Oct 25

Aash Sabzi

By Persian Recipes Aash & Soup 3 Comments »

This is a favorite Aash in Shiraz…and even though it is called Aash e Sabzi it actually has only two types of greens in it with a bunch of other things! The name Aash-e Sabzi refers to a  soup of greens, but like I said it only has two things that are considered green vegetables in it. The amount of Aash-e Sabzi based on the ingredients below is for a large pot, which can serve and fill up at least 10 people.

Aash-e Sabzi

Aash-e Sabzi

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs Lamb meat — I bought lamb arm chops, but supposedly the best meat to use is the neck meat from the neck area
1 medium onion
1 cup garbanzo beans –you can use dry or from a can (make sure you drain the water and rinse if you use from a can)
1 cup black eye peas
1 cup lentils
3 cups rice
150 grams Tareh –in place of Tareh I used the ends of green onions (the green parts) …you will need 150 grams of the green parts
80 - 100 grams Tarragon (Tarkhoon) –if you put too much it might become bitter
turmeric
salt/pepper
3 tablespoons fried onion (piaz dagh)
2 tablespoons fried dry mint (nana dagh)

Directions:
In a pot, place the meat, the chopped up onion, turmeric, salt, pepper, and cover with water. Place on stove on medium temperature and allow the meat to fully cook. Once the meat is cooked put it aside and allow it to cool (keep the water in the pot for later use). When the meat is cooled down you can remove any bones and then throw it in the food processor for it to become shredded. If you prefer you can use ground up meat to not have to use a food processor. Add some of the onions to the food processor as well (onions from the pot you made the meat in).

In a separate pot pour in your three cups dry rice and cover with water and allow it to cook on a medium temperature.

In a large pot (the pot you plan on making the aash Sabzi in) pour in the garbanzo beans, lentils, and black eye peas and cover with water. Allow the beans to cook on a medium temperature. Place the lid on the pot and allow the contents to cook.Once the garbanzo beans are soft take out at least half of them (or as much as possible) and mash them up a bit with a spoon and then return them to the pot.

The rice should now be fully cooked and may have lost some of its shape/form. Add the rice to the large pot with beans in it and stir. You may need to add more water at this time. Take the lamb meat you have shredded in the food processor (or blender) and add it to the soup (Aash). Add as much of the meat broth you like to the soup. Place the lid back on the pot and allow all contents to cook. If needed add more water.

Clean your green onion ends (green parts) and tarragon and then use the food processor to chop them up a bit. After about 2 hours of the Aash boiling and cooking add in the sabzi (green vegetables) and a bit of salt to taste. You don’t want to add the pepper now, you typically add that at the end for the aroma. Add more water if needed, stir contents, and then place the lid back on top.

After another hour of the Aash-e Sabzi cooking you may want to pour half the contents in a blender and puree (or in a food processor). Return the contents to the pot and stir together. Allow the soup to then cook for another hour until it is fully prepared and then add some pepper at least 30 minutes prior to serving. If you plan on serving at a later time, make sure you heat up the Aash at least 1 hour prior to serving. In the event that you are reheating the contents of the pot you may need to add a tad bit of water so it is not too thick.

Decorate with the fried onion (to a golden brown color) and mint and place pepper on the table for anyone who wishes to add more (many people add loads of black pepper to this Aash-e Sabzi…must be a shirazi thing ;) ).

Enjoy!

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Oct 21

There are a few different variations of Masghati, which is a Persian sweet made basically from starch. This specific recipe is for Masghati borideh shodeh (cut up pieces).

Masghati (borideh shodeh)

Masghati (borideh shodeh)

Ingredients:
200 grams starch –its preferred that you use a flower starch, but I used corn starch
400 grams sugar
5-6 cups water
1/2 cup rose water
100 grams heated oil
1/3 cup cut up pistachio (optional)
hail (cardamom) powder (optional)
Saffron (optional) — I added yellow food coloring instead just to give it a color, but you dont have to add either

Directions:
Dissolve your starch in 5 to 6 cups of cold water. If needed you can run it through a strainer before transferring the contents into a pot on the stove top. I found that all my starch had fully dissolved and when I ran it through the strainer nothing was left behind. The temperature for the stove should be set to medium and you will need to constantly stir the mixture until it starts to thicken. Once it begins to thicken (you will notice it starts to look like a jelly like substance) then you will add the sugar and the rose water and continuously stir the mixture. I also added cardamom powder, but you can add the seed if you wish or not add it at all. Then I added the heated oil to the mixture and still continued to stir. You basically want to allow all the water to evaporate, until it is fully thickened and if you create a line across the top with a knife the line doesn’t fade that easily. At the end you will pour the thickened mixture into a dish and allow it to cool fully before cutting it into diamond pieces. You may choose to spring the top with the cut up pistachio you have while it is cooling (and before cutting it).

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Oct 18

This Persian Recipe Baghali Polo (Lima Bean Rice) is also referred to as Shevid (Dill) Baghali. You can either eat it with morgh (chicken), or goosht (stew meat).

Baghali Polo ba Morgh

Baghali Polo ba Morgh

Ingredients:
1 medium onion- chopped up
chicken breast cut up into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups rice –rinsed and soaked –add some salt to the soaking rice
1 cup baby Lima beans (or 1 1/2 cups regular Lima Beans) — I use frozen baby Lima Beans
2 Tablespoons Dry Shevid (Dill), or you can use fresh dill
salt/pepper
turmeric

Directions for Baghali Polo Ba Morgh:

You will make your chicken by frying the chopped onions until a golden color in a frying pan, then adding the chicken and stirring. Add salt, pepper, and turmeric. Finally, mix your tomato paste with 1 cup warm/hot water and add to the chicken. Place a lid over the pan and allow it to cook on medium-low heat for approximately 30-45 minutes.

In a pot bring water to a boil and add the frozen Lima Beans. After approximately 5 minutes add the rice and allow it to soften a bit. If you are using fresh dill you will want to add it to the pot as well. If you are using dry dill do not add it until you are about to let it steam. Drain the water and then add 1/2 a cup water and some oil to the bottom of the pan. Pour in half the rice and then add your dry Shevid (dill) and then cover it with the rest of the rice. At this point you may want to add a little more oil or butter over the top of the rice. Then cover the lid with a towel and place it over the top. Once the steam starts to escape from the sides of the pot turn the heat down to a low temperature (the heat should be close to high when you first begin). Leave it on a low temperature for at least 40 minutes…the longer it stays the more tahdigh your Baghali Polo will have. For directions on obtaining a good tahdigh please visit my post under the Polo category.

Serve the Baghali Polo with the Morgh (chicken) :)

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