Chikhirtma comes from Kakheti and is the Georgian cousin of the egg-and-acid soups found across the Caucasus and the eastern Mediterranean. Prized as a restorative and a hangover cure after long feasts, its silky thickening from egg yolks alone, without flour or cream, is the mark of a careful cook.
The broth is pale gold and pourable-thick, coating the spoon like thin custard. It is rich with chicken and bright with lemon-sour acid, the texture impossibly smooth. Soft shreds of chicken and a hit of coriander finish each restorative spoonful.
Egg yolk proteins coagulate gently below boiling to thicken the broth into a stable emulsion, while careful tempering prevents curdling and the acid both flavors and helps set the silky texture.
Variations
Turkey instead of chicken; lemon juice swapped for white wine vinegar; saffron added for color in some homes.
On the Palate
Where Chikhirtma sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 140 min
Simmer a whole chicken with onion in water until tender, skimming the surface.
- 210 min
Remove the chicken, shred the meat, and strain the broth.
- 36 min
In a separate pan make a light roux of flour in butter, then whisk in some hot broth.
- 43 min
Beat egg yolks with vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl.
- 54 min
Temper the yolks by whisking in ladles of hot broth a little at a time.
Watch outWhisk in the hot broth one ladle at a time to warm the yolks slowly — dump it in fast and the eggs scramble instead of thickening the soup.
- 63 min
Return the shredded chicken to the pot and pour in the tempered yolk mixture off the boil.
- 76 min
Warm gently, stirring constantly, until the soup thickens to a silky cream; do not boil.
Watch outWarm it gently, stirring nonstop, only until it thickens enough to coat the spoon like silk — the moment it simmers the yolks curdle and split.
- 82 min
Stir in chopped coriander and serve immediately.
