Kharcho Soup recipe

Ingredients

• 800 g beef brisket or shank, in large pieces
• 2.5 l water
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 80 g short-grain rice, rinsed
• 100 g walnuts, finely ground
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tbsp tkemali (sour plum sauce)
• 2 tsp khmeli suneli
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• Salt and bay leaf

Method

1. Cover the beef with cold water, bring to a boil and skim off the foam. Add a bay leaf and simmer gently for about 1 1/2 hours, until tender.
2. Lift out the beef, cut it into bite-size pieces and return it to the broth.
3. Fry the onions in a little fat from the broth until soft, stir in the tomato paste for a minute, then add everything to the pot.
4. Add the rice and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Mix the walnuts, garlic, tkemali and spices with a ladle of hot broth and stir the paste into the soup.
6. Simmer 5 more minutes, season with salt and add the cilantro. Rest for 10 minutes before serving with bread.

Tamara's tip: no tkemali at hand? Use 2 tbsp of tamarind paste or a squeeze of lemon with a spoon of plum jam. Not the same, but close.