The main ingredients of this flavorful soup are yogurt, rice, and two kinds of legumes (beans). It has both yellow lentils and chickpeas in it. There's some grated onion and fennel, and herbs round it out for a fascinating, delicious soup.
by Susan Pridmore
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The beauty of this soup is how unexpectedly flavorful it is. Assertive onion and fennel soften in the yogurt broth and blends with rice, golden lentils, and chickpeas. The parsley, mint, and garlic brighten it with a burst of flavor.
The right herbs in the right amounts can make something a shining star, for example with this herb-y crispy rice salad and these stuffed artichokes with tabbouleh.
🤷♀️ What is Ashe Mast?
Ashe mast is a popular Persian dish that likely has its origins in Iran but is also popular in both Turkey and Afghanistan. It's sometimes made with mutton or meatballs, but obviously, mine is vegetarian.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minute meal or less.
For all of the ingredients, measurements, and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Yellow onion
- Fennel bulb
- Rice - use either brown or refined white rice (I used brown rice). And use a long rice, such as basmati (my choice) or jasmine.
- Yellow lentils - for more information on yellow lentils, read this post.
- Vegetable broth - either make your own vegetable broth (it's so easy) or use Better Than Bouillon. I can also recommend Swanson's vegetable broth if you don't make your own.
- Egg - this is a thickener for the soup.
- Yogurt - you must use full-fat yogurt for this soup. Otherwise, there is a much higher risk of the yogurt breaking (separating) when heated up.
- Green onions
- Parsley
- Cooked Chickpeas
- Garlic
- Fresh Mint
🔪 Recommended Equipment
- Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot - this is important, as its even heating across the base of the pot helps to prevent the yogurt from breaking (separating).
- Box grater
- Whisk
- Small mixing bowl
- Chef's knife
- Small skillet
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making ashe mast are in the recipe card below, but here's a quick overview.
Step 1
Sauté. Sauté grated onion and fennel in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the rice and lentils.
Step 2
Simmer. Lower the heat and add the broth. Stir in the egg, yogurt, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Bring to a very gentle simmer, just barely a simmer, and maintain that temperature to cook the rice and beans.
Step 3
More simmering. Add the parsley, fennel fronds, chickpeas, and some of the green onions. Simmer until the chickpeas are completely warmed.
Step 4
Flavor bomb. Sauté the garlic, remaining green onions, and mint, and stir this flavor bomb into the soup before serving.
👩🍳 Preparation Tips
- Slow down. Yogurt that is warmed up too fast will separate.
- Use full-fat yogurt to help prevent it from separating (breaking) while the soup cooks.
- Whisk the egg well and stir it in gradually just after the yogurt. The yogurt cools the liquid enough for the egg to be added. If the liquid is too hot, the egg will scramble.
- Stir this soup often over low heat.
- The egg and heated yogurt thicken the brothy base of the soup. However, if you need it further thickened, add 3 - 4 tablespoons of flour to the butter, garlic, mint, and scallions at the end of the recipe. When the flour is completely absorbed into the butter mixture, cook it for a few minutes and add some liquid from the soup using a ladle. Whisk until a sauce develops, and then add it all to the soup.
🎯 Why This Recipe Works
- The soup is thickened and enriched by the egg and warming the yogurt.
- It's made hearty with rice, lentils, and chickpeas, so it's a meal that requires little more.
- Grating the fennel and onion adds more flavor to the soup. The garlic, green onions, and mint sautéed in the butter add a further flavor boost.
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Persian Yogurt Soup (Ashe Mast)
Equipment
- box grater
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion grated on box grater (about 1 cup grated)
- 2 tablespoons grated fennel bulb using the same box grater
- ½ cup brown basmati rice well rinsed
- ½ cup yellow lentils well rinsed
- 4 ½ cups vegetable broth or 4 ½ cups of water plus 4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Paste
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 4 cups FULL FAT plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 ½ teaspoons of sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ¾ cup chopped green onions
- ½ cup chopped parsley or cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped fennel fronds
- 14.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed or 1 ½ cups chickpeas cooked from dried
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 medium cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat and add the grated onion and fennel. Sauté until fragrant and softened, about ten minutes. Add the rice and lentils and continue to cook for five minutes, occasionally stirring.
- Lower the heat to medium-low heat and stir in the broth, yogurt, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the whisked egg, stirring or whisking it into the liquid. The yogurt must lower the temperature of the soup liquid before adding the egg so that it doesn't scramble. Stir in the rice, lentils, ½ cup of green onions (scallions), parsley, fennel fronds, and chickpeas.
- Slowly bring the mixture to barely a simmer - this should take at least 15 minutes. As it warms, the liquid will thicken from the yogurt and egg. Maintain a very low simmer with only a few bubbles in the middle of the soup until the rice and beans are cooked, about 30 minutes. Stir the soup often.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, remaining green onions, and mint, and sauté until the garlic begins to toast a bit, about two minutes. Stir the butter mixture into the soup.
- Pro Tip: if the soup is thinner than you prefer, add 3 - 4 tablespoons of flour to the butter, green onions, garlic, and mint. Stir until the butter absorbs the flour, and cook for another few minutes. Ladle 1 cup of the soup into the skillet and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Add it all back into the soup.
- Serve warm.
Anna Middleton
maybe i am missing it cause i am rushing but i wish this site had a tab for saving recipes to my own recipe box . i am not always home when i stumble upon one of your lovely recipes and i am not as computer savvy as i would like..just a wish
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much for letting me know! There's a button in the recipe part of the post that allows you to email it. You could mail it to yourself and have it in your inbox. As for saving it in your recipe box, what program do you use for your recipe box? I'm happy to see what I can do on my end!!
apuginthekitchen
I love Persian food, have never had this before but must try it. My favorite Persian soup is ash e reshteh, full of vegetables, herbs, beans. This sounds like the perfect hearty soup, a real cure for what ails you. Hope you are not sick, did you come down with a cold?
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm going to look into reshteh now. It looks perfect for me. I'm loving any food middle-eastern these days, and am thoroughly enjoying cooking my way through Jeruselem cookbook. Oh the cold, I had a sore throat for a couple days, along with achy muscles, and feeling exhausted. And then it just disappeared. Thankfully.
mjskit
What an interesting soup. I've never had anything like this. Lots of great ingredients and high in protein with all of those beans. Great recipe Susan!
Mary Frances
This soup looks absolutely perfect for brightening a drab, wintery day!