Ash reshteh

Ash reshteh is the thick green soup of Iran: nearly a kilo of fresh herbs, chickpeas, beans, lentils and thin reshteh noodles, finished with tangy kashk, fried onion and dried mint in hot oil. It is dairy and vegetarian, and a full meal in a bowl.

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VegetarianDairyAllergens:GlutenMilk

Updated

Ash reshtehIllustration
Time2 h 40 minCook 2 h · + Soak 8 h
Pot10 bowls4 litres
Per bowl415 kcal18 g protein · a 400 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪79for the pot, about ₪7.9 a bowl

The story of Ash reshteh

In Persian, ash is the name for a whole family of thick soups, dozens of them, made with grains, legumes, herbs and sometimes fruit. The word matters so much in Iranian cooking that it gave Persian the word ashpaz, a cook, literally the one who cooks ash. Reshteh means threads, and refers to the thin noodles that give this soup its name.

Ash reshteh belongs to Nowruz, the Persian new year that falls on the spring equinox. It is cooked in the days before the holiday, especially on the eve of Chaharshanbe Suri, the night before the last Wednesday of the year, and the tangled noodles stand for the paths the new year opens. In the homes of Iranian immigrants in Israel it is also simply a winter soup, made in a big pot that lasts for days.

What makes Ash reshteh itself

Three things make ash reshteh. The first is the amount of herbs, close to a kilo per pot. The second is the noodles, which cook in the soup itself and thicken it with their starch. The third is the topping: kashk brings a deep, salty sourness, fried onion brings sweetness, and dried mint that touches hot oil for a few seconds brings a sharp scent. Without all three it is a good vegetable soup; with them it is ash.

Ash reshteh for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
4litres in the pot
5Pot to use, litres
₪79Cost of the pot
₪7.9per bowl
415kcal per bowl
18.0g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The legumes
Dry chickpeas, soaked overnight120 g₪2.0
Dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight120 g₪2.4
Dry white beans, soaked overnight120 g₪2.4
Green lentils120 g₪1.8
The base
Canola oil40 ml₪0.6
Onion, chopped200 g₪1.2
Garlic, chopped20 g₪0.7
Turmeric5 g₪0.4
Water3.5 l
Salt8 g₪0.0
Black pepper2 g₪0.3
The herbs
Parsley, chopped200 g₪9.8
Coriander, chopped200 g₪9.8
Dill, chopped80 g₪4.9
Spinach, chopped300 g₪9.6
Spring onions, chopped150 g₪6.9
The noodles
Reshteh noodles250 g₪6.0
The topping
Liquid kashk250 g₪15
Onion, thinly sliced for frying400 g₪2.4
Canola oil for frying80 ml₪1.2
Garlic, thinly sliced15 g₪0.5
Dried mint8 g₪1.6
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Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in Ash reshteh? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

Ash reshteh has 104 calories per 100 ml. A 400 ml bowl made with our recipe has 415 calories: 18 g protein, 13.1 g fat and 45.9 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 260 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 120 g44 kcal per serving
  • 120 g40 kcal per serving
  • 120 g40 kcal per serving
  • 120 g41 kcal per serving
  • 40 ml33 kcal per serving
  • 200 g8 kcal per serving
  • 20 g3 kcal per serving
  • 5 g2 kcal per serving
  • 8 g0 kcal per serving
  • 2 g1 kcal per serving
  • 200 g7 kcal per serving
  • 200 g5 kcal per serving
  • 80 g3 kcal per serving
  • 300 g7 kcal per serving
  • 150 g5 kcal per serving
  • 250 g93 kcal per serving
  • 250 g0 kcal per serving
  • 400 g16 kcal per serving
  • 80 ml65 kcal per serving
  • 15 g2 kcal per serving
  • 8 g2 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to Ash reshteh

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1
30 g feta744.56
30 g soft white cheese, 5%292.71.5
2 tablespoons sour cream480.84.5

