Here is another delicious addition to the long line of Aashes, the thick, hearty Persian soups. Like others in the series, this Aash features a generous mix of fresh herbs, Kashk, a tangy Persian whey sauce, crispy garlic, caramelized onions, and aromatic mint sauce.

While mung beans are the main ingredient, the real star of this Aash is the turnip. Persians have a long history of adoring turnips, or perhaps more accurately, of Persian mothers insisting their children eat, drink, and even breathe turnip for its health benefits.

Ask any Iranian mother, and she will eagerly share the turnip’s reputed healing powers, from soothing a cold to purifying the lungs with steamed turnip vapors. For more fascinating insights into this and other Persian remedies, check out my friend’s blog.

If you are new to my blog and haven’t yet heard me talk about Aash, here’s a quick introduction.

Aash has always been a cornerstone of Persian cuisine. The term refers to a thick style of soup that often combines beans, grains, sometimes noodles, herbs, spices, and meat.

There are nearly 50 varieties of Aash. Aash Resteh, Aash Jow, and Aash Sholeh Ghalamkar are among the most well-known, followed by many regional specialties that are less widely recognized.

Farsi (Persian) Lesson:

o appreciate the importance of Aash in Persian cuisine, we need a brief Farsi lesson.

In older spoken Farsi, the word Aash didn’t specifically mean this thick soup or stew; it referred to any prepared food. The word Pazi comes from the verb Pokhtan, meaning ‘to cook.’ Together, Aash-Pazi means ‘cooking,’ while Aash-Paz refers to a cook or chef.

Interestingly, the word for kitchen in Farsi is Aash-Paz-Khaneh, which literally translates to ‘the home of a cook’ or ‘the home where Aash is prepared.’

From my own Seattle Aashpazkhaneh, your humble Aash-Paz, Omid!