May this bowl be ever filled with God's blessings;
And always stand among friendly folk.
Your thanks are due to God's grace;
May his mercy be on the owner of the food.
This bowl, which contains rubies,
Its rim is like the ruby's edge;
From its song comes happy peace, expansion of the soul.
From the soul of the generous one is his gift, like food will it be.
--Inscription on a 17th century Persian Bowl (in the Royal Ontario Museum)
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Persian (Iranian) Soup Customs
Persian cuisine--based largely on its ancient foundation of indigenous spinach, pomegranate, citrus fruits, saffron, and rosewater that grew there--features three basic types of soup:
- Ab goosht: an everyday, economical soup, meat based but filled with beans so it can be stretched to feed many. Commonly, it uses lamb stock and can contain fruits, fruit juices, and grains.
- Ash: a vegetable-based soup (that can contain meat, vegetables, grains, and fruits). A popular Ash uses rice, spinach, peas, lentils, and lemon juice. The famous Ash-e Reshteh is filled with beans, spinach, noodles, yoghurt, and mint.
- Soupe: a thin, often exotic soup used as a first course to stimulate the appetite and often accompanied with or thickened by taftun, a medium soft bread.