How to make Ash reshteh

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. The night before, soak the chickpeas and both kinds of beans in cold water for 8 to 12 hours, then drain.
  2. Heat 40 ml of oil in a large pot, fry the chopped onion for 8 minutes over medium heat, add the garlic and turmeric and fry for another minute.
  3. Add the chickpeas, beans and 3.5 litres of water, bring to a boil, skim off the foam and simmer for an hour over low heat with the lid ajar.
  4. Add the lentils and cook for another 20 minutes, until all the legumes are soft.
  5. Add the chopped herbs and spinach, stir and cook for 25 minutes. The soup turns a deep green.
  6. Break the noodles in half, add them with the pepper and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring, until they are completely soft and the soup thickens. Taste, and only then add salt. If it is too thick, add boiling water.
  7. Meanwhile, fry the sliced onion in 80 ml of oil for 20 to 25 minutes over medium heat until deep golden brown, and lift it out. Fry the sliced garlic in the remaining oil for about a minute.
  8. Take the pan off the heat, add the dried mint to the hot oil and stir for just 10 seconds.
  9. Thin the kashk with a few spoonfuls of hot water. Turn off the heat under the soup and stir in about a third of the kashk. Ladle into bowls and top each with kashk, fried onion, garlic and mint oil.

The science of Ash reshteh

Kitchen science

Why the legumes go in stages

Beans and chickpeas need a long time for the pectin in their cell walls to soften and their starch to swell, while lentils soften in 20 to 30 minutes. Acid and calcium slow softening because they stabilise pectin, which is why the tangy kashk goes in only at the end, once the legumes are tender.

Kitchen science

The green of the herbs

With long cooking, chlorophyll loses the magnesium ion at its centre and turns from bright green to dark olive. In ash reshteh that is the right colour, but after two hours the herbs also lose their scent, because the volatile oils of parsley, coriander and dill evaporate. Twenty-five minutes at the end is the balance.

Kitchen science

What thickens ash reshteh

Reshteh are noodles made of flour, water and salt. Cooked in the soup, they release starch from their surface that thickens the liquid, which is why they are never cooked separately. As the soup stands, the starch keeps absorbing water, so it is thicker the next day.

Kitchen science

Kashk: sour, salty and savoury

Kashk is a fermented, dried dairy product made from the liquid left after churning yogurt into butter, or from strained yogurt. Fermentation brings lactic acid, drying concentrates protein and salt, and the partial breakdown of protein releases amino acids with an umami taste. That is why a spoonful changes a whole bowl.

Kitchen science

Onion and mint in hot oil

In slow frying, the sugars in onion caramelise and take part in Maillard reactions, so the onion browns and sweetens. The scent of dried mint comes mostly from carvone, a compound that dissolves in hot oil and is released at once. After more than a few seconds the leaves burn and turn bitter, so they go into a pan already off the heat.

Ash reshteh in every kitchen

With kashk, the classic

Kashk thinned with a little hot water. Some goes into the pot at the end and the rest is drizzled over each bowl in lines.

With yogurt instead of kashk

When there is no kashk, thick yogurt with a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon comes close, though it is milder and less salty.

Vegan

No kashk, a squeeze of lemon at the end and more fried onion. The legumes and noodles keep the body of the soup.

With meat, no kashk

Some homes add small lamb meatballs or chunks of meat. In a kosher kitchen that makes it a meat soup, so the kashk goes and lemon brings the sourness.

For Nowruz

For the holiday the pot is extra large, and the surface is decorated with swirls and lines of kashk, onion and mint oil.

Common Ash reshteh problems and how to fix them

My ash reshteh tastes bitter

Usually the mint burned in the oil or the garlic browned too far. Fry the mint off the heat for seconds only. Thick dill and coriander stalks also add bitterness, so use the leaves and thin stems.

The beans stayed hard in the soup

The legumes were old, not soaked, or met acid and salt too early. Soak overnight, cook the beans and chickpeas for an hour before anything else, and add kashk only at the end.

