Uzbek shurpa is one of the versions of the soup, rooted in the times of the greatness of the Ottoman Empire. Chorba soup got into the cooking of the peoples of the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia from Turkish cuisine. It became the Kazakh sorpa, Kyrgyz shorpo, Romanian chorbe and many other fatty and spicy soups. Uzbek shurpa is a spicy and rich soup, with many subtleties and several variations.
What shurpa is made of
One of the main ingredients of any soup is broth. Shurpa is cooked in meat broth. In addition to the traditional fatty lamb, which gives the dish a unique recognizable taste, beef or chicken can be put into it both as an additive and as the main type of meat. A must in shurpa and a variety of vegetables. Most often these are tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and turnips. You can add peas or beans to make the soup thicker. In addition to common spices such as garlic, onions, salt and pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric and saffron are added to the shurpa. Cayenne pepper gives the fatty soup the spice it needs.
Types of shurpa
Shurpa is divided into two types according to the method of preparation: kaurma and kainatma. Shurpa kainatma has a more delicate taste and less pronounced aroma; fresh meat is put in it. Shurpa kaurma is cooked on fried meat, so the taste of this soup is more pronounced, its aroma is stronger. According to what additional ingredients are put in the shurpa, it is divided into:
– dogroma shurpu; – nuhat shurpu; – unash shurpu; – umpash-shurpu protection; – meatballs; – bridge shurpu.
Dogroma shurpa is cooked not only from mutton meat, but also from sub-products – lungs, heart, kidneys; nukhat necessarily contains local peas, nukhat; unas – beans; flour fried in lamb fat is placed in umpash-zashi; instead of meat, meatballs of the same name go to the kyufta, and rice is added to the mastava.
Basic recipe for shurpa
For a hearty, golden, fatty and tender kainatama shurpa, take:
– 1,5 kilograms of lamb; – 200 g fat tail fat; – 3-4 large onion heads; – 1 large head of lettuce onions; – 3-4 large carrots; – 2 turnips; – 4 bell peppers; – 10 tomatoes; – 7-10 potato tubers; – a bunch of chopped cilantro; – cumin and salt.
There are two types of onions in shurpa. One is evil, spicy, the second is sweet, salad
The hip cut, brisket, ribs, loin are ideal for shurpa. It’s good if you can mix these pieces of carcass with some pulp and some meat on the bone. Rinse the meat and place in a large, wide saucepan of cold water. When the water boils, add a pinch of salt, but do not add any extra salt to the soup. This salt will promote foam formation. Turn the heat down to give the broth only bubbling and begin skimming off the foam. Peel and cut onions in half rings, carrots in thick slices, cut fat tail fat into cubes. When a slightly boiling “pure” broth remains in the saucepan, add onions, bacon and carrots, season with cumin. Without increasing the heat, cook the shurpa for about an hour. During this time, peel and cut the turnips and potatoes into large cubes. Scald the tomatoes, peel them and cut into several large segments. After an hour, add first the potatoes with turnips, and then, after 10 minutes, the tomatoes. Cut off the stem of the bell pepper, remove the seeds and cut into rings. Peel the salad onions and cut into thin half rings, chop the cilantro. When the turnips and potatoes are done, add the pepper. Let it soften a little and, shortly before the shurpa is ready, put the salad onions. Season the soup with salt, arrange the meat and vegetables on bowls, pour the broth into separate bowls and serve, sprinkling generously with cilantro.
For fried shurpa you will need:
– 500 g of lamb; – 100 g fat tail fat; – 5-6 potato tubers; – 4 large tomatoes; – 4 heads of onions; – 2 carrots; – 1 capsicum; – a bunch of cilantro; – salt.
Cut the meat into large chunks, chop the bones. Cut the fat tail fat into cubes and melt in a large wide skillet. Peel the onions and cut into half rings, remove the lamb greaves from the pan and fry the onions until transparent. Add meat and bones and cook until golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add peeled and sliced carrots, whole peeled potatoes, whole peppers. Pour in cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over low heat for about an hour. If you want to cook beef shurpa, fry the meat in lamb lard anyway.
Shurpa is served only hot. Traditionally, the soup is poured into special bowls – kasy
This shurpa is cooked with a special ingredient – peas, which in Uzbekistan are called nuhat, and the rest of the world is known as chickpeas or chickpeas. It must be prepared in advance, 10-12 hours before you start cooking shurpa. Sort out nuhat and rinse with cold water, soak, pouring in such an amount of liquid so that it is two to three times more than chickpea and leave to swell. You will need about 300 g of soaked chickpeas, and for this amount of beans:
– 300 g of fatty lamb on the bone; – 1 head of onion; – 2 medium carrots; – 1 potato tuber; – a bunch of cilantro; – salt.
Drain the chickpeas. Place it with the meat in a saucepan, add the peeled and sliced carrots and the peeled onion, cut into half rings. Simmer for about 1 hour, skimming off the foam periodically. After an hour, add the peeled potatoes, put them whole. Wait until the potatoes are cooked, season the shurpa with salt. Pour the soup into bowls and serve with a sprinkle of cilantro.