Aush (Noodles with Pulses, Meat and Yoghurt)

Aush is a hearty noodle soup with chickpeas, and red beans garnished with a meat sauce and a dollop of yogurt. According to Louis Dupree in his book Afghanistan, pasta was created in Central Asia which is now part of northern Afghanistan.

Serves: 4-6

Cooking time: 1 to 1-1/4 hours

Ingredients

Pasta:

• 8 oz pasta
• 1/2 c cooked or canned (drained and rinsed) chickpeas
• 1/2 c cooked or canned (drained and rinsed) red kidney beans

Meat Sauce:

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 c tomato sauce
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Yogurt: 

• 2 c plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp dried mint

Directions

Meat Sauce:

1. Sauté onions with 2 tbsp canola oil over medium heat under tender and translucent (about 5-7 minutes).
2. Add in garlic and cook another couple minutes.
3. Add ground beef. Chop apart and brown.
4. Once the meat is browned, add in the tomato sauce, coriander, turmeric, salt, pepper, and ground red pepper. Stir together to combine, cover, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Yogurt Sauce:

1. Mix together yogurt and mint.

Pasta:

1. Boil 10 cups of well-salted water and cook pasta according to directions.
2. A couple minutes before the pasta is done, add the beans to the water to allow them to heat through.
3. Once the pasta is done, remove from heat but do not drain.

Assembly:

1. Spoon a helping of pasta into a bowl and cover with two ladles of pasta water, a scoop of meat sauce, and a scoop of yogurt sauce. This recipe makes enough to serve 4-6 people.