AI-generated image
Ash-e kashk
Wheat, bean and herb soup
Ash-e kashk (آش کشک): Khorasan's thick wheat, bean and herb soup with kashk
Ash-e kashk is the winter ash of Khorasan and the central plateau, simmered in big pots in Mashhad and Neyshabur homes and served from the pot for long Friday lunches. Cracked wheat, chickpeas, beans and lentils cook down with a mountain of herbs until creamy and thick, then each bowl gets a swirl of kashk, crisp fried onion and sizzling mint oil. Kashk is fermented dried whey, made without rennet, so it is vegetarian. A common mistake is adding the herbs too early, which turns them grey and muddy; stir them in for the last 30 minutes only. Chef's tip: stir the kashk in a little hot broth before swirling, so it blends smoothly rather than splitting.
- Total time
- 125 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the ash
- 2 ⅞ oz dried chickpeassoaked overnight
- 2 ⅞ oz dried red kidney or pinto beanssoaked overnight
- 3 ½ oz cracked wheat or pearl barleyrinsed
- 2 ⅞ oz green lentilsrinsed
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 10 ½ cups water
- 10 ½ oz mixed parsley, coriander, spinach and dillfinely chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
To serve
- ¾ cup liquid kashk
- 4 tbsp sunflower oilfor frying
- 2 onionsthinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlicsliced
- 2 tbsp dried mint
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pot over a medium heat and fry the 1 onion for 8 minutes until golden. Stir in the 1 tsp ground turmeric for 30 seconds.
9 minStep 2: Drain the 2 ⅞ oz dried chickpeas and 2 ⅞ oz dried red kidney or pinto beans and add them with the 10 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer half-covered for 40 minutes.
45 minStep 3: Add the 3 ½ oz cracked wheat or pearl barley and 2 ⅞ oz green lentils and simmer for 30 minutes more, stirring now and then so nothing sticks, until the beans are tender and the wheat is soft.
30 minStep 4: Stir in the 10 ½ oz mixed parsley, coriander, spinach and dill, 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and cook for 25–30 minutes, stirring often, until thick enough to coat the back of a ladle. Lightly mash some beans with the spoon for creaminess.
28 minStep 5: Meanwhile, fry the 2 onions in the 4 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat for 12 minutes until crisp and brown. Lift out, add the 4 cloves garlic for 1 minute until golden, lift out, then turn the heat off and stir in the 2 tbsp dried mint for 10 seconds.
14 minStep 6: Loosen the ¾ cup liquid kashk with a ladle of hot ash. Serve each bowl with a swirl of kashk, the crisp onion and garlic and a drizzle of mint oil.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ash-e kashk take?
- About 125 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 100 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of dried chickpeas?
- Cannellini or butter beans, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian