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Ash Reshteh (Afghan Noodle Soup) Recipe

5 from 1 vote
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
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Afghan, Pakistani Cuisine
Ingredients Method Notes

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

Method
 

  1. 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.
  2. Add tomatoes and fry on high heat until they soften, about 7 minutes.
  3. Add ground beef, salt, approximately ½ cup of water and let it cook on medium to low heat for 45 minutes.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.