Ash Reshteh

Rinse the chickpeas and beans, cover with some of the water and leave to soak for 8 hours or overnight; then drain.

Transfer the chickpeas and beans to a pot, add about 1.8 L water, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 60–75 minutes. Add the rinsed lentils and cook for another 20 minutes, until the legumes are tender.

Meanwhile, slice the onion into thin half-moons. Fry the onion in half of the oil until golden, add half of the minced garlic and the turmeric, and cook for 1 minute more; set aside a third of the fried onion for garnish.

In the remaining oil, quickly toast the dried mint for 20–30 seconds, without letting it brown, and set this mint oil aside for garnish.

Add the herbs and spinach to the pot, along with the onion-garlic mixture and the remaining water. Stir well and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Break the reshteh noodles into shorter pieces, add to the soup and cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened.

Thin the kashk with a few ladles of hot soup, stir half of it into the pot and heat through for 2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes.

Serve the ash reshteh hot, drizzled with the remaining kashk and mint oil, and topped with the reserved fried onion and garlic.