Shurpa is a rich and quite thick dish in the form of soup. Refers to the national cuisine of Uzbekistan. This dish is also called Shorpo, Shorvo, Shurpo, Chorpa, Shurvo. Uzbek soup is one of the first dishes. There are a lot of recipes for cooking, since each region of the state has its own cooking secrets.
How to cook Uzbek soup: features
This dish has its own characteristics:
- all vegetables are cut large enough;
- almost all recipes have a tomato;
- vegetables are cooked for a long time and over low heat, making the taste of the broth saturated.
Serving this dish is also quite original: it can be done separately (meat and vegetables - on one plate, broth - on another) or all together. Uzbek soup, like all dishes, is decorated with various herbs.
Essential ingredients, cooking features
To make a first-class Uzbek soup, you will need:
- 1.8-2 liters of water (the shurpa should end up with thick water);
- 250 g of onion;
- 1-2 pcs. sweet red peppers;
- 5-6 pcs. small potatoes (this is approximately 200-230 g);
- 400-500 g of mutton (fillet or ribs can be used), beef meat is also suitable;
- 1 small tomato or several tablespoons of tomato paste (depending on portions and desired saturation);
- 180-200 g of carrots;
- seasonings (black, allspice, salt, garlic, etc., possibly according to individual preferences);
- various greens (parsley, cilantro, dill and others - to taste).
Depending on the number of servings, the number of components can be adjusted according to personal choice, the main thing is that the shurpa turn out to be thick and saturated.
Next we cook Uzbek soup. Stages of cooking:
1) We cut the meat or ribs in small pieces and set to cook on a small fire for 20-25 minutes. We salt it right away, so that we can then orient ourselves to our taste.
2) After the meat is boiled a little, add the vegetables (coarsely chopped or medium - in rings). This is sweet pepper , potatoes, carrots, onions.
3) All this cook on very low heat for 15-20 minutes. The broth should be well fed with both meat and vegetables.
4) After that, take a tomato, remove the peel from it (for this you will need to pour boiling water over it), three and add to the broth. If we add tomato paste instead of tomato, then preferably 1 tablespoon. If you add more, you get a very rich taste, and this is an amateur.
5) When everything is cooked for about 50 minutes, preferably 15 minutes before final cooking (this is an hour or one hour and 20 minutes), gradually add your favorite spices - peppers, marjoram, dried garlic - according to individual preferences.
When the shurpa is ready, it acquires a golden red, rich shade and aroma. The meat and vegetables will be soft, but the vegetables will remain intact. In each portion we add favorite types of greens. It is very important to add spices in moderation so that the taste of the broth and vegetables is felt in the first place. This is a very tasty and hearty meal, often served for lunch.
Uzbek wheat soup
There is also a delicious and nutritious dish called erma. This is also Uzbek soup, but with the addition of wheat (one and a half glasses). Its peculiarity is that the meat and onions are fried until half-cooked, and then they are poured with boiling water and cooked together with the rest of the ingredients until completion.
One of the important stages in the preparation is the preparation of wheat. To separate it from the husk, it is pounded in a mortar, gradually moistened with water. Then they are washed and pushed again to soften. Prepared wheat must be added to the broth after the tenth minute of cooking over low heat. And after that add pepper, carrots, onions and salt.
An exceptional feature of this meal is the serving. Sour cream or yogurt (katyk) is served along with the soup, but at the same time they do not dissolve in the main dish, and are taken from a separate dish to the slurry.
Evaluation dishes, tastes
Uzbek national cuisine is to the taste of many because of its richness. Soups are famous for their aroma, density and nutrition. I am glad that you can take both beef and mutton for cooking, and adjust the saturation of taste yourself with a certain amount of spices. Among gourmets, Uzbek soup occupies one of the first places in popularity.