Sorpa (Сорпа (Sorpa))
Overview
Sorpa is the rich meat broth of Kazakh cooking. Large pieces of mutton, beef or horse meat on the bone are put in a big pot of cold water, brought slowly to the boil and skimmed carefully so that the broth stays clear. It then simmers for hours with salt, a whole onion, black pepper and bay leaf, until the meat is tender and the surface is shining with fat. Sorpa is served very hot in small bowls called kese, often with sliced onion and black pepper, and sometimes with crumbled kurt, dried salty cheese, stirred in. It is savoury, fatty and deeply warming.
History
In Kazakh tradition sorpa is served at the end of a feast, after the guests have eaten beshbarmak, the dish of boiled meat and noodles cooked in the same pot. Drinking the hot broth is believed to help digestion and restore strength. It is part of the ritual of hospitality on the steppe, where the host pours sorpa into the bowls of honoured guests, and it is also given to people who are ill or tired after a long journey.
Main ingredients
Mutton or horse meat on the bone, onion, black pepper, bay leaf, salt, kurt. The soup is built on meat broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Lamb soups
Recipe
Method
- 1
Put the meat in a large pot with the cold water and bring slowly to the boil.
- 2
Skim off all the foam, then add the whole onion, bay leaves and peppercorns.
- 33 h
Simmer very gently, partly covered, for 2 to 3 hours.
- 4
Season with salt and strain the broth.
- 5
Serve hot in small bowls with sliced onion, black pepper and kurt.
- ✓
Serve. About 3h 10m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
