existence of a certain standard of perception of the surrounding reality. For example, in any catering establishment, we are accustomed to seeing a well-defined menu, which must necessarily contain in its list of first courses, at least cabbage soup, boiled Ukrainian borsch, hodgepodge and lamb kharcho. Consequently, the same list should, in the public sense, master every self-respecting hostess and apply it as a minimum set of dishes for their household members.

But this ends stereotypes. As soon as we try to reproduce the recipe for classic soup kharcho, not only every Georgian mistress will be able to make it in her own way, there is no single recipe even in the set of main ingredients that make up this dish in the most famous restaurants. A unifying factor can serve only his famous acuteness, which was included in anecdotes and sayings. According to experts, the main source of such a unique effect, which is associated with the classic soup harcho, is usually considered the use of cloak. This is a very specific Georgian seasoning, which is almost impossible to find in a regular store, and its main substitutes are tkemali, adzhika and tomato paste.

The assertion that in Georgia when cooking harcho is obligatory solely used for beef, also can be attributed to the category of entrenched myths. A well-soaked and properly cooked young mutton will not spoil the taste of this famous soup. Moreover, the lamb soup of mutton took a fundamental place in the classic recipes both in Georgia and abroad. Although the name "kharcho" sounds phonetically in the Georgian language as "dzerochis khortsi harshot" and means exactly beef soup.

The question of how to make a lamb from a lamb can come up for any cook, if a fat lamb brisket is placed under his arm. The latter must be cut across and cut into individual pieces along the ribs. It's like the unforgettable Arcady Raikin: "To cook a stew from a hare, you need at least to have a cat."

So, we cook lamb first, as we cook lamb harch. To do this, we first have to roast it along with onions and roots. For 600 grams of meat, we need two bulbs, two sweet peppers, carrots, a pound of tomato, bitter pepper, garlic, two tablespoons of rice, some greens and many different spices. Suffer hmeli-suneli, tkemali, adzhika. You can even take advantage of a special set of spices selected for harsh and abundant offered by our trade. In general, the essence is not in the seasonings used, but in how to cook lamb harch. After roasting, the meat, cut into pieces up to 3.5 cm in size, is brewed together with onions for 1.5-2 hours. After that, they are pulled out of the broth and the meat is separated from the bones. Greens should be finely chopped and poured into broth. There it is worth to throw the tomatoes passed through the meat grinder, but only 10 minutes after the greens. At the final stage, the kharcho is cooked on low heat, and the spices in it are put in the last place.

Some chefs for larding lamb from a specific taste suggest adding a crushed walnut and pomegranate juice to it. Due to this, the soup acquires a characteristic sourness, and some bitterness from lamb disappears. But these are all delicacies from gourmets. The same effect can be achieved if you add a finely chopped lemon. It is especially good to add pounded garlic to the grist, but this is only if you do not have a diplomatic meeting or a love rendezvous in the next few hours.