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What is kharcho and how do you make Mingrelian walnut kharcho?

Meat in walnut broth and a Mingrelian kharcho recipe.

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Short answer

Mingrelian walnut kharcho is a meat dish from Samegrelo (western Georgia) made of beef with walnuts, onions, garlic and smoked peppers. It is not a soup: the meat is boiled in broth and dressed with a walnut seasoning with smoked ajika, and it is served with ghomi. Below is a recipe for Mingrelian walnut kharcho.

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Why

  1. Mingrelian walnut kharcho is made of beef, walnuts, onions, garlic, coriander, fenugreek, smoked peppers and vinegar or pomegranate juice.
  2. The key ingredient is smoked ajika. If you do not have ready-made kharcho ajika, garlic, coriander, fenugreek and peppers take its place.
  3. The dish is spicy, so it is served with ghomi made of cornmeal. Mingrelian kharcho soup is a separate dish.

Details

Recipe for Mingrelian walnut kharcho.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg beef (brisket is best)
  • 800 g onions
  • 500 g minced walnuts
  • 100 g butter or tallow
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp dried coriander
  • 1 tsp blue fenugreek
  • 2–3 smoked red peppers
  • salt to taste
  • 1 tsp pomegranate juice or boiled white wine vinegar

Method:

  1. Cut the beef into small pieces and bring to the boil. Drain the first water, rinse the meat, cover it with boiling water and simmer on low heat until tender.
  2. Pour off the broth and keep it.
  3. Melt the butter in a pot, add finely chopped onions, cover and fry until golden, stirring occasionally. If needed, skim the fat from the broth and add it to the meat.
  4. Blend the walnuts, garlic, smoked peppers, coriander, fenugreek and salt with some of the broth to make the seasoning. It used to be pounded in a mortar, and a blender works too.
  5. Add the seasoning to the pot with the meat. When it boils, take it off the heat: the walnut broth should not boil for long.
  6. Stir in the pomegranate juice or vinegar and turn off the heat.

Names of other dishes are collected in what Georgian dishes are called, and for more to try see what food to try in Georgia.

Tip

Do not let the dish boil for long after adding the walnut seasoning: take it off the heat as soon as it boils. Serve with ghomi.

What may differ

Kharcho is cooked differently in different regions and families. The version here is the Mingrelian one, with walnuts and no rice. Adjust the salt to taste and control the heat with the amount of smoked pepper.

Common misconception

Mingrelian walnut kharcho and kharcho soup are the same dish.

What actually happens

Mingrelian walnut kharcho is meat in walnut broth served with ghomi. Mingrelian kharcho soup is a separate dish, so the two should not be confused.

People also ask

  • What is kharcho?
  • How to cook kharcho soup?

Sources

This answer is for reference. Adjust taste and spices to your liking.

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