If you love tea, and hate teabags; if you do not have the means to brew tea at your workplace or at your school; you will like the device I am going to introduce in this post: Teago portable tea press from Tovolo!



With this portable device, you can enjoy leaf tea anywhere! The process is very simple as shown in the picture below. You can find more information here. (The pictures are also taken from the Tovolo webpage.)

Josh introduced this device to me and I bought it from amazon.com. I tried green tea, jasmine tea and black tea with Teago. I liked the result for green and jasmine better than the black tea. When it comes to black tea, nothing compares to an Iranian style brewed tea! I may write about it one day. In any case, the tea is definitely tastier and more aromatic than teabags. Thanks Josh!

The snow today in NYC inspired me to make aush-reshteh! Aush-reshteh is a huge favorite in the cold and snowy/rainy days in Iran, and with spring around the corner this might be the last chance. I know many people whose favorite dish is aush-reshteh and they don't even care about the weather outside! Fortunately, with a little bit of care one can make a tasty hearty aush-reshteh very easily. There are a few ingredients in this dish that might be hard to find outside Iran, but I have adapted the recipe so that people abroad can also enjoy cooking it. Aush-reshteh is a vegetarian dish.


Some notes before we get to the recipe:


Traditionally, aush-reshteh is made with herbs: parsley, spinach, chives, and coriander, which are ubiquitous in Iran in certain seasons. When in season, these herbs are bought in bulks, washed and chopped. Then they are stored in the freezer for future use. As you may think, this is a time consuming process for a working person or a student. These days, you can find these herbs prepared and frozen in the freezer section of many grocery stores in Tehran. Unfortunately, this is not the case abroad. That's why I usually only use frozen spinach for my aash-reshteh and to date nobody has noticed this even after I hint them at it!
The other ingredient that might be difficult to find abroad is the special noodles that is used for this aush called reshteh-aushi. Almost, all Iranian grocery stores carry reshteh-aushi. However, if it is hard for you to find it, I have found that spaghetti or flat noodles are perfect substitutes for that. Professional aush lovers, might make note of that, but believe me they are close enough.
Finally, there is another component that might be hard to find: whey (kashk). Whey is a by-product of buttermilk and can be found in Iranian or Middle Eastern grocery stores. Sour cream can also be used, but the taste is not exactly the same. Whey is the most common topping, however, some people add vinegar to their aush. I personally like vinegar more than whey in my aush.




Now onto the recipe which serves 6-8 people:


Ingredients
1/2 pound reshteh-aushi (noodles) 
4 cups spinach or (spinach, parsley, chives, and coriander) 
1/2 cup lentils 
1/2 cup pinto beans 
1/4 cup chickpeas 
3 medium onions 
5-6 cloves of garlic 
4 teaspoons turmeric 
1-2 tablespoons flour (optional) 
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup liquid whey
3-4 tablespoons dried mint


Soak the lentils, beans and chickpeas separately in water for a few hours. Add the chickpeas to a pot containing a substantial amount of water on the stove, after 15-20 minutes, add the beans to the water, and again after 15-20 minutes add the lentils. The times are approximate, as different legumes have different cooking times. The point is that the legumes should not be too soft at the end. Add a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Do not add a lot of salt as the noodles are usually salty!
Chop the garlic and the onions. In a pan, heat some olive oil and sauté the garlic with a teaspoon of turmeric over medium heat, until it is golden and not browned. Move the garlic out, place the onions in the pan with 2 teaspoons of turmeric, and sauté until they are golden.
Add 1/2 of the onions, and 3/4 of the garlic to the legumes in the pot along with the chopped and thawed herbs. Bring down to simmer. Make sure the pot has enough water. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir occasionally. When you come back, see if the pot still has enough water, as the noodles that are going to be added will absorb water. Add the noodles. After about 15 minutes, adjust the seasonings. The stew should not be watery like a soup. If it is watery, simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. If it is not thick enough you can add a tablespoon of flour and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Add 3/4 of the whey to the aush.
Aash-reshteh, comes with some toppings that are actually part of the dish: The garlic and onion that were set aside, whey, and dried mint sauce with turmeric, and either the liquid whey or vinegar.
To make the dried mint sauce, add 5-6  tablespoons of oil to a pan on medium heat. Add a teaspoon of turmeric to it and then add 2-3 tablespoons of dried ground mint. Leave it on the heat for a few seconds, as it will burn very fast. Mix about half of that in the aush and keep the rest for the topping (the ratio is roughly 1 to 2-3). To make it look extra special and beautiful, you can use a little bit of saffron. Pour the saffron over the whey that is white so that it shines on your dish.

And voilà:


I topped the cake with whipped cream after I had cooled, and sprinkled a few chopped hazelnuts. I also sifted cocoa powder on it at the end. I added the topping as we were taking this to Maryam's party. The cake is perfectly delicious without the topping and pairs well with milk, tea, and coffee :)

Bon Appétit

Hello world!