Ash-e Shooli: Yazd’s Beetroot and Herb Soup

Ash-e shooli is the beetroot soup of Yazd. Beetroot and lentils simmer with a big bunch of herbs, and a little flour thickens the pot. Grape vinegar goes in at the end. Its sharpness cuts against the sweet beetroot.

It is a lighter ash than ash reshteh, with no noodles or beans. In Yazd it is a cold-weather dish. Some cooks in Kerman make it too, under the name sholin.

Ash-e shooli ingredients

Serves 4. Allow 30 minutes to prepare and up to 1½ hours to cook. A cup here is a standard 240ml measure.

• 2 medium beetroot, raw
• ½ cup green or brown lentils (about 100g)
• 300g fresh spinach
• 150g fresh dill
• 100g Persian chives (tareh), or the green part of leeks
• 100g flat-leaf parsley
• 2 sprigs fresh fenugreek, or 1 tsp dried
• 2 medium onions
• ½ cup plain flour (about 60g)
• 2 tbsp dried mint
• 60 to 80ml grape vinegar
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Salt and vegetable oil
• 2 to 2.5 litres water

How to make ash-e shooli

1. Rinse the lentils. Soak them for an hour if you have time.
2. Peel the beetroot and cut it into small dice or thin batons. Put it in a large pot with about 1.3 litres of water and bring it to a simmer.
3. When the beetroot starts to soften, add the lentils. Cook gently until the lentils are tender and the beetroot holds its shape.
4. Meanwhile, wash and dry the herbs and chop them fairly finely. Add them to the pot and cook on a low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until soft.
5. Slice the onions thinly and fry them in oil until golden. Stir in the turmeric and pepper for a few seconds.
6. In a small pan, warm the dried mint in a spoonful of oil for a few seconds only. Mint burns fast and turns bitter.
7. Whisk the flour into about 500ml of cold water until smooth. Sieve it if there are lumps.
8. Stir half the fried onion into the pot. Pour in the flour mixture in a thin stream, stirring all the time. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the ash thickens. Season with salt and add hot water if it gets too thick.
9. Add a little vinegar, stir and taste. Add more until the sourness suits you. Simmer for a few more minutes.
10. Ladle into bowls and top with the rest of the fried onion and the mint oil.

Red or white beetroot

Some Yazdi cooks use white beetroot. It gives a paler ash. Red beetroot makes the dish deep red and slightly sweeter.

Swapping the vinegar

Grape vinegar is the classic souring. Verjuice gives a fruitier edge. Pomegranate molasses adds sweetness and colour as well. Add any of them a little at a time. Sweeter beetroot needs more.

Rice instead of flour

Broken rice can replace the flour. Add it with the lentils so it has time to cook down. Its starch thickens the ash, and the texture is a little softer.

Keeping ash-e shooli

It keeps for three to four days in a covered container in the fridge. Reheat only what you need, with a splash of hot water. Check the sourness again before serving.

Adapted from a recipe by Roya Alaeian for Kalleh. For more winter dishes, see our Yalda Night food guide.

Kerman has its own shooli, also called sholin, with a different mix of herbs and souring.

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