Familiarity with the Balkan cuisine, many professional culinary experts suggest starting with the first courses. Among them, chorba soup occupies a special place. The recipe for its preparation is not very difficult: it was not in vain that in Bulgaria, for example, it was considered one of the cheapest and most widely used food options for villagers and workers. Chorba is a rather thick first course with dressing and meat or poultry. It sometimes contains kvass from bran or fermented milk products, greens. As a rule, this soup is eaten hot at lunchtime. Food options vary in different countries: Bulgarian, Serbian, Moldavian, Montenegrin, Turkish Chorba soup. The recipe can vary greatly depending on the area of preparation. By the way, the name itself comes from the Turkish word "Shurpa".
Shkembe Chorba (Bulgaria)
The first word in the name translates as “scar” or “stomach”. This soup is also famous for its anti-hangover properties and is an integral attribute of Bulgarian pubs, taverns, restaurants.
Ingredients
1 kilogram of beef or lamb stomachs, 1 liter of cow's or sheep’s milk, a couple of onions, carrots, hot red ground pepper, ground paprika, a little butter and vegetable oil, a head of garlic - that’s all you need to make chorba soup. The recipe is simple and affordable, as you can see. So let's get started!
Cooking
- As a rule, stomachs (frozen - thawed), to put it mildly, smell not too pleasant. How to get rid of such an amber? Several options were invented: you can soak the skembe in milk for several hours (drain the milk and not use it), or you can use the Bulgarian marinade. It consists of water, a third of a glass of wine vinegar, chopped onion. Stomach soak for three hours (or better - all night to cook in the morning).
- We drain the milk or marinade, and the stomachs are washed again in running water. We put the ingredient in the pan, fill it with water and cook for at least three hours (in a pressure cooker - it can take an hour). It is necessary to cook the stomachs whole without cutting into pieces, periodically removing the foam. You can add a few bay leaves and a whole onion to the pan. After cooking, set the pan aside and allow to cool in a cold place.
- Fat forms at the top of the pan. Remove it with a slotted spoon and throw it away.
- We take out the scars from the broth. Cut into thin slices. A filter the broth.
- In a frying pan in vegetable oil, we heat 1.5 small tablespoons of hot red ground pepper (paprika) - 2 minutes literally.
- We throw the cut scars into the pan to the pepper.
- Bring a liter of milk to a boil and mix with a liter of broth. Salt and mix.
- We spread the contents of the pan into the pan and cook for a short time.
- Meanwhile, we are doing a sharp dressing. Pour 50 ml of wine vinegar into a small container, mash the head of garlic, add hot coarse red pepper. Mix and let it brew.
- So Bulgarian chorba soup is ready. The recipe is very simple to execute, anyone, even a novice cook, can handle it. A hot dish is served in a bowl, where you first need to throw a spoonful of dressing and pour in thick soup. Do not forget to cut a large chunk of fresh bread and greens.
Chorba soup (Montenegro). Recipe
We need: chickpeas - a glass (you can take ordinary peas), beans - a glass, three medium potatoes, 250 grams of lamb, a head of garlic, a pound of tomatoes, a couple of large spoons of tomato paste, a couple of onions and carrots, lemon, paprika and chili , salt to taste.
Cooking
By the way, the Bulgarian soup "Bob Chorb" is very similarly cooked, the recipe for which is practically no different from Montenegrin, with the possible exception of a few nuances. The whole secret of this dish is in the addition of legumes, which give the dish an original flavor.
- Dice vegetables and meat and fill with water in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring, for 30 minutes.
- Scalp the tomatoes with boiling water and peel them. They should be small enough to go into the soup as a whole. You can also add small canned tomatoes.
- Cut the lemon in half. Throw all the remaining ingredients into the pan and mix. Cook another 30 minutes on the smallest fire, stirring occasionally.
- Peas and beans, pre-soaked, put in the soup and cook for another 30 minutes. During this time, the tomatoes turn into gruel, but you can additionally knead them with a fork.
Turkish chorba soup. Recipe
As already mentioned, chorba in different countries can differ significantly. You need to take one and a half cups of red lentils, 2 liters of lamb broth, a glass of tomato, a couple of onions, 2 large tablespoons of flour, a little oil for frying onions.
Cooking is simple. Fry the onion, pass the flour, pour into the broth. There are lentils and mutton slices cut in cubes in advance. Cook, stirring, enter the tomato and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with dried mint.