This is my take on Kharcho. It might not help you to win over you Georgian mother-in-law, but it is very tasty and reheats well. Plus my little one likes it a lot …
Ingredients:
~400 g of minced lamb (or beef).
1 medium onion, chopped
1 spear of celery (can use more if you like), chopped
~1 L of lamb stock (or beef)
some oil
1 450 g can of chopped tomatoes
salt (to taste)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika (pimenton de la vera)
80 g walnuts
2 cloves of garlic
50 g long grain rice, washed - can use more to make the soup more stew-like
1 tbsp tamarind puree (or more) - sour plum puree is traditional, but any source of fruity sourness works from my point of view. Tamarind is great, but lime juice could be substituted.
chopped cilantro
(chopped dill, chopped parsley - optional) - Dill works magic here !
Method:
Heat oil in a large pot. Add minced meat and brown slightly. Add chopped onion & celery, sweat aromatics for some minutes. Add tomatoes & stock, add some salt and simmer for maybe 15 min …
In the meantime, grind walnuts, garlic, spices to a more or less fine paste. I preroast whole coriander seed, crush them in a mortar, add garlic, crush, add walnuts, crush and finally add paprika. You can add a bit chili here if you like as well.
Add washed rice. Simmer for about 20 min until rice is tender. Add walnut paste, simmer for 5 more min. Check and adjust salt level.
Take off the heat. Add herbs and tamarind paste. Let steep for about 10 min, then check final seasoning and serve garnished with some herbs.
Reheats pretty well and is best enjoyed with some flatbread.
