In our understanding, some stereotypes have developed that only speak 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 very definite menu, which must necessarily include in its list of first courses, at least cabbage soup, rich Ukrainian borsch, hodgepodge and lamb kharcho. Therefore, the same list should, in the public sense, be mastered by every self-respecting housewife and use it as a minimum set of dishes for their households.
But that’s where the stereotypes end. As soon as we try to reproduce the recipe for the classic kharcho soup , not only every Georgian housewife will be able to make it their own way, there is no single recipe even in the set of basic ingredients that make up this dish in the most famous restaurants. A unifying factor can only be his famous poignancy, which was included in jokes and sayings. According to experts, the use of tklapi is considered to be the main source of such a unique effect, which is associated with the classic kharcho soup. This is a very specific Georgian seasoning, which is almost impossible to find in an ordinary store, and its main substitutes are tkemali, adjika and tomato paste.
The assertion that in Georgia, when cooking kharcho, beef must be used exclusively, can also be attributed to the category of entrenched myths. Well-soaked and properly cooked young lamb will not spoil the taste of this famous soup. Moreover, mutton kharcho soup has taken a fundamental place in classical recipes both in Georgia itself and abroad. Although the name "kharcho" phonetically in Georgian sounds like "dzerohis khortsi kharshot" and means beef soup.
The question of how to cook lamb kharcho can arise in any cook if he comes across a fat lamb brisket. The latter should be cut across and cut into separate pieces along the ribs. It’s like the unforgettable Arkady Raikin: “To cook a stew from a hare, you must at least have a cat.”
So, we cook the lamb first, as we cook the lamb kharcho. To do this, we should first fry it together with onions and roots. For 600 g of meat, we need two onions, two sweet peppers, carrots, a pound of tomato, bitter pepper, garlic, two tablespoons of rice, a little greens and a lot of different spices. Suneli hops, tkemali, adjika will do. You can even use a special set of spices, selected for kharcho and in abundance offered by our trade. In general, the point is not in the seasonings used, but in how to cook lamb kharcho. After roasting, the meat cut into pieces up to 3.5 cm in size is cooked with onions for one and a half to two hours. After that they pull out from the broth and separate the meat from the bones. Finely chop the greens and fill in the broth. There it is worth throwing the tomatoes passed through the meat grinder, but only 10 minutes after the greens. At the final stage, kharcho is simmered, and spices are placed in it last.
Some culinary specialists suggest adding chopped walnut and pomegranate juice to it to add a taste of lamb kharcho. Thanks to this, the soup acquires a characteristic sourness, and a certain bitterness from lamb disappears. But this is all gourmet delights. The same effect can be achieved by adding finely chopped lemon. It is especially good to add crushed garlic to the kharcho, but this is only on condition that you do not have a diplomatic meeting or a love rendezvous in the coming hours.