Ash-e Torsh (آش ترش (Âsh-e torsh))
Overview
Ash-e torsh, sour ash, is a thick herb and fruit soup from Tabriz and Iranian Azerbaijan. Chickpeas, beans and lentils are soaked and cooked until soft, then short-grain rice and a large amount of chopped herbs, such as parsley, coriander, tarragon and spinach or beet leaves, are added and simmered until the rice breaks down and thickens the pot. Dried sour plums, Bukhara prunes and dried apricots go in for the last part of the cooking, and the soup is soured with verjuice, sour fruit leather or vinegar and sweetened slightly with sugar, so it tastes both sharp and sweet. It is topped with fried onion, garlic and dried mint fried in oil.
History
Ash is the Persian name for a family of thick soups, and the word was so central to the kitchen that the cook was called ash-paz, the maker of ash. Sour ash is a speciality of the Azerbaijani cities of northwestern Iran such as Tabriz and Ardabil, where dried fruit is plentiful, and it is a cold-weather dish of autumn and winter.
Main ingredients
Dried plums, dried apricots, rice, chickpeas, herbs, lentils. The soup is built on thick sweet-sour green soup and is usually served hot. Diet: vegan; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Lentil soups · Chickpea soups · Rice soups · More soups from Iran
Recipe
Method
- 11 h 30 min
Simmer the chickpeas and beans in 3 l water for 1 hour, adding the lentils after 30 minutes.
- 240 min
Add the rice and herbs and cook for 40 minutes, stirring often, until thick.
- 320 min
Add the dried fruit and cook for 20 minutes.
- 4
Stir in the verjuice and sugar and season.
- 5
Fry the onion with turmeric, garlic and mint in oil and spoon it over the soup.
- ✓
Serve. About 2h 30m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
