Name: Megrelian Walnut Kharcho: Georgian Beef and Walnut Stew
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h 20 min
Total time: 3 h
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 1 kg boneless beef chuck, trimmed of hard excess fat and cut into 3 cm cubes; 1.8 L water, plus a little boiling water if needed; 8 g fine salt, divided; 500 g yellow onion, finely chopped, about 3 medium onions; 40 g unsalted butter or rendered beef tallow; 300 g shelled walnuts, finely ground; 15 g garlic, peeled and finely grated or crushed; 5 g ground coriander seed; 3 g ground blue fenugreek; 1 g smoked red chilli flakes, or crushed smoked dried red pepper; 10 ml white wine vinegar; 10 g fresh coriander leaves, chopped, for serving

Wide view of Megrelian Walnut Kharcho: Georgian Beef and Walnut Stew on a rustic table, with the serving setting visible around it.

Yield6 servings

Serving sizeone-sixth of the stew; ghomi or bread is not included

DifficultyIntermediate

Dietary notesContains walnuts; gluten-free by listed ingredients, subject to product labels and cross-contact

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The dish

About Megrelian Walnut Kharcho: Georgian Beef and Walnut Stew

Beef cubes are simmered until tender, then folded into soft onion and a dense, gently spiced walnut sauce. This measured Samegrelo-associated version serves six and uses the beef’s own cooking broth to bring the sauce together.

Megrelian Walnut Kharcho comes from Samegrelo in western Georgia. It belongs to the broad family of dishes called kharcho, but this regional version is a thick, walnut-rich stew rather than the better-known rice-containing soup. Beef, ground walnuts, onion, garlic and warm spices give it its defining character.

The meat is simmered in water until tender, and the clear cooking broth becomes the liquid for the walnut seasoning. Softened onion is combined with the beef and walnut paste. A little vinegar brightens the richness at the end. Households differ in their meat, walnut, chilli and souring choices; this recipe gives one practical, measured beef version.

The sauce should cling to the beef while remaining easy to spoon. Heat it only until the first gentle bubbles appear after the walnuts are added. Serve it hot, traditionally with ghomi, a firm Georgian cornmeal porridge. Ghomi is a separate accompaniment and is not included in the serving or nutrition estimate.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Megrelian Walnut Kharcho: thick beef stew with ground walnuts

Beef and broth

1 kgboneless beef chuck, trimmed of hard excess fat and cut into 3 cm cubes
1.8 Lwater, plus a little boiling water if needed
8 gfine salt, divided

Onion and walnut sauce

500 gyellow onion, finely chopped, about 3 medium onions
40 gunsalted butter or rendered beef tallow
300 gshelled walnuts, finely ground
15 ggarlic, peeled and finely grated or crushed
5 gground coriander seed
3 gground blue fenugreek
1 gsmoked red chilli flakes, or crushed smoked dried red pepper
10 mlwhite wine vinegar
10 gfresh coriander leaves, chopped, for serving

Method

Prepare the beef and aromatics. Cut the beef into even 3 cm cubes. Finely chop the onion, crush or grate the garlic, and grind the walnuts to a fine meal. Stop before they release oil.
Parboil the beef. Put the beef in the pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and skim the grey foam as it rises. Drain the beef and briefly rinse it and the pot to remove the first cloudy water.
Simmer until tender. Return the beef to the clean pot and cover with 1.8 L fresh boiling water. Partly cover and maintain a gentle simmer for about 100–115 minutes, until a fork enters a cube easily. Add a little boiling water only if needed to keep the meat mostly covered. Reserve the clear broth.
Soften the onion. While the beef simmers, melt the butter or tallow in a second heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of the measured salt. Cover and cook for 18–22 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and pale gold without scorching.
Make the walnut seasoning. Mix the walnuts with the garlic, dried coriander, blue fenugreek and smoked chilli. Gradually stir in about 250 ml warm reserved broth to make a smooth, thick paste.
Combine the beef, onion and paste. Lift the tender beef into the softened onion. Fold in the walnut mixture, then add reserved broth in small amounts until the stew is thick but spoonable. You may not need all the broth.
Heat gently and season. Warm over low heat, stirring from the bottom, just until the first gentle bubbles appear. Do not let the walnut sauce boil hard. Check that the largest beef cube is fully cooked and at least 71 °C. Stir in the vinegar, taste, and add only as much of the remaining measured salt as needed.
Settle and serve. Rest for 10 minutes so the sauce settles. Scatter with fresh coriander and serve hot, traditionally over ghomi.

Serving, storage and substitutions

Serve with ghomi for a traditional Samegrelo-style meal. Bread is another useful accompaniment. Neither is included in the yield or nutrition estimate.

Refrigerate leftovers in shallow, covered containers within 2 hours. Keep at 4 °C or below and use within 3–4 days. Reheat gently on the stove, stirring and adding a splash of water or unsalted broth if the sauce has thickened, until the stew reaches 74 °C throughout.

Freeze cooled portions in airtight containers for up to 3 months for best quality. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to 74 °C. Butter or rendered beef tallow may be used, as in Georgian descriptions. Pomegranate juice is a household alternative to vinegar. Reducing or omitting the smoked chilli makes the stew milder.

Practical guidance

Troubleshooting

If the sauce is too thick, stir in hot reserved broth a little at a time. If the walnut paste begins to look oily, lower the heat and loosen it with broth; avoid a hard boil. If the stew tastes flat, add vinegar in small measured drops and taste again before adding more salt.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: one-sixth of the stew, excluding ghomi or bread
Calories: approximately 800 kcal
Carbohydrates: 16 g
Protein: 40 g
Fat: 66 g
Fibre: about 5 g
Sodium: approximately 650 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains walnuts, a tree-nut allergen. Check packaged ingredients and cross-contact warnings. The listed stew ingredients contain no gluten.

Keep raw beef and its utensils separate from ready-to-eat foods. Bring the beef and water to a full boil, then maintain a steady gentle simmer until the meat is tender and cooked through. Refrigerate cooked stew in shallow containers within 2 hours at 4 °C or below. Reheat leftovers throughout to 74 °C.

To finish

The deep walnut sauce should coat tender beef and stay thick enough to spoon over ghomi.
Simmer the beef in fresh water, use its broth to loosen the walnut paste, and keep the finished sauce below a hard boil.