My ash reshteh is too thin

Too much water, or the noodles were cooked separately. Cook the reshteh in the soup a few minutes longer, or stir a spoonful of flour into a little water, add it and cook for 5 minutes.

The soup turned to porridge on day two

The starch in the noodles and legumes keeps absorbing liquid in the fridge. Add boiling water as you reheat and stir until the texture returns.

The soup came out too salty

Reshteh and kashk are already salty. Salt only once they are in. If it is too salty already, add water and a handful of herbs, and use less kashk on top.

Storing, freezing and reheating

4 days

In the fridge

3 months, without the topping

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat over low heat with a little boiling water, stirring, since the soup thickens as it stands. Add the kashk, onion and mint oil only after reheating.

Nutrition of Ash reshteh

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 400 ml bowl41518.013.145.914.1
Our recipe, 100 ml1044.53.311.53.5
Typical Ash reshteh, 100 g1135.42.615.84.4

What the ingredients of Ash reshteh cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Liquid kashk₪60 per kg₪15Specialty shop (hard to find)
Parsley, chopped₪4.9 each₪9.8Greengrocer
Coriander, chopped₪4.9 each₪9.8Greengrocer
Spinach, chopped₪32 per kg₪9.6Greengrocer
Spring onions, chopped₪6.9 each₪6.9Greengrocer
Reshteh noodles₪24 per kg₪6Specialty shop (hard to find)
Dill, chopped₪4.9 each₪4.9Greengrocer
Onion, chopped₪5.9 per kg₪3.5Greengrocer
Dry white beans, soaked overnight₪20 per kg₪2.4Supermarket
Dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight₪20 per kg₪2.4Supermarket
Dry chickpeas, soaked overnight₪16 per kg₪2Supermarket
Green lentils₪15 per kg₪1.8Supermarket
Canola oil₪15 per litre₪1.8Supermarket
Dried mint₪200 per kg₪1.6Spice shop
Garlic, chopped₪34 per kg₪1.2Greengrocer
Turmeric₪86 per kg₪0.4Supermarket
Black pepper₪139 per kg₪0.3Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

From the pantry: what Ash reshteh needs

Pantry

Liquid kashk

Price and where to buy

Make Ash reshteh a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with Ash reshteh

Serve hot in wide bowls, with the kashk, onion and mint oil on top, and flatbread, pickled vegetables and lemon wedges on the side.

The cuisine behind Ash reshteh

Persian

Persian cuisine

In Persian, ash is the name for a whole family of thick soups, dozens of them, made with grains, legumes, herbs and sometimes fruit. The…

Persian cuisine

Ash reshteh in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 400 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
25101₪198
50201₪397
100402₪794
200803₪1,588
5002008₪3,970

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order Ash reshteh

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for Ash reshteh

Order Ash reshteh for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

What is kashk and where do I buy it?

Kashk is a fermented dairy product, tangy and salty, sold in jars as a thick liquid or as a powder. You find it in Persian grocery shops and in some spice shops.

What can I use instead of kashk?

Thick yogurt or sour cream with a pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon. The taste is gentler, but the creamy sourness is similar.

What can I use instead of reshteh noodles?

Linguine or thin fettuccine, broken in half. They are not salted like reshteh, so add a little more salt.

When is ash reshteh eaten?

In the days before Nowruz, the Persian new year in spring, especially on the eve of Chaharshanbe Suri. At home it is cooked on any cold day.

Can ash reshteh be vegan?

Yes. Leave out the kashk, add lemon juice at the end and use more fried onion and mint oil.

What is the difference between ash and soup?

Ash is a very thick soup, almost a stew, with legumes and grains. In Persian it is a family of dozens of soups, and ash reshteh is the best known.

Can I use canned beans?

Yes, drained and rinsed. Add them together with the lentils and skip the soaking and the first hour of cooking.

How many calories are in Ash reshteh?

A 400 ml bowl of Ash reshteh made with our recipe has about 415 calories and 18 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 104 calories.

How much does it cost to make Ash reshteh at home?

A pot of 10 bowls costs about ₪79 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪7.9 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

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