Aash Reshteh or Persian noodle soup, packed with herbs and nutritious beans, is the ultimate comfort food for chilly fall and winter days.
Each bowl is decorated with caramelized onions, fried garlic, mint oil and kashk. Kashk is a dairy product made with drained sour yogurt and gives this soup a distinct sour flavor. You can find it in middle eastern stores. You can also skip kashk or use pomegranate molasses instead. Although pomegranate molasses is not the traditional way to enjoy Aash in many parts of Iran, some prefer it that way (and by some I mean me and my family, lol).
How to make Aash Reshteh with dried herbs:
Originally, this soup is made with fresh herbs, including spinach, cilantro, dill and chives. But you can also make it with dried herbs, which is how I made it in this recipe. You can buy “Sabzi Aash” herbs online or in middle eastern and Iranian stores.
All you need to do is soak the herbs in warm water for about 20-30 minutes, then drain and add to the soup. Easy right?!
Can I use canned beans for Aash Reshteh?
You certainly can! In fact, that’s how I do it most of the time. Just substitute the dry beans in the recipe with twice the amount of canned beans (because they are already cooked). Cook the onions, dried lentils and herbs following the recipe below, and add in the canned beans about 15 minutes before adding in the noodles. If you only have one of the beans in can, cook all the other ingredients following the recipe and just add the canned beans 15 minutes before adding the noodles.
Where can I find Reshteh or Persian noodles?
You can buy “Reshteh” online or in middle eastern/Iranian stores.
This post contains affiliate links. It means when you purchase something using these links, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog!
Aash Reshteh (Persian Noodle Soup) - Easy Version
Ingredients
- 2 large yellow onions - very thinly sliced
- 4 clove of garlic - minced
- Dried Aash Herbs (See notes) - 57 grams
- ½ cup dried navy beans - soaked overnight
- ½ cup dried chickpeas - soaked overnight
- ½ cup dried kidney beans - soaked overnight
- ½ cup dried green lentils
- 6 oz Reshteh Noodles - see notes
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- ¾ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- salt - to taste
- 2 tbsp Dried mint
- 10 tbsp Olive oil
- 10 cups Water
- 1 cup Kashk
Instructions
- The night before preparing the Aash, you need to soak the beans (except lentils) in water. Place the chickpeas, navy beans and kidney beans in a large bowl, and add in a generous amount of water, so that there is about 2 inch water covering top of the beans. Refrigerate until next day.
- The next day, start by preparing the herbs. Add in the dried herbs into a large bowl of warm water. Let it soak for about 20-30 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
- Drain the beans and add them to the pot, along with half a teaspoon of turmeric, salt and black pepper (do not add lentils at this stage). Add in 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to simmer, partly cover the pot with a lid and let the beans cook. About 1 hour. Discard the foam forming on top.
- Meanwhile, heat 6 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions and sauté on medium heat until golden brown, stirring regularly. It will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Add about ¼ teaspoon of turmeric, stir to coat the onions. Add half the onions to the pot with beans and transfer the rest to a plate for decoration. In the same pan, sauté minced garlics for a few minutes, until they are golden. Again, add half the garlic to the pot with beans and transfer the rest to a plate for decoration.
- Now we prepare the mint oil. In a small pan or saucepan, over low heat, add in about 4 tablespoons of oil and the dried mint. Stir them together and remove from heat. Set aside for garnish.
- After the beans are cooked, add in lentils and the herbs along with 4 cups of water. Let it cook uncovered for about 3o-45 more minutes. If the soup is getting very thick, add in more water (add half a cup each time).
- After 30 minutes or so that the lentils and herbs are cooked, transfer about half a cup of soup water to a small bowl and add in 1 tablespoon of flour to it. Mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture back to the soup. This will help thicken the soup slightly, but it's not necessary so you can skip it.
- Break the noodles in half, add them to the soup and keep stirring so that they don't stick together. The noodles will cook in about 30 minutes. Add in more water if the soup is too thick. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
- In a small bow, add kashk and add in water by tablespoon until it has a drizzling consistency. You can stir some of kashk into the pot or keep it all for garnish and as a side so that everybody can add as much as they like to their bowl.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with caramelized onion, garlic, mint oil and kashk. You can also enjoy this soup with pomegranate molasses. Just add in a few tablespoons to your bowl and enjoy!
Notes
- You can buy "Sabzi Aash" herbs online or in middle eastern and Iranian stores.
