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Ash-e anar
آش انار · Yalda-night pomegranate soup with herbs, split peas and rice, made without meatballs
Ash-e anar is a soup for Yalda, the long December night when families across Tehran, Tabriz and Mashhad stay up late with pomegranates, watermelon and poetry. Fresh pomegranate juice and molasses give the broth a sour-sweet ruby colour, thick with split peas, rice and a mass of parsley, coriander, mint and spring onion. Many families drop in small meatballs; this version leaves them out and finishes with a sizzling garnish of dried mint in oil (nana dagh) for depth. The common mistake is adding the pomegranate too early, which dulls the colour to brown; it goes in for the last half hour. Chef's tip: taste and balance at the end with sugar or more molasses; the soup should make your mouth water, sour first and sweet after.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the soup
For the nana dagh
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat the 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pot over a medium heat and fry the 2 onions for 12 minutes, until golden. Keep a spoonful aside for the garnish, then stir the 1 tsp ground turmeric into the pot.
12 minStep 2: Add the 3 ½ oz yellow split peas and 8 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil, skim, and simmer for 25 minutes, until the peas are starting to soften.
25 minStep 3: Add the 3 ½ oz short-grain rice and the 1 small raw beetroot, if using, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring now and then so the rice doesn't stick.
15 minStep 4: Stir in the 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, 1 bunch fresh coriander, 0.5 bunch fresh mint and 6 spring onions or chives and simmer for 10 minutes, until the herbs darken and the rice is soft.
10 minStep 5: Pour in the 2 cups fresh pomegranate juice and 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses with the 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Simmer gently for 20–25 minutes, uncovered, until the split peas collapse and the soup is thick enough to coat a ladle. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick.
25 minStep 6: Taste and add 1 tbsp sugar, more molasses or salt until it is clearly sour, then sweet.
2 minStep 7: For the nana dagh, warm the 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a small pan over a low heat, take it off the heat and stir in the 2 tbsp dried mint for 10 seconds, until fragrant; it burns quickly.
2 minStep 8: Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with the mint oil. Top with the reserved fried onion and 4 tbsp pomegranate seeds, if using.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ash-e anar take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
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