Iranian Barley Soup

Submitted by winkki

"Found online at an Iranian student website and posted per a recipe request. "

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 cup dried barley
• 1⁄2 cup dry green lentils or 1/2 cup red lentil
• 6 cups water
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon dried mint or 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper

directions

1. Put everything into a pot and then bring to a gentle boil.
2. Simmer for 1 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Variations: Fry the onions in the oil before putting them in the pot.
4. Add 1 cup of cooked chick peas or red kidney beans a few min before serving.

Reviews

[Lisa Lisa Ann]

Pretty tasty, just a bit bland for me. My husband loved it. I used parsley instead of the mint and did not fry the onions first. I'm in agreement that frying them first would probably be a good idea to add more taste. It made A LOT of a very healthy and filling dish :-)

 

[Chef Sepah]

It is an excellent Old World food!

 

[Bread Baker Mark]

I made it by the recipe and found it good and hearty but missing something. When doing over I believe frying the onions first is necessary as well as adding some salt. Kudos on the easy prep!

 

[Elmotoo]

I used about 4c extra water & it was still very thick. I used red lentils. I liked that it wasn't full of *stuff* (veggies, etc.) It was just straightforward, simple, delicious, very hearty soup which is very delicately flavored. we enjoyed it tremendously - even my mom who doesn't like barley! Made for Wish You Were Here - Iran.

 

[tmkurth]

I just made this soup and didn't have any problem with it. My husband agreed, five stars. The only thing I did differently from the instructions was to saute the onions in the oil first, then add only the water and barley to give the barley a chance to pre-cook (otherwise the lentils would've dissolved before the barley got soft). True, there is no way to stop the barley from continuing to soak up the water after you want it to stop cooking; you'll just have to add more water if you want to call it soup. We were fine with it being a saucy barley and lentil hotdish, though. We didn't feel as though it needed any other spices; in fact, my husband thought it tasted as though there were more in it. I don't know any Persian; but I have seen this recipe by the name Ash-e-Jow (or some variation of that spelling) also. It makes a great vegan protein dish.