Aush-e Sholi Yazd
Yazdi Aush-e Sholi is one of the traditional and delicious dishes of Yazd province. Sholi is usually cooked with mung bean and turnips in winter and with beets and lentil in summer. Depending on your taste, you can add vinegar or pomegranate paste as a seasoning to the aush.
Yazdi Sholi is very easy and delicious. Aush-e Sholi is one of the traditional dishes of our Iranians, it is originally for Yazd city, which dates back to 500 years ago and has been registered in intangible cultural heritage elements list. Aush-e Sholi is one of the most important foods on Yalda Night in Yazd, they gather and celebrate this night and eat Aush-e Sholi. The name of this aush is probably because of its thinness and consistency. The main seasoning of this dish is vinegar, and its nature is cold which is very pleasant to eat it with nuts and Yazdi sweets. Aush-e Sholi is very simple and nutritious, make sure to prepare it on cold winter days.
Aush-e Sholi Ingredients
- Large beet 2 pcs
- Aush herbs (chives, parsley, spinach, dill, some fenugreek)
- Onion 3pcs
- Dried mint 3 tablespoons
- Lentils 1/2 cup
- Flour 1.5 cups
- Vinegar 1/2 cup
- Salt, black pepper and turmeric as needed
Aush-e Sholi Recipe, Step 1: Cooking Beets
First, wash the beets well, put them in a pot and let them cook well and become soft. When they are cooked, add the lentils to them.
Step 2: Preparing Fried Onion and Adding Herbs
When the lentils are cooked, add washed and chopped herbs to the beets and lentils. In a pan, fry the sliced onion with a little turmeric and salt until it become light and golden, then add the dried mint and fry for 30 seconds. Add half of the fried onion and mint to the aush and set the rest aside for garnish.
Step 3: Adding Flour
Add about 4 cups of water to the flour and mix well. When the lentils and beets are cooked, add about four cups of boiling water to the aush and slowly add the water-flour mix and stir well at the same time so that the flour does not form lumps.
Step 4: Final Cooking of Ash-e Sholi
When all the ingredients are cooked, add salt and black pepper to the aush and taste it to see if the salt is low. Then, at the end of cooking, it is time to add the seasoning of aush-e Sholi. Add the vinegar in the last 10 minutes, stir and let it simmer for a few minutes so that the pungent smell of the vinegar diminishes, then our aush-e Sholi is ready to be served in a dish and decorated with fried onions and fried mint prepared in advance.
Key Tips for Preparing Ash-e Sholi
The amount of spinach and dill should be equal. You can add beetroot greens along with spinach. Instead of vinegar, you can also use pomegranate paste or black kashk for seasoning. In some recipes, they also add some thyme or marjoram. In some recipes, some of the fried onion is added to the aush at the end of cooking.
It is interesting to know that Yazdi people eat aush-e Sholi around 10 to 11 in the morning to whet their appetite, but for the people of other cities who cook Sholi in imitation of them, this aush is a fragrant and colorful appetizer.
If you use beets or turnips in this aush, its color will be green, and if you use beetroots, it will turn red.
