Ash Reshteh (Afghan Style Noodle Soup)

Hi! I'm very happy to republish this recipe for Ash Reshteh, a rich noodle soup, in celebration of Nowruz. Back in 2018, when I was reporting on Afghan cuisine in Islamabad, I interviewed Ehsan, an Afghan student who talked about how much he missed ash. He referred to it as “Afghan spaghetti.” I had never heard about it before, and so was excited when my friend Nur offered to prepare it for me. Even though Ehsan referred to the dish as ‘spaghetti’, it is a thick soup that features special flat wheat noodles. While the recipe below is an Afghan adaptation, ash is part Iranian, Azerbaijani, Caucasian and Turkish. In Iran, people commonly refer to it as Ash Reshteh, and prepare it on the eve of Nowruz, the Persian new year.

Some Notes on the Ingredients

The recipes for ash vary in sequencing to ingredients to tempering. Broadly, it appears that ash nearly always comprises wheat noodles, beans, some greens, and is served alongside yogurt or whey.

• Meat is optional: You can prepare ash with or without meat. The recipe below uses ground beef. If you have leftover keema, this dish is a great way to repurpose it.
• Yogurt: Ash is typically served with whey or in Iran, kashk. Here Nur uses a combination of sour yogurt and crushed garlic. If you can't find sour yogurt, Andy Baraghani from Bon Appetit recommends using thinned Greek yogurt with buttermilk. Shadi from Unicorns in the Kitchen has also suggested a sour cream, white vinegar and salt combination as a substitute (detailed here.)
• The noodles: Nur used regular spaghetti to make it. Her mother, Riffat however, disapproved, reminding us that the entire flavor of the soup is supposed to come from handmade wheat noodles - in Iran, these noodles are called reshteh. I have heard you can find them in the US at specialty Middle Eastern stores. When I made them, I grabbed a packet of whole wheat noodles from Whole Foods, and hoped that it would come close (somewhat anyway.)
• Legumes: Nur used both kidney and garbanzo beans in this recipe, but there is significant variation across households. Check out Shadi's great recipe for another variation.

How to Serve?

Ash is hefty enough to be served on its own but Nur served it as part of a larger spread that included borani banjan. But it's definitely a group that is meant to be shared with large groups. The great thing is that the soup can be prepared at least 1-2 days in advance of a big gathering.

Happy Nowruz everyone!

Ash Reshteh (Afghan Noodle Soup) Recipe

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.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Afghan, Pakistani Cuisine

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

Keema (Ground Beef)

• ½ cup neutral oil canola/sunflower/vegetable
• 1 ½  medium yellow onion cut in half rings
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (preferably Kashmiri red chili powder)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 4 roma tomatoes
• ½ lb. ground beef

Ash (soup)

• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt to taste
• ½ lb whole wheat noodles or spaghetti
• 2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 ½ teaspoon 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 tablespoon ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 3 cups sour yogurt
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (optional)

Tempering

• ½ cup neutral oil canola/sunflower/vegetable
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder

Instructions

 

• 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.
• Add tomatoes and fry on high heat until they soften, about 7 minutes.
• Add ground beef, salt, approximately ½ cup of water and let it cook on medium to low heat for 45 minutes.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Notes

Check for salt as you go along! 

If you can't find sour yogurt, just use whole milk yogurt. If not, Andy Baraghani from Bon Appetit recommends using thinned Greek yogurt with buttermilk. 

Keyword soup