Ash Reshteh (Afghan Noodle Soup)
Ash is a thick soup that features special flat wheat noodles. While the recipe below is Afghan, Ash is part Iranian, Azerbaijani, Caucasian and Turkish.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- ½ cup neutral oil (canola/sunflower/vegetable)
- 1 ½ medium yellow onion (cut in half rings)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp red chili powder ((preferably Kashmiri red chili powder) )
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 4 roma tomatoes
- ½ lb. ground beef
- ½ cup olive oil
- Salt to taste
- ½ lb whole wheat noodles or spaghetti
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 1 ½ tsp dried mint
- 2 cup red kidney beans (boiled or from a can)
- 2 cup red garbanzo beans (boiled or from a can)
- 2 spring onions (sliced crosswise)
- 1 bushel of spinach (roughly chopped)
- 2 green chiles (roughly chopped)
- 1 tbsp ginger powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 cups sour yogurt
- 1 tsp crushed garlic ((optional))
- ½ cup neutral oil (canola/sunflower/vegetable)
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp red chili powder
Instructions
- 1
Begin by preparing the keema. In a saucepan, heat oil and brown onions on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add spices listed under keema (red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder and stir for a few seconds until fragrant. Add a splash of water to deglaze the pan if needed.
- 2
Add tomatoes and fry on high heat until they soften, about 7 minutes.
- 3
Add ground beef, salt, approximately ½ cup of water and let it cook on medium to low heat for 45 minutes.
- 4
To prepare the soup, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt, oil, noodles, mint, dill, chopped spring onion and spinach. Once the broth begins to simmer, add green chilies, red beans and garbanzo beans. After 5 minutes, add the keema prepared earlier, and ginger and garlic powder, and let it simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes.
- 5
While the beef cooks in the broth, whisk 3 cups of sour yogurt and add a teaspoon of garlic (if using) in a deep serving dish.
- 6
Once the noodles are done, strain them with a slotted spoon and begin to add them to the yogurt. Top with broth and set aside.
- 7
Begin to get the tempering ready. Heat ½ cup of oil and fry crushed garlic and red chili powder for a few seconds. Pour it over the soup. Sprinkle with dried mint.