AI-generated image
Chikhirtma
Chicken and egg yolk soup
Chikhirtma: silky Tbilisi chicken broth thickened with egg yolks and vinegar
Chikhirtma is Tbilisi's comfort soup, the bowl you are given when you are ill or after a long night at a supra: a golden chicken broth with a lot of slowly fried onion, thickened with flour-free egg yolks beaten with a little vinegar, so it turns silky and pale and tastes gently sour. Coriander and a pinch of saffron or marigold finish it. A common mistake is pouring the yolks into boiling broth, which scrambles them into threads. Chef's tip: temper the yolks with a few ladles of hot broth first and keep the soup below a simmer once they go in; it thickens like custard. Chicken must reach 74 °C before you shred it.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
- 2 ¼ lb chicken thighs and drumsticksbone in
- 7 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
For the soup
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 onionsfinely chopped
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ oz fresh corianderchopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Simmer 2 ¼ lb chicken thighs and drumsticks in 7 ½ cups water with 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 bay leaf for 45 minutes, skimming, until it reads 165°F at the bone and falls away easily. Lift out, cool slightly and shred, discarding skin and bones.
45 minStep 2: Warm 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a clean pot over a low heat and fry 3 onions for 12 minutes, until very soft and golden. Stir in 1 tbsp cornflour and ½ tsp ground marigold or a pinch of saffron.
12 minStep 3: Strain the broth onto the onions, whisking, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken.
5 minStep 4: Whisk 4 egg yolks with 2 tbsp white wine vinegar. Whisk in 3 ladles of hot broth, one at a time. Common mistake: adding yolks straight to boiling soup; they curdle.
Step 5: Turn the heat to low, pour the yolk mix into the pot, stirring, and heat for 3–4 minutes without boiling, until the soup thickens and coats the spoon.
4 minStep 6: Stir in ½ oz fresh coriander and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chikhirtma take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan