Soups Oshes & Porridges

Soup plays a vital role in Iranian tradition. Many different kinds of soup are served to mark special occasions, and sharing a bowl of soup is believed to forge the bonds of friendship. Sometimes, in an act symbolizing great intimacy, friends or lovers sip from the same spoon to seal their devotion.

Most soups in Persian cooking are substantial enough to serve as a main course. They fall into three categories. One group consist of meat-based, salted broths such as lamb shank soup (abgusht), which were called shurba in the past in Iran (shurba still remains the general term for soup in many Middle Eastern countries); hearty soups called osh (rhymes with squash), which are wonderfully flavorful thick soups; and finally, a type of thick elastic soup, more like a porridge, called halim (an example of halim is lamb and wheat porridge, halim-e gandom).