Monday, July 20, 2009

On the Ocassion of Tiregan

Persian holidays, in tune with nature, cycles in observance of the four seasons. Mehregan, in the fall, Shabeh Yalda in the winter, Norooz in the Spring, and the legend of Tiregan in the Summer. Tiregan, the ancient rain festival celebrated in July, commemorates archangel Tir (arrow) or Tishtar (lightning bolt) who appeared in the sky to generate thunder and lightning for much needed rain. The legend of Arash-e Kamangir settles a land dispute between Iran and Turan, which lacked adequate rain. Arash was chosen to shoot his arrow on the 13th day of Tir and where the arrow landed, there would lie the border between the two kingdoms. Once the border of Turan and Iran were settled, peace and rain poured onto the two countries (Wikipedia: Tiregan).

The Iranian has more on the Zoroastrian customs and celebration of Arash-e Kamangir and Tiregan : http://www.iranian.com/History/2003/July/Tir/index.html.
For reasons which I continue to speculate, Asheh Reshte and Shole Zard are traditional dishes prepared to honor the legend of the Kamangir. Even in the summer, Asheh Reshteh, a deliciously, flavorful, rich spinach soup with fresh Persian noodles, was comforting beyond measure. The entire bowl disappeared faster than you could say "Ey Arash-e Kamangir!" The recipe is simple and straight forward, but as with all Persian cuisine, requires an intensely slow cooking process with several layers of savory flavors.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup green lentils
Water to cook lentils
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans (multi-colored is best)
1 navy beans beans

3/4 lb fresh baby spinach, rough chop
1 bunch+ green onions, rough chop
1 bunch parsley (optional), rough chop

2 teaspoons+ flour
Warm water

Salt, pepper, turmeric to taste

1 package raw Persian noodles

8-10 cups filter water to cover soup pot

Garnish:
2 large onions, diced, caramelized
4 cloves of garlic, crushed, caramelized
2 tablespoons mint, dried and minced
2 tablespoons+ olive oil
Vegan Kashk: Better than Sour Cream thinned with fresh squeezed lemon juice

Cook the lentils until tender, drain, and add cooked lentils to large pot. Optional: save water and add to soup pot for creamier texture.

Caramelize onions, add half to lentils mixture, set aside the other half.

Add other cans of beans to soup pot, cover with water, and cook for 5 minutes until beans heated through. Add spinach, green onions, and parsley. Allow to slowly simmer for 15 minutes until greens are fully cooked/wilted. Soup pot should be covered with water.

Mix flour with warm water to create thickener. Slow mix into the soup pot to thicken bean/spinach mixture. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add raw noodles. Break noodles into thirds. Add salt, pepper, and turmeric to taste. The soup mixture should be a minty green color, from the spinach and turmeric. Allow to simmer until noodles are tender. Add filtered water as necessary to achieve the creamiest"ash" consistency.

Meanwhile, caramelize crushed garlic and dried mint leaves in olive oil until they appear a golden, yellow color. Set aside to cool.

Ladle Asheh Reshteh into a large soup pot and garnish with caramelized onions, garlic/mint, and vegan kashk. Serve immediately and prepare for a savory, delicious, summer comfort food.

Can you see the favrahar styled by the garnishes? V gave it a good shot.



A steaming bowl: perfect. The images don't justify the intense tastes and pleasures of this dish, just trust that Arash and his Tir knew what they were doing when celebrating their victory with a nice bowl of Ash.


Next post: Sholeh Zard

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I couldn't wait for the next day to eat the leftovers! You forgot to mention that Arash's arrow sailed for 13 days before it landed!