🇮🇷 Iran · Ardabil and Iranian Azerbaijan; also Fars, Kurdistan, Qazvin, Hamedan
Ash-e dooghPersian yogurt soup
A Persian ash, a soup of rice and chickpeas with a few herbs and plenty of garlic, soured with doogh (salted yogurt drink) or sour yogurt, served white and tangy, with small meatballs in some versions.
Origin and history
Ash-e doogh is one of the most famous and beloved traditional foods of Ardabil, in north-western Iran, and is also made in Fars, Kurdistan, East and West Azerbaijan, Qazvin and Hamedan, with local differences in method and ingredients. Persian food writers count more than ten regional kinds, of which the Sarein one in Ardabil is the best known.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 45 min
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 150 g3/4 cup rice, rinsed
- 200 g1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, then boiled until tender and drained
- 2 liters2 quarts sour doogh (salted yogurt drink), preferably a tangy, local-style doogh; use sour yogurt thinned with water if unavailable
- 400 g14 oz mixed fresh herbs, coriander, scallion or leek, garlic greens, and a little dill; chopped coarsely
- 1 bulb garlic, peeled; half grated raw, half for the topping
- 1 egg, helps the doogh stay smooth when heated
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp dried mint, for the topping
- 2 tbsp oil, for frying the mint
- salt and black pepper, to taste; the doogh is already salted
Method
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1. Put the rice, egg and flour in a large pot and mix well.
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2. Add the doogh and heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until it just reaches a boil without curdling. Add up to 1 liter (1 quart) of water if it is too sour or thick.
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3. Cover and simmer until the rice is cooked, stirring about every 10 minutes so it does not stick.
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4. Add the chopped herbs and simmer for about 30 minutes, keeping the herbs coarse. Add the cooked chickpeas, salt and pepper.
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5. Heat the oil, take it off the heat, stir in the dried mint for a few seconds so it does not turn bitter, and set aside.
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6. Stir the grated raw garlic and half of the mint into the soup.
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7. Serve hot, topped with the rest of the mint and the remaining garlic.
Notes
- This is the Ardabil (Sarein) style: chickpeas are the only legume. It is a hot soup, white and tangy.
- Tabriz often uses yogurt in place of doogh, which changes the flavour. The thickness varies from thin to thick across regions; garlic and the choice of herbs also change the taste a lot. One Ardabil description lists leek, parsley and dill; the Sarein recipe used here leaves out the parsley.
- Small meatballs of minced meat and onion with salt (no turmeric) are added in some versions.
- Digikala counts more than ten regional kinds, including Ardabil, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Urmia, Shiraz and Hamedan. Dovga, the Azerbaijani relative, is a separate soup.
- Constant stirring until the first boil is the key to avoiding curdled yogurt; the egg and flour also help.
Adapted from Digikala Mag, Ash-e doogh recipe (Sarein style) and Iran Daily, Aash-e doogh (Ardebil).
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