A hearty, tangy beef soup thickened with rice and ground walnuts, spiced with fenugreek and a sour plum sauce called tkemali.
Georgian Kharcho is a real, traditional Georgian dish, known as Spicy Beef and Rice Soup with Walnuts. A hearty, tangy beef soup thickened with rice and ground walnuts, spiced with fenugreek and a sour plum sauce called tkemali.\n\nKharcho originated in western Georgia, historically made with the tart tkemali plum sauce and ground walnuts that define much of Georgian cuisine's distinctive sweet-sour-nutty flavor profile, evolving over time into the rice-thickened soup eaten today.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Georgian home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.
Serves 6
Combine beef, water and onion in a large pot. Bring to a boil, skim foam, then simmer for 1.5 hours until the beef is tender.
Add the rice and simmer for 15 minutes until it's cooked through and beginning to thicken the soup.
Stir in ground walnuts and tkemali sauce, simmering for another 10 minutes.
Add khmeli suneli, fenugreek, chili flakes and garlic, simmering for 5 more minutes to meld the flavors.
Season with salt, tasting and adjusting the tang with more tkemali if needed.
Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot with bread.
Simmer the beef until truly tender before adding rice, since the rice cooks much faster and would overcook if added too early.
Ground walnuts thicken the soup naturally and add richness — grind them finely for the smoothest texture.
Balance the tang from tkemali carefully; the soup should taste distinctly sour-savory, a hallmark of Georgian cuisine.
Use lamb instead of beef for a different traditional protein.
Some households add a spoonful of adjika (Georgian chili paste) for extra heat.
Adjust the rice quantity for a thinner or thicker soup depending on preference.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.
Kharcho originated in western Georgia, historically made with the tart tkemali plum sauce and ground walnuts that define much of Georgian cuisine's distinctive sweet-sour-nutty flavor profile, evolving over time into the rice-thickened soup eaten today.
Tkemali is a tart Georgian sauce made from sour plums; Georgian or Eastern European grocery stores sometimes carry it, or you can approximate it with tomato paste mixed with extra lemon juice and a pinch of sugar.
Yes, it reheats well; the rice continues to absorb liquid as it sits, so thin with a bit of water if needed when reheating.
Add a splash of water or stock to loosen it, since the rice and ground walnuts continue absorbing liquid over time.
Per serving (420g / 14.8 oz) · 6 servings total
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