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Aush
Noodle soup with beans and yogurt
آش (aush): Kabul's thick noodle soup with beans, garlic yogurt, dried mint and a spiced minced-meat sauce
Aush is the bowl Afghan mothers make when someone in the house has a cold or the first snow falls on Kabul, a thick, tangy soup of hand-cut noodles, kidney beans and chickpeas, enriched with garlicky yogurt and finished with a spoonful of spiced minced meat and a heavy dusting of dried mint. The broth is slightly sour, creamy and warming with chilli, and the noodles are soft and a little slippery. It is a meal in itself, eaten with nothing more than naan and pickles. For a vegetarian version, leave out the meat sauce and add a handful of cooked mung beans. Noodles dropped into a soup that has gone off the boil stick together into a clump, so keep it bubbling as you add them a few at a time. Chef's tip: stir the yogurt in only after the pan is off the heat, so it turns the broth creamy without splitting.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the noodles
- 9 oz plain flourplus extra for rolling
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- ½ cup water
For the meat sauce
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 10 ½ oz minced lamb or beef
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 /2 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- ½ cup water
For the soup
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 8 ½ oz cooked red kidney beansdrained (1 tin)
- 8 ½ oz cooked chickpeasdrained (1 tin)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 /2 tsp ground black pepper
- 10 ½ oz thick plain yogurt
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 tsp dried mint
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Mix 9 oz plain flour and 1 /2 tsp salt with ½ cup water to a stiff dough and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest while you make the meat sauce.
Step 2: Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 5 minutes until soft.
5 minStep 3: Add 10 ½ oz minced lamb or beef and fry, breaking it up, for 5–6 minutes until it is no longer pink and the juices have cooked away.
6 minStep 4: Stir in 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 /2 tsp red chilli powder, then add 2 tomatoes, 1 /2 tsp salt and ½ cup water.
Step 5: Simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and the oil rises to the top; the mince should reach 160°F. Keep warm.
15 minStep 6: For the soup, heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pan over a medium heat, fry 1 onion for 5 minutes until golden, then stir in 2 tbsp tomato purée for 1 minute.
5 minStep 7: Add 6 ¼ cups water, 8 ½ oz cooked red kidney beans, 8 ½ oz cooked chickpeas, 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 /2 tsp ground black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 8: Meanwhile roll the dough out very thinly on a floured surface, to about 1 mm, dust with flour, roll up loosely and cut into 5 mm ribbons. Shake them apart.
Step 9: Bring the soup to a lively boil and drop in the noodles a handful at a time, stirring. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened.
10 minStep 10: Beat 10 ½ oz thick plain yogurt with 2 cloves garlic and a ladle of the hot broth, take the pan off the heat and stir it in.
Step 11: Ladle into bowls, spoon the meat sauce on top and sprinkle with 2 tsp dried mint.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does aush take